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
Few events are as eagerly anticipated in Scotland as the release of a bombshell new poll. Unionists and nationalists eagerly refresh their Twitter feeds at the anointed hour, awaiting to praise or castigate the company in question for its latest figures on the all important question of independence. For both sides know the figures will
The axing of televised lobby briefings on Tuesday has meant a new role for Boris Johnson’s press secretary Allegra Stratton. Now recast as the government’s spokeswoman for the forthcoming COP26 summit in Glasgow, it will be her job to front communications both strategically and publicly in the lead up to the event in November. The climate
When Boris Johnson announced he was running to be Tory leader in July 2019, few were more vociferous in their support than Johnny Mercer. The former Royal Artillery captain claimed at the time that ‘Boris is the man of the moment’ and ‘a much deeper thinker than people assess him to be’, being rewarded with a
Labour has been making much of the issue of lobbying since the Greensill scandal broke last month, with Rachel Reeves calling for a ‘proper’ investigation ‘to rein in the lobbyists and lift standards in this great democracy.’ But attention has now turned to the opposition’s own frontbenchers– particularly in the House of Lords where both
Is Nigel Farage about to rebrand as a tech entrepreneur? Since quitting UK politics, the former Ukip leader has had a varied portfolio when it comes to new work. He has tried out broadcast journalism, Cameo (£75 a pop) and climate activism – as a spokesman for the green finance firm the Dutch Business Group
For a short time it seemed as if Jacinda Ardern, the popular premier of New Zealand, could do no wrong in the eyes of the British political establishment. The New Zealand PM was held up as the Platonic ideal of a liberal, centrist leader who had saved her country by locking down during the pandemic.
For years, the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins enjoyed the acclaim and approval heaped upon him by universities and institutes across the western world. Festooned with awards and lavished with honours, he rode the intellectual tidal wave of new atheism at its peak. But now the tide is out and with it Dawkins’ brand of free-spirited thinking too; the
At health questions in the House of Commons yesterday, Angus MP Dave Doogan popped up to compare the funding in health services either side of the border. Sporting a well groomed lockdown beard, the SNP man came out with a nice line of boilerplate party rhetoric: The Secretary of State knows that the SNP has committed
Sinoscepticism is on the rise in Parliament, with China’s controversial ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ increasingly being the subject of attention in the House of Lords. Down the corridor and across central lobby it appears no MPs are now willing to be linked with the scheme which ties Chinese infrastructure spending with increased influence. The All
Keir Starmer was out in Bath today campaigning ahead of the local elections. Unfortunately a quick stop by The Raven pub did not go as planned when the landlord Rod Humphris confronted him over the impact the Covid lockdown has had on his pub. The landlord, who recently featured in the local press attacking vaccine
Oneterm wonder Jared O’Mara had quite an exceptional two and a half years in Parliament. Having unseated former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg in June 2017, the Labour MP was the first autistic MP elected to the Commons but quickly found himself being suspended for racist, homophobic and misogynist comments posted prior to his election.
Poor Douglas Ross had a difficult outing on Radio 4’s Today show this morning, being asked repeatedly as to whether the prime minister will visit Scotland prior to Holyrood polling on May 6 next month. A squirming Ross argued: I’m not sure if he’s going to come up in Scotland in this campaign. He had
Oh dear. Four weeks after the government’s Sewell report on race relations was released, a group of United Nations experts has decided to weigh in, claiming that it attempts to ‘normalise white supremacy’ and could ‘fuel racism’ in the UK. According to a lengthy press release issued today, the UN Working Group of Experts on People
More than 24 hours after plans for a new ‘European Super League’ first leaked there appears to be no sign of the public anger abating. Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer and virtually every other member of the political establishment have now denounced the proposal which would not allow promotion or relegation to the new division, effectively
Leaked plans for a ‘European Super League’ of top football clubs have left fans feeling as sick as a parrot today, amid fears of the impact such a move would have on the beautiful game. Under the proposals, Europe’s leading teams such as Manchester United and Real Madrid would juggle their domestic leagues to sign with
As Westminster reels from Alan Duncan’s shocking revelations that he didn’t much like Boris and that he should have been in the cabinet (not that he cared) who will be next to publish their tell all book? With the watering holes of SW1 shut for most of the last twelve months, politicians have been forced
Ursula von der Leyen isn’t particularly keen on diplomatic protocol. Earlier this year, in a bid to get EU hands on British bound vaccines, the Commission announced its intention to implement a hard Northern Irish border — without bothering to tell either Dublin or Belfast. (Naturally, that fit of international irreverence was blamed on a Brussels subordinate). Then
It was just two days ago that Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was claiming in his country’s parliament that Britain was ‘facing a very serious third wave.’ But now cases in the country have overtaken those of its southern neighbour the USA, whose approach to the pandemic received widespread criticism prior to the vaccine roll out. Data from
It’s arguably been a good week for Labour, as the Tory party becomes more and more implicated in the Greensill lobbying scandal, which saw the former PM David Cameron ringing around ministers last year to secure emergency cash for the flailing financial firm. Labour leader Keir Starmer certainly seemed to enjoy the ongoing revelations about
Steerpike finally got his hands this week on a copy of Failures of State by the Sunday Times Insight duo Jonathan Calvert and George Arbuthnott about Britain’s experience of Covid. While not exactly a barrel of laughs, Mr S did enjoy one contribution from SAGE member Susan Michie, professor of health psychology at University College London and a Communist party