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
Before the vaccine roll out, it’s easy to forget now how much faith was placed in NHS Test and Trace. Announcing the new system in spring last year, the then Health Secretary Matt Hancock lauded contact tracing, claiming it would enable an NHS clinician and the person with the virus to work together ‘like detectives’ to identify
After seven and a half hours, the House of Commons debate on Afghanistan has finally concluded. Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab will not have fond memories of the day. Keir Starmer, in front of a packed House of Commons for the first time in his leadership, delivered a respectable performance, replete with jabs at the
If you’re an Afghan translator sheltering in a Kabul compound, life must seem pretty grim. The Taliban’s triumph has brought with it the restoration of sharia law – a throwback to when the movement ruled Afghanistan 20 years ago. The only difference between then and now seems to be their warriors’ concerted PR push, with journalists on the
The chamber is packed in the Commons today for the first time in more than a year as MPs flock in to debate the collapse of Afghanistan. While many hold doubts about the impact such a debate will have – with one backbencher confiding to Steerpike that it was nothing more than a chance for
There are few fixtures in British politics these days but Larry the cat is one of them. The Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office has become something of an ornament of the constitution, serving for a decade with distinction under three Prime Ministers and three Cabinet Secretaries. Residing in No. 10 Downing Street, the feline phenomenon is tasked
Matt Hancock’s hot girl summer continues unabated. The West Suffolk MP was last week snapped frolicking on the beaches of Cornwall, surfboard in hand, a month after being forced to resign for breaking Covid rules with advisor Gina Coladangelo. Now Steerpike can report that the 42-year-old has become an unlikely star on TikTok after recently
Once the British left fought for civil rights, social justice and the brotherhood of man. But now such high principles have been discarded in favour of less grandiose battles, judging by the shenanigans of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs. The group, established by Tony Benn’s supporters in 1982, boasts the backing of 33
Cabinet office minister Michael Gove has put his £2.25 million west London home on the market. The house, which has a black painted door just like the real No. 10 in Downing Street, is described by estate agents as a ‘big boned period house’ that ‘oozes style’. While Gove may not longer be part of the Notting
The papers have been full of speculation this month about rumours of a rift between Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson. The pair are reported to have clashed over travel quarantine rules amid speculation about Sunak’s designs on the top job. Such tensions are nothing new in Westminster politics of course – not for nothing has
The fall of Afghanistan has provoked much comment and soul-searching on both sides of the Atlantic. Along with the usual talking heads and thumping op-eds, the Taliban’s imminent victory has prompted some truly awful takes from some of the less distinguished figures in public life. Below is Mr Steerpike’s guide to some of the most tone-deaf,
There’s a grim mood in Westminster today. The images coming out of Kabul of desperate Afghans trying to board crowded flights out of the country have been juxtaposed in recent days with the Taliban assuming the trappings of power. Parliament here in London has been recalled to debate the situation on Wednesday though no one
After a year out of the headlines, John Bercow is back. The former Commons Speaker appeared on the Observer front page in June to announce his membership of the Labour party, eighteen months after retiring from Parliament. The onetime Tory right winger is still smarting over the government’s refusal to award him a peerage and thus
Last month Steerpike reported news that Tony Blair was plotting a return to Parliament. One of the many unwanted consequences of Covid was the former Prime Minister’s return to the spotlight, in part due to the work of his eponymous institute on issues like mass testing and vaccines. With polls suggesting that members of Starmer’s Labour now
After 20 years, 456 UK military deaths and £22 billion spent, Britain’s involvement in Afghanistan is over. With the last American forces leaving within a month, news out of the war-torn nation has been predictably grim, with the Taliban sweeping the country amid reports of executions, evacuations and troops switching sides. The situation is now so
Earlier this week Mr S brought you news of the latest interminable row splitting the Lib Dems: what to do about Vince Cable? The ex-leader has alienated his party’s youth wing with his comments about the Chinese Communist party and Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims. Cable has denied that genocide is taking place in Xinjiang and also defended the Hong Kong
The antics of Scottish Covid advisor Devi Sridhar have been one of the few bright spots throughout the pandemic. During the last fifteen months, Sridhar has become something of a pin-up girl to the SNP’s online army of so-called ‘cybernats.’ This has been due to her repeated jibes at the Westminster government, her demands for more power which
Since being formed in May 2018, the eco-warriors of Extinction Rebellion have done their best to endear themselves to commuters across the country. Known for their outlandish stunts, apocalyptic rhetoric and garish attire, members of the movement have deployed new forms of non-violent civi disobedience – much to the irritation of those whose roads and bridges they blockade.
It’s not just the hospitality sector struggling to recruit this summer. Steerpike has been amused to see a number of job postings appear on the ‘Working for an MP’ website in recent months for the exciting opportunity to work for the member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, Margaret Ferrier. Ferrier of course has been suspended from the
Tensions between Westminster and the devolved parliaments have been a constant feature of the Covid pandemic. Up in Edinburgh, the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has made full use of the crisis – hinting constantly at closing the English border and peppering her daily press conferences with pointed jibes at London. Such actions are of course merely
Earlier this week, Mr S brought you the BBC’s internal guide to talking about climate change and how to win audiences over to the ‘correct’ side of the issue. Now he can report that the Corporation’s commissars of language appear to have also redefined what it means to be gay. That redefinition comes in the BBC