Politics

Andrew Marr’s question was simple and straightforward, ‘[Is] someone who thinks that only women have a cervix welcome in the Labour party?’ As a party member who still clings to science and reason, I willed Keir Starmer to give a simple and straightforward answer. Instead, he blustered: Well, Andrew, we need to have a mature, respectful debate about trans rights and we need to, I think, bear in mind that the trans community are amongst the most marginalised and abused communities. It’s not true, Keir. Some of us in the trans community are doing rather well for ourselves, certainly in the UK. We have robust legal protections — we even

Sunday at Labour conference was a trying affair. Beset by questions about whether Tory voters were ‘scum’ or not, many leading left-wing politicians sought out the fleshpots of Brighton to drown their sorrows. And where better to do that then at Dawn Butler’s legendary Jamaica night, held this year in the gratifyingly sticky confines of Brighton’s much-loved Pryzm nightclub? Just like party infighting and Piers Corbyn, Butler’s Kingston knees-up has become a mainstay of recent conference shindigs. Activists, MPs, hacks and various hangers-ons all endured the half-an-hour wait to enter the bowels of Pryzm, accompanied by the rhythmic beats of a steelpan band. For £5 a head attendees were treated to

Even before the embargo was lifted on Keir Starmer’s much-trailed and super-long Fabian pamphlet, The Road Ahead, commentators and critics were already putting the boot in. By writing his 12,000 words or so, all the Labour leader had seemingly achieved was the creation of a consensus, one stretching from the Spectator to the Guardian, that all he had painfully gestated was a cliché-ridden disaster, groaning with platitudes stolen from focus groups. The best thing that was said about it was that the pamphlet was so long and so turgid, hardly anybody would read it. How many ideas a party leader requires to be effective, and from where they should come,

Gary Neville was a fine footballer but he is a confused pundit. He keeps trying to get political when talking about football — and it’s boring. During England’s Euro 2020 semi-final game this summer, he obnoxiously suggested Gareth Southgate, the England manager, had shown more leadership than the Prime Minister. It was an irritating and unnecessary moment of politics in what should have been a moment of celebration. Now, he’s at it again. In an interview with the Times, Neville has been talking about politics: ‘I’d love half an hour across from Boris Johnson at the despatch box. I’d be angry with myself if I didn’t tear him to shreds

France’s fit of pique following Australia’s cancelled submarine contract – and the signing of the Aukus pact – is a sulk that keeps on giving. After recalling its ambassadors to Australia and the US, Paris cancelled last week’s scheduled bilateral Franco-British defence summit. France is also reported to be seeking to delay the EU-Australia trade deal whose twelfth meeting was organised for next month. The French are all the more bruised for the major powers in the Indo Pacific – Japan and India – welcoming the Pact while Paris has received only muted support from EU members. France is even extending her sulk retrospectively to others who recently declined French defence

The ongoing energy crisis has now seen seven companies go bust in recent months. On Wednesday, Avro Energy and Green Supplier Limited became the two largest companies to collapse. The industry is seeing high wholesale natural gas prices reach record levels, with firms unable to significantly raise their prices due to the government’s price cap. In the interest of transparency, Steerpike thought he would look at some of these companies in question, amid calls in certain quarters for government-backed bailouts. To begin with, it seems ludicrously easy to become an energy supplier, with a licence from Ofgem costing £450 for electricity and between £350 to £450 for gas. The online