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We’ve had to wait a while but Sir Keir Starmer’s lid finally blew yesterday. Out of nowhere, that neatly oiled head of his simply exploded like a shaken-up can of Vimto. For months we have grown accustomed to the Labour leader occupying a saintly plinth inside the chamber, a beacon of trustworthiness, a model of … Read more
Furious Keir Starmer confronted Boris Johnson and ‘ranted’ at him after they clashed over his Brexit record at PMQs, it was claimed today. Witnesses said the Labour leader ‘lost it’ after Mr Johnson accused him of wanting to stay in the European Medicines Agency – which has been slated for dragging its heels over vaccine … Read more
For hair-tearing, home-schooling parents, it wasn’t quite a champagne moment, but it was at least cause to uncork a half-decent bottle of reserva. Boris Johnson had just announced plans, barring any snags, to reopen schools in March. On top of that, he was putting aside a £300 million kitty to fund summer schools. A whole … Read more
As with most members of the legal profession, Sir Keir Starmer would crawl through an open sewer to hear the sound of his own voice. No topic is too obscure, too arcane, on which he would happily hold court. Weighty matters of Human Rights jurisprudence, for example, or the finer points of the Equality Act. … Read more
Boris Johnson defended ‘steely’ Home Secretary Priti Patel over bullying claims today, accusing Labour of attacking her because she is successful. Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer attacked the decision to keep Ms Patel, 48, in her post despite a critical report into her behaviour at the Home Office. The probe by Sir Alex Allan, finally … Read more
Bang on midday there was a clink-clink of the cathode tubes, and a familiar figure suddenly flickered across TV screens in the Commons. He was uncharacteristically silent for a while, adopting one of those nervy ‘can you see me?’ smiles that Russian cosmonauts flash when checking in with the Motherland after several months alone in … Read more
Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer traded brutal blows over the threat of Scottish independence today at an historic first ‘virtual’ PMQs. Being grilled by video link from self-isolation in Downing Street, Mr Johnson faced a welter of criticism over his comments that devolution north of the border had been a ‘disaster’ and was Tony Blair’s … Read more
Angela Rayner had got her bovver boots on. Great clod-hopping things they were, the sort that Teddy Boys used to wear while out on the razzle. Not for her the genteel kitten clackers Theresa May used to fashion. One swing of the Rayner hoof in these babies could do a man some serious damage. Labour’s … Read more
First PMQs of the new term and Boris Johnson was, I’m sorry to say, poor. Provocatively poor. It wasn’t just that he hadn’t bothered with any of the necessary holiday reading – it was clear he’d barely glanced at the back covers. After such a political hotchpotch of a summer, this was a showdown the … Read more
This time last year, Boris Johnson marched into the summer recess with the lumbering swagger of an all-conquering prizefighter. In his first appearance in the Commons as Prime Minister, he pummelled Jeremy Corbyn through the ropes. Battered. Banjaxed. Jezza looked so punch drunk it’s a mercy he didn’t require smelling salts. Boris rarely emerges quite … Read more