Steerpike

The human race, controlled by a soulless, robotic overlord. It is the stuff of countless sci-fi dystopias – but here in Britain, it is just another day of living under Keir Starmer's government. Our charisma-free premier is not exactly known for his love of humanity: just look at his pre-election Guardian interview in which he said he did not have a favourite book or poem, did not know if he was an introvert or extrovert and claimed to have never had a childhood fear. So after 16 months of Sir Keir's reign of error, it is no surprise that half the public now favour switching to a similarly heartless, albeit competent, regime. No, not the Tories – but rather a hypothetical alternative reality in which the British state was run by artificial intelligence.

To Ayrshire, where a former Tory councillor who quit the party in July has defected to Reform UK. North Ayrshire councillor Todd Ferguson has made the leap to Nigel Farage's party, following in the footsteps of multiple independent and former Conservative councillors across Scotland. The blow is even more painful for Scottish Tory party leader Russell Findlay as he is a regional MSP for the area. Another one bites the dust… Ferguson, who has been a councillor since 2017, quit the Conservative party in summer and has sat as independent – until now. He has become the third Reform councillor on North Ayrshire council, alongside Matthew McLean and Stewart Ferguson.

On Sunday, it is one year since Kemi Badenoch was elected Tory leader. The anniversary is expected to pass with little in the way of fanfare – though her supporters were cheered by a strong performance at PMQs on Wednesday. One bright spot of her reign has been a healthy return on the donations’ front. Fundraisers have been quick to tout the Tories’ record in this area, compared to both Labour and Reform UK. The Budget next month should only help party efforts… Still, will all that be enough to keep the party in their swanky Westminster base? Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) has been run out of Matthew Parker Street since the days of David Cameron. But with the lease set to end next year, Steerpike hears increasing chatter from staff about an imminent move away.

To central London, where the Spectator's Parliamentarian Awards are taking place. There were plenty of jibes at Labour from host James Cleverly and a number of Reform digs from politicians of all stripes – but Mr S noticed a rather scathing dig from new Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell at the party leadership. The gloves are coming off… The new deputy leader of the Labour party took to the stage – the disruptor of the year, as nominated by the Spectator – to thank, er, Sir Keir Starmer's campaign team. 'I'm obviously collecting this ward on behalf of a man because I am a proxy for a man, obviously, in this contest,' she remarked crisply.

In 2025, Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government has had a tough time. From U-turns to freebie fiascos to by-election losses the party of government has been having a pretty rough ride. New Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, however, won the audience with a pithy speech that was almost just rivalled by Ed Miliband. You can't say they don't try, eh?  It was a cross-party affair, with Liberal Democrats, Reform MPs and even the Greens seeing awards coming their way. Guest of honour James Cleverly gave a fantastic performance and insisted that it was not him but, er, Robert Jenrick, that is angling for a leadership challenge.

To Barnet, where a council by-election will take place on Thursday. Former councillor Joshua Conway lost his Hendon ward seat after a change of jobs made him ineligible to serve on the council. Six candidates are in the running for the council seat – but the contest is shaping up to be a two-horse race between the Conservatives and Reform. But Mr S has noticed some rather curious goings-on in the former Tory safe seat… It would appear that the Conservatives are funnelling resource after resource into the council by-election campaign in the form of, er, very senior politicians.

There's less than a month until Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveils her autumn budget and speculation is abounding about what taxes will make the cut. This morning, Housing Secretary Steve Reed came under pressure on LBC, as interviewer Nick Ferrari grilled him on the introduction of a possible mansion tax. Anxious homeowners will not be reassured by Reed's response – after the Labour man refused four times to rule out a mansion tax. How curious… There have been suggestions that that the Chancellor could impose a 1 per cent tax on the portion of property values over £2 million. Those owning homes worth £3 million would pay £10,000 a year, with £4 million properties giving rise to a tax of £20,000 a year and so on.