Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike
It’s just ten days to go before COP26, the green gathering described by Ed Miliband as ‘the most consequential summit that has ever taken place anywhere in the world.’ The eco-equivalent of Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam is set to begin in Glasgow next Sunday, with delegates jetting in from across the globe to hobnob, hector, hum and haw at the UN’s climate
Oh dear. It was less than six months ago that Mr S was remarking on the number of onetime George Osborne acolytes now ensconced at the Evening Standard . But the winds of change now appear to be blowing through the corridors of Northcliffe House as owner Lord Lebedev has today unceremoniously axed the paper’s editor Emily Sheffield after just 15
Is it time for another lockdown? Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, is urging ministers to implement sweeping ‘plan B’ winter measures, saying that immediate action is required to prevent the NHS ‘stumbling into a crisis’ arguing that ‘we should try to achieve the kind of national mobilisation that we achieved in
Throughout the uncertain days of the pandemic, a few things have remained constant: Devi Sridhar will tweet too much, Sadiq Khan will flip-flop a lot and MPs will, once again, vote to extend the draconian provisions of the Coronavirus Act. The emergency legislation was rammed through Parliament in March 2020 to give the government emergency powers to limit
The world is gearing up for COP26, the UN’s climate change conference in Glasgow, due to be held in less than a fortnight’s time. Ahead of the eco-jamboree, ministers and mandarins have been busily telling the rest of us how to live, with the Treasury today unveiling the truth about how much going green will cost:
The ship of state continues to run aground in Scotland, judging by the latest transport related fiasco to embroil Nicola Sturgeon’s government. Not content with refusing Westminster’s cash to fix his roads and admitting he has ‘no idea’ why rail unions are striking, SNP transport minister Graeme Dey has extended his incompetence beyond the boundaries of land. The
Rob Roberts has had an eventful time since being chosen by the good people of Delyn to represent them in Parliament in 2019. In the past fifteen months he has been the subject of allegations of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct made against him by not one, but two, ex parliamentary staffers. Stripped of his party whip
Did the Johnson clan breach lockdown rules last December? That’s the question being asked in Westminster today after a profile in Harper’s Magazine of Carrie Johnson reported that her close friend Nimco Ali spent Christmas in 10 Downing Street with the couple, despite pandemic restrictions on holiday gatherings. At the time, London was under Tier 4 Covid rules
This afternoon MPs are paying tribute to Sir David Amess, the long-serving parliamentarian who was murdered on Friday. It began with a minute’s silence, impeccably observed, in a chamber packed with members from across the House. The Speaker of the Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, told MPs that he was ‘sorry the House is returning in such
Once the popularity of politicians was judged by how many babies they were asked to kiss – now it’s by how many kids are named after them. The Office for National Statistics has today revealed the most popular baby names for 2020, with Oliver and Olivia remaining the most popular names for boys and girls in England
Following the murder of Sir David Amess on Friday, there has been much discussion about the level of security for MPs and their staff. Amess was the second parliamentarian to be murdered in five years while out meeting constituents, following the assassination of Jo Cox in 2016, the attack on Stephen Timms MP in 2010 and the
As every pub-bore politico knows, betting markets tend to be more reliable indicators of election outcomes than the pundits and even the polls. That is why the latest odds on America’s 2024 presidential elections strike Mr S as worth noting. Donald J. Trump yesterday become favourite on Betfair to be the 2024 Presidential winner, with
It’s not just Glasgow currently overrun with rubbish. Down in Brighton, the right-on Green brigade there have found themselves in something of a bin-related disaster following industrial action by local refuse collectors. Streets are now overflowing with dozens of black sacks, with rats being spotted and horrendous smells reported as garbage piles up by the kerb.
Oh dear. Today sees the resumption of hearings by a joint committee of MPs and peers into the Online Safety Bill to update regulate of social media companies. And, with exquisite timing, one of those Silicon Valley giants has created something of an online storm by censoring one of the most respected backbenchers in the House
William Hague was only 16 when he burst onto the political scene with his famous conference speech. But even the future Tory party leader would seem like a veritable grandfather compared to those in youth politics these days. For now the Liberal Democrats have given the green light to a 12-year-old to run in their
Poor Dom Raab. First he lost the Foreign Office and now he has to share his house with Liz Truss – the woman who replaced him in last month’s reshuffle. The demoted minister has had a torrid few months, with the fall of Kabul, his Whitehall office briefing against him and then an enforced move to
Jolyon Maugham is a man of many talents. He’s a talented tax barrister, who helped enrich various millionaires via celebrity tax dodge film schemes. He’s a serial joiner of political causes, boasting more parties than Hugh Hefner though, sadly, with far less joy. And, of course, he is the remain-supporting QC who ended up on the front page
Broadcasting, writing, life-coaching and speech-making: there seems to be no end to the talents of Harry and Meghan. But now the Sussexes have announced their hitherto unknown ambition to be ‘ethical bankers’, alongside their existing gigs as occasional podcasters, exiled royals and infrequent guests on various Oprah shows. With all their talk of ‘finding freedom’ abroad,
For the past month Britain’s roads have been held hostage by Insulate Britain (IB), the direct-action group spun out of Extinction Rebellion (XR). The favoured tactic of the eco-warriors is to initiate roadblocks at which activists glue themselves to roads to make them inaccessible to vehicles. The device has inspired much anger among motorists, with
What with an energy crisis, a fuel crisis and a food crisis, you would think MPs have enough on their plates. But word reaches Mr S that our long-suffering elected representatives have now been hit by a shortage of crucial goods as the supply chain chaos resonates in the halls of Westminster. Ministers used to working late