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 been a busy few months for Keir Starmer. Following the Hartlepool by-election disaster, the Labour leader opted to reshuffle his team and bring in a string of new signing. Out went old faces like Ben Nunn and in came, err, even older faces from the Blair years such as Sam White, Deborah Mattinson and
Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford is widely regarded as having had a good pandemic. Re-elected in May with an increased Labour representation in the Senedd, the member for Cardiff West has earned plaudits for his un-showy style of leadership. Still, Mr S can’t help but wonder how Drakeford would fare if his gaffes were treated in the
The SW1 party season is currently in full swing. Ahead of The Spectator’s own shindig last night, Mr S hopped in a cab over to the sumptuous surroundings of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opening up for the first time after a two-year £60 million renovation. Laughter, music and the popping of champagne corks echoed
With recess in session and MPs packing bags, Steerpike was delighted to receive a list of what MPs are recommending for their summer hols. The guide – put together by the Publishers Association – contained some fairly predictable suggestions: vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi chose Matt Ridley’s How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom while Nick Thomas
It’s final term day in the Commons as MPs prepare to break for summer recess. Traditionally the last day before recess sees a debate held in which MPs can speak on any subject they choose. A hapless minister has to field a huge range of subjects, and usually ends up promising that a ministerial colleague will
Handbags last night at the Kensington and Chelsea council meeting. A motion on sexual assault and harassment prompted an extraordinary moment when Tory councillor Janet Evans took to the stand to criticise her Labour opponents for a lack of initiative in tackling such issues. Evans, who was born in America but has lived in the
Boris Johnson’s announcement on Monday that Covid passports could be introduced for mass events from September did not got down well with Tory MPs. At least 42 of them have signed a cross-party Big Brother Watch declaration against ‘Covid status certification to deny individuals access to general services, businesses or jobs’ in recent months, with Labour’s decision
The wine was flowing at last night’s Policy Exchange summer soirée as attendees unburdened themselves of the stresses of the past eighteen months. Party season is at full swing at present but the great and the (not so) good of SW1 were all present to pay tribute at the court of the ‘most powerful Dean in
The government’s flagship Animal Sentience Bill is (slowly) making its way through parliament, with Monday afternoon seeing the Defra select committee take evidence from a range of experts. Steerpike has covered the proposed legislation extensively in recent months, detailing the concerns of peers about its plans to create a powerful Animal Sentience Committee which would judge the effect
The public’s willingness to back more authoritarian measures has been a constant feature throughout the pandemic. Poll after poll for the past 17 months has suggested strong support for tough restrictions, sanctions, deterrents and lockdowns – perhaps not a surprise in a country where a third of voters backed the use of live ammunition against the 2011
In a fresh bid to secure privacy for himself and his family, Prince Harry has announced this week that he is publishing his ‘intimate and heartfelt’ memoirs at the age of 36. The book – ghost-written by JR Moehringer, another of those dastardly journalists – will be published by Penguin Random House late next year
After eight months of confining his thoughts to Substack and Twitter, tonight Dom Cummings went mainstream. His first television interview with Laura Kuenssberg laid bare the tensions that exited throughout Boris Johnson’s first year in government and his growing discontent with how the Prime Minister runs his government. Steerpike has already covered Dom’s role in
Two Corbyns descended on Downing Street today as Westminster was treated to a family reunion. The first, the better-known Jeremy, was there to hand in a petition with nurses and MPs calling for a 15 per cent pay rise for health workers. The second was older sibling Piers, the ever-eccentric disseminator of anti-vaccine materials, who earlier in
A spectre is haunting Britain: the spectre of the ‘pingdemic.’ With Covid cases on the uptick, it is no surprise that more than 500,000 people in England and Wales were ‘pinged’ by the NHS test and trace app in the week to 7 July, up 46 per cent on the previous week. Iceland and Greene King are among the
For a man who professes to despise the media, Dominic Cummings is certainly adept at courting it. The former No 10 chief special adviser has given his first, long-awaited interview since storming out of Downing Street some eight months ago. In an hour long grilling with Laura Kuenssberg which will air tonight, Cummings will set
And so after months of debate and disagreement, at last the government has today revealed vaccine passports will be introduced in nightclubs and large events from the end of September. This afternoon vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi told the House of Commons that a negative Covid test will not be sufficient; instead, only two vaccinations will do.
It was 60 years this week since the first Prime Ministers’ Questions took place. What began as a sedate affair under Harold Macmillan has now become the centrepiece of the weekly parliamentary calendar, beginning at 12 p.m. every Wednesday afternoon. Over the years there have been numerous zingers, gaffes, probing questions and shameless defences, contributing to the
It’s been a long pandemic for young people – who’ve had their lives put on hold to prevent the spread of a disease which mainly affects the elderly. So one can certainly sympathise with those wanting to let their hair down as Covid restrictions were lifted last night for ‘freedom day’. That certainly seemed the
Following yesterday’s news that health secretary Sajid Javid had tested positive for Covid, it seemed only a matter of time before other cabinet ministers were similarly forced to self-isolate. Javid had a ‘lengthy’ meeting with Boris Johnson on Friday afternoon, just hours before his symptoms developed. So, surely the Prime Minister will be expected to
As the government prepares to lift nearly all legal Covid restrictions on Monday, ministers are at pains to emphasise that the pandemic is not over. A helpful reminder can be found in the news that Sajid Javid has today tested positive. In a video posted on Twitter, the Health Secretary — who is double jabbed
