Theresa may

Today Boris Johnson has found himself attacked on all sides with his leadership bid now seen to be over before it even began. With his fellow Brexiteer Michael Gove running against him for leader, Theresa May has used her own leadership launch to pour cold water on BoJo’s ability to lead the country. The most cutting remark came when she was asked about her ability to lead negotiations with countries like Germany. At which point she brought up Boris’s track record on… buying water cannons: ‘I seem to remember the last time he did a deal with the Germans, he came back with three nearly new water cannons.’ Mr S suspects that

The race to be the next Tory leader is underway. Conservative Party members will decide between Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom after Michael Gove was knocked out in the second round of voting. But which Conservative MPs are backing who? Theresa May (160): Michael Fallon Patrick McLoughlin Chris Grayling Nicholas Soames Guto Bebb Alan Mak Gavin Williamson George Hollingbery James Brokenshire Michael Ellis Julian Smith Mike Penning Mel Stride John Howell Sarah Wollaston Justine Greening Alan Duncan Brandon Lewis Margot James Phillip Lee Paul Beresford Steve Barclay James Cartlidge Flick Drummond Simon Kirby Alec Shelbrooke Dominic Grieve Julian Knight Chris Philp Sam Gyimah David Mundell Nicola Blackwood Maria Miller Therese Coffey

Westminster is at its fastest-moving and most unstable for years. Portcullis House and the tea rooms are buzzing with MPs discussing the demise of their leader and who they’ll back in the contest to replace him: and that goes for both main parties, though of course the golden rule of politics still applies, which is that no matter how colossal the Tory mess is, Labour’s will always be gargantuan in comparison. Today the Conservatives decided to move back the date by which their leader must be confirmed to 9 September, which will come as a relief to those Tories who were grumbling about being hauled back from the Mediterranean a

Westminster has a tendency to get ahead of itself. MPs want to discuss the aftermath of an event long before it has happened. They play never-ending games of ‘What if?’ At the moment, the political class cannot stop discussing, in great detail, what the post-EU referendum political landscape will look like. The speculation is, in and of itself, part of the political process. Much of the talk of the post-vote challenges facing David Cameron is intended to persuade him to pull his punches in the final weeks of the campaign. What no one disputes is that the Prime Minister will find governing even harder after 23 June. His majority is

I take exception when Theresa May tells the police they aren’t doing enough to tackle domestic abuse. ‘Victims of abuse are still being let down and reports are not being taken seriously enough,’ she said. ‘The right skills and commitments to protect the vulnerable are still not held by every police officer.’ It’s not the police that are letting victims of domestic violence down, but the government. Give the police the tools and they will get the job done. I served for nine years with the Nottinghamshire Constabulary between 1978 and 1987, a city known for its domestic violence. I saw first hand more than my fair share and often wish I

Theresa May knows all about the pitfalls of speaking at the Police Federation but she is also well aware of how the conference can provide the perfect platform for underlining her leadership credentials. Back in 2012, the Home Secretary was booed, laughed at and made to speak in front of a sign which described government budget cuts as ‘criminal’. Last year, she accused the Federation of ‘crying wolf’ about finances. But her most memorable address to officers gathered at the annual Police Federation came in 2014, when she left the stage in silence – having stunned those gathered with her criticism of the police. She said that some in the

Theresa May’s Investigatory Powers Bill is proving to be one of the most unpopular pieces of proposed legislation in this Parliament. While the Home Secretary has described the bill — which is currently in the committee stage — as ‘world leading’, a new campaign against it claims that all it will do is inspire dictators. But Mr S has word that a big name in politics has now offered his support for the Home Secretary’s bill. Yes, Minister writer Jonathan Lynn has passed onto Steerpike a letter dictated to him by none other than Sir Humphrey Appleby: A letter from Sir Humphrey Appleby to the Home Secretary Dear Home Secretary You are fortunate

One of the worst kept secrets at Westminster is that Theresa May has a distinctly low opinion of Boris Johnson. As Home Secretary she has had more dealings with the Mayor of London than most Cabinet ministers, and there is clearly no love lost between the pair. When she decided to turn down his request to deploy water canons in London she didn’t do so via a discrete written ministerial statement, but by a statement in the Commons which Johnson himself had to sit through. So, there’s a certain irony that May has adopted the EU referendum position that many of Boris’s allies thought he would. She is for In,

As CCHQ try to gather momentum behind Zac Goldsmith’s mayoral campaign, they are hoping that they can count on Tory supporters to do their bit. On top of leafleting, voters are being invited to take part in phone bank sessions at the Connect call centre. In the event that this alone would not be enough to entice would-be volunteers, they have a ‘voter communications intern’ sending out messages to increase attendance at the sessions. Alas word reaches Steerpike that the tone of the emails coming from ‘voter communications’ is going down like a lead balloon with a number of well-heeled supporters. A recent email from the intern about a recent caller connect session has been doing the rounds.

Lord Ashcroft is celebrating his 70th birthday at the Grosvenor House Hotel and Mr S is honoured to be one of the guests. William Hague, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Iain Duncan Smith, Penny Mordant and even Tom Watson are amongst the guests at perhaps the most lavish birthday party anyone will host in London this year. His 50th and 60th had people talking about them years afterwards, so no one expects his 70th to disappoint. There are actors hired to be paper boys, brandishing fake newspapers with headlines about the noble lord suing anyone who suggests he has turned 70. Ashcroft doesn’t seem to mind self-mockery either. Blofeld, the cat-stroking

Some ministers are in full-on campaign mode in the EU referendum, even as the normal business of Westminster continues. David Cameron continues to make visits around the country to make his case for Britain remaining in the European Union, while pro-Brexit ministers seem to be constantly giving speeches, interviews and penning angry op-eds about the paucity of the deal that the Prime Minister brought back from Europe. But one question that MPs have been asking increasingly over the past week or so is where on earth is Theresa May? The Home Secretary was one of the biggest catches for the ‘Remain’ side, particularly following her speech to the Tory conference

One of the marks of a good Home Secretary is a healthy wariness of those in authority who come begging for ever-greater powers. The former Labour Home Secretary Charles Clarke failed on that score. Just over a decade ago, the police persuaded him that they needed the freedom to lock up terror suspects for 90 days without trial. The rebels who defeated the Labour plan were right: ten years later no one has presented a case of a suspect who committed an act of terror because they had to be released before the 90 days were up. Theresa May, who has confronted the police unions with such admirable fortitude, is

Tory MPs believe they have sufficient numbers of would-be rebels to be able to amend the government’s Investigatory Powers Bill, which was published yesterday. Coffee House understands that there are already around 10 Tory MPs who would be happy to join forces with Labour to change key sections of the legislation on the authorisation of interception warrants, and on the level of detail on someone’s internet history that is available to intelligence services and the police. David Davis, the Tory MP who tends to lead the charge on civil liberties matters, is concerned that a number of the points set out by the joint committee that scrutinised the Bill when it

David Cameron’s two hour Cabinet meeting is now over, and the campaign has now started. His Cabinet members are now free to back (or oppose) Brexit, here is a list of who’s saying what. Out camp Michael Gove: The Justice Secretary is to back Out. Entering No.10 he informed reporters that he would be making a statement after Cabinet — only to head straight from Downing Street to Vote Leave’s HQ –where the Cabinet members who are backing Brexit have gathered. Gove has issued a statement — via Vote Leave — describing the decision as the ‘most difficult’ of his political life: ‘I don’t want to take anything away from