Steerpike

The House of Commons returns next week – and not a moment too soon for some in government. After a summer in which Nigel Farage has dominated the airwaves, Labour is keen to try and move the news agenda onto their preferred choice of subject. With rumours swirling about a reshuffle, No. 10 will be keen to try and promote some of the shiny new Starmtroopers elected last year. After 12 months of learning the ropes, many are keen to get their hands on a red box. But not all in parliament are happy with how proceedings are being conducted. In recent months, Mr S has heard cross-party grumblings about the House of Commons Table Office. The men and women who work here are tasked with ensuring parliamentary questions are in shape-shape order.

'Tory gain!' is a cry heard less and less frequently these days. But in a rare piece of good news for the current HM Opposition, Tory MP George Freeman has today been cleared of ‘Cash for Questions’ accusations by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. The former Science Minister referred himself to the watchdog back in June following reporting by the Sunday Times. Always good to try and get ahead of the story... The paper alleged that Freeman inquired to a company that paid him £5,000 per month as an advisor 'what to ask about' in Parliament and to 'help him get the wording right.' But the Standards Commissioner gave Freeman the all clear, concluding there were no grounds for a formal investigation. Result!

Power, said Henry Kissinger, is the ultimate aphrodisiac – but it also seems to improve your property prospects too. Angela Rayner is back in the headlines, having just purchased a new £800,000 property in Hove. She is under fire amid questions about her two residences: a grace and favour flat in Admiralty House and her constituency home in Ashton-under-Lyme. The Deputy Prime Minister has declared the latter to be her primary residence. This means that the council tax on her SW1 base is paid for by the British taxpayer to the tune of £2,034 a year. Worse still, the cost is set to rise to £4,068 due to a new premium on second homes, a policy she developed. As Sir Humphrey might opine, a ‘sub-optimal’ look to say the least... The political backlash so far has been mixed.

The new party of the left has got off to a pretty shaky start. It doesn't have a proper name, its co-leaders (Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana) barely get along and already left-wing activists are trying to oust party strategists. But no matter: the group is ploughing ahead and will, it transpires, be launching its first Scottish branch next month. How very interesting… Your Party – which is not the official name of the group, Sultana fumed on social media – will launch a Scottish branch in Glasgow next month, with an assembly to take place on 5 September. In a statement, the group has said: Glaswegians are champing at the bit for change. We are ready to play our part in building a new democracy from the grassroots up.

Migrant hotels have been the talk of the week after the High Court granted Epping Forest district council a temporary injunction on Tuesday – meaning the asylum seeker residents of Essex's Bell Hotel must be moved within 24 days. It's a landmark ruling that will have significant ramifications for the rest of the country – with just under 30 other councils considering similar legal action. Talk about getting the ball rolling… Politicians have been quick to make use of the situation for political point scoring, with shadow home secretary Chris Philp attacking Labour for ‘tearing up the deterrents the Conservatives put in place’.

Scottish Labour MSP Colin Smyth has been arrested and charged in connection with the possession of indecent images. The 52-year-old politician – who has represented the South Scotland constituency for a decade – was taken into custody at a Dumfries property earlier this month and a police investigation has been launched. The Scottish Labour party suspended Smyth after he was charged, with the politician now an independent MSP. A party spokesperson said: The whip has been removed from Colin Smyth MSP, pending an investigation. We cannot comment further on this matter while the investigation is ongoing. A Police Scotland spokesperson added: On Tuesday, August 5, 2025, officers executed a warrant at a property on Marchfield Avenue, Dumfries.

Asylum seekers will be removed from the Bell Hotel in Essex after Epping Forest district council was granted a temporary injunction by the High Court. The legal action comes after a series of protestors gathered outside the venue after a resident was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. The council's lawyers claimed that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules, given the site is not being used for its intended purpose. The barristers argued that the situation 'could not be much worse', with Philip Coppel KC adding: 'There has been what can be described as an increase in community tension, the catalyst of which has been the use of the Bell Hotel to place asylum seekers'.

Back to the UK's bloated civil service. As if the government didn't have enough on its plate trying to slash Whitehall red tape, the number of sick days taken by civil servants won't help Sir Keir Starmer's army pick up the pace on progress. Civil servant absences are on track to reach a record high – and the Foreign Office is no exception to the trend. Mr S can reveal the number of sick days taken by FCDO mandarins shot up by more than 50 per cent in the financial year ending March 2024 compared to the previous year – while the number of days lost to mental health issues soared by more than three-quarters.