Westminster wars...

SUNDay mornings will never be the same after andrew Neil steps down from the Sunday Politics to be replaced by Sarah Smith. the daughter of former Labour leader John Smith is canny and easy on the eye. But replacing one of the BBC’s few truly great political brains with Sarah is like substituting Stephen hawking with holly Willoughby. UNITE union boss Len McCluskey is backing Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry to take over from Corbyn. So we’d have a Labour leader who sneers at the working class . . . she wouldn’t be the first.

IN a desperate bid to make her seem more human before the coming election, angela Merkel has released a cookbook. her pal Dave should have tried it when he was at No 10 — starting with eton mess and finishing with humble pie.