Steerpike

Today's lethargic PMQs session was brought to life by a furious row over comments made by Rishi Sunak about transgender people. Labour leader Keir Starmer began the exchange by paying tribute to Esther Ghey, the mother of the murdered teenager Brianna. He then moved on to NHS waiting lists which Sunak had previously promised would come down on his watch. ‘Isn’t he glad he didn’t place a bet on it?’ he joked – a reference to the PM’s ill advised handshake with Piers Morgan. Sunak shot back by suggesting that Sir Keir would only place a bet if it was an ‘each way’ one. He remarked it was ‘a bit rich’ to hear about promises from someone who had broken ‘every single promise he was elected on'.

Jacob Rees–Mogg's speech at the Popular Conservatism launch went down well with the assembled crowd in Westminster, but the Tory MP was forced on to the defensive when he came off stage. Rees-Mogg was asked by News Agents journalist Lewis Goodall, formerly of the BBC, to defend his attack on 'Davos Man'. 'How much money did you make in the city?,' Goodall asked Rees-Mogg. 'That's such a childish question,' Rees-Mogg replied, before accusing his interviewer of being 'a very left-wing broadcaster': 'You seem to be representing the left wing. Are you doing your bit of due impartiality?', Mogg asked Goodall. “How much money did you make in The City?

Proper prime time viewing this afternoon with a PM on the ropes. TalkTV today broadcast Piers Morgan's interview with Rishi Sunak, reprising the double act from when the pair last met in Downing Street 12 months ago. The embattled premier no doubt spoke for many when he met Morgan, greeting him with the words 'Not you again.' Never mind Rishi: if the polls are correct there won't be a third encounter in No. 10 this time next year... Sunak was in his Tigger-ish form, likening himself to Gareth Southgate and suggesting that everyone likes to have a pop at his leadership. But while the PM was prepared to admit his failure to cut NHS waiting lists, he was much more optimistic on small boats.

Rishi Sunak has made 'stopping the boats' central to his premiership. So it is, er, sub-optimal then that word reaches Steerpike that the efforts of the Home Office are being hindered by a lack of top talent. The department might have grown in staff numbers by nearly a third since 2010 but Whitehall sources claim that there was only one candidate last year to fill the department's key role of Director of General Migration and Borders. The role in question was eventually filled by Daniel Hobbs, the department's head of asylum, protection and enforcement, in August 2023. A Home Office spokesman told Mr S:  Dan Hobbs was picked for the role after passing the board for another Director General role and because of his strong track record.

For Sir Ed Davey, sorry seems to be the hardest word to say. Three weeks ago, the embattled Lib Dem leader was asked to apologise for his role in the Post Office scandal but refused to do so ten times in an interview with ITV. Yet now, with his party plummeting in the polls, the former cabinet minister has thrown in the towel and uttered the forbidden word beginning with 's'. Writing in the Guardian, Davey, whose business minister role from 2010 to 2012 involved oversight of the Post Office, said officials had initially advised him to not meet Alan Bates, who led the campaign into the unjust targeting of post office operators.

Even Nicola Sturgeon's enemies agree that the former first minister is a formidable politician. But at the Covid Inquiry, Sturgeon appears to be struggling to keep it together. Asked whether she was the 'right' person to lead Scotland following her earlier criticism that Boris Johnson was not up to the job, Sturgeon broke down in tears: 'I was the first minister when the pandemic struck. There's a large part of me that wishes I hadn't been. But I was, and I wanted to be the best first minister I could be during that period. It's for others to judge the extent to which I succeeded.' NEW: Nicola Sturgeon breaks down in tears about whether she was the “right” First Minister to lead Scotland after her earlier criticism that Boris Johnson was not up to the job. @SkyNews pic.twitter.

Angela Rayner has had better starts to the week. The Labour deputy leader appeared on Good Morning Britain today, ostensibly to talk about her party's plans for housing and town centres. But if the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne MP thought she would get a soft-soap interview, host Richard Madeley quickly proved her wrong. Following her heckling by Palestinian activists last week, he asked Rayner: Last time there was a vote on a ceasefire in Gaza, you abstained. A lot has happened since then, there have been a lot more deaths in Gaza. If there was a vote again today, would you abstain or would you agree to a ceasefire? Stuttering, the politician replied: 'I mean the challenges that are happening in Gaza... No one can look at the TV and see what is happening.

At £120,000 a year, George Freeman was in the top 3 per cent of earners as science minister – but he says that is why he stood down two months ago. His mortgage went up and his pay – £75,000 after the tax increases of his government – suddenly wasn’t enough. He had many reasons to quit, he says on his Substack, but one was ‘because my mortgage rises this month from £800pcm to £2,000, which I simply couldn’t afford to pay on a ministerial salary.’ So he stood down and was free to top up his MP’s salaries with consultancy.  Chris Skidmore has shown how Tories can slip into consistent work and make serious money. But isn’t £120,000 a year serious money? Freeman seems not to think so. ‘That’s political economy 2.0.