Steerpike

It is just over four weeks since the government was forced to pause its attempted handover of the Chagos Islands, following an almighty backlash on both sides of the Atlantic. Since then there has been an unsatisfactory stand-off, with Labour sources suggesting that blame for the indefinite pause lay with the White House. Now, a DUP peer has offered a way forward. Lord Weir had the good fortune of being one of 25 to get his number called on Friday when the Upper House did its annual ballot for Private Members Bills. An annual tradition that truly does have Lords-a-Leaping... Weir has decided to table a 'British Sovereignty Protection (Chagos Islands) Bill, with its First Reading due on 5 June.

While Labour continues down its path of self-destruction, Reform and the Tories are having a whale of a time watching the left crash and burn from the opposition benches. But friends of Nigel Farage are at pains to remind Mr S they haven’t taken their eyes off their rivals on the right. Reform is more confident than ever that the next general election could very well sound the death knell for the Conservatives. To back up their hypothesis, they point to the number of Tory frontbenchers who are on course to lose their seats to the turquoise team, based on local election results. Analysis from the party of the Essex County Council vote share suggests seven are for the chop.

https://twitter.com/hoffman_noa/status/2054962131649307039 When Wes Streeting resigned, there was a brief – very brief – feeling of reprieve among some of Sir Keir Starmer's allies. They were convinced that the Health Secretary didn't and still doesn't have the numbers to launch a bloody spill and painted the development as a humiliating climb down. There was even some discussion about putting the whole palaver to bed by convincing one Angela Rayner to take over from Streeting and make a cabinet comeback. This, it was thought, would quash the hard-left's urge for an even worse socialist takeover of Downing Street.

Nigel Farage has been on a well-deserved high after Reform pulled off a spectacular coup at the local elections. But could that all be about to come crashing down? As if today didn't already have its fair share of twists and turns, the Commons sleaze watchdog decided to announce a probe into the Reform leader. Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary standards commissioner, will investigate Farage to determine whether he broke the rules on declaring financial interests after pocketing a £5mn donation from a crypto billionaire in 2024. Reform says the present from Christopher Harborne was a strictly 'personal' donation and, as such, was not subject to Commons rules. It was also received before the leading Brexiteer decided to make a run for parliament.

More than 50 backbenchers have now called for Sir Keir Starmer to resign, despite his rousing rallying cry for unity this morning. But the big question now is which, if any, of Labour’s big beasts will make a move against their dear leader. While cabinet contenders bide time, Mr S is told that ministers on the lower rungs of government are now bracing to resign, possibly as early as today. Although swathes of the Labour great and good have had enough of the prime minister, there remains considerable fear about taking a leap outside the government tent, only for it to backfire and scupper hopes of a top job in future. That said, there is still a sizeable contingent of backbenchers who are desperate to keep Sir Keir in post.

The SNP look just about set to keep hold of Holyrood with an overall majority – but not without some major casualties. Spare a thought for Angus Robertson, who has been ousted from his Edinburgh Central seat by another nat – only this time from the Scottish Greens. The former government minister and party deputy leader not only lost but slumped to a humiliating third place. He was defeated by radical leftie Lorna Slater, who finished comfortably ahead by 5,000 votes. Slater previously served as a minister in the Scottish Government after the 2021 election, when the SNP got into bed with the Greens. The power-sharing arrangement ended in 2024. The Canadian trumpeted her victory as a ‘significant milestone’'.