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
The UK government has seemed flummoxed in recent days about how to best stop migrants and asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in inflatable dinghies – with ministers particularly concerned about the failure of the French authorities to prevent people traffickers organising journeys out of Calais. Immigration minister Chris Philp travelled to Paris this week
Yesterday afternoon, the ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s made an unusual contribution to the debate over how best to deal with migrants crossing the English Channel. In a series of tweets, the ice cream corporation blasted the Home Secretary Priti Patel, and advised her that the ‘real crisis is our lack of humanity for
Last Friday, Evgeny Lebedev, owner of the Independent and the Evening Standard, was celebrating his nomination for a peerage. But while the future looks bright for soon-to-be Lord Lebedev (son of the former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev), there is bad news for some of those who work for him. Today it was announced that the
Power struggles at the heart of government continued today, with a key member of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announcing his retirement. Palmerston the cat, Chief Mouser of the department since 2016, announced he was stepping down via the Foreign Office Twitter account. In a statement, Palmerston explained that working from home over lockdown had
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has shown an increasing willingness to venture into political debates lately. In June, during the Black Lives Matter protests, he suggested that portrayals of Jesus as white should be reconsidered in English churches. And ahead of the December election last year he accused Boris Johnson of pouring petrol on
It would be fair to say that Donald Trump did not have the most comfortable of times in an interview with Axios’ Jonathan Swan on Tuesday, when discussing the spread of coronavirus in the United States. After first remarking that the daily US death toll ‘is what it is’, the President was asked by Swan
It has been a long few months for the Prime Minister, who has seen both his personal and his party’s poll-ratings take a hit, as the government struggles with the coronavirus pandemic. However, there is one Tory whose popularity continues to buck the trend. Step forward Rishi Sunak. The Chancellor of the Exchequer appears to
Evgeny Lebedev, owner of the Independent and the Evening Standard – and son of the former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev – has been nominated for a peerage by Boris Johnson today. The appointment has certainly raised eyebrows in Westminster, and perhaps suggests that Boris will be hoping for slightly more positive press in the tycoon’s papers
In last year’s Conservative leadership contest, Boris Johnson offered a hint of the style of management he would bring to the office of Prime Minister when he said his favourite moment in a film was the ‘multiple retribution scene in The Godfather’. Since then, Johnson and his team have confirmed in their actions that they are a
Another Labour leader, another role for Lord Kerslake. The former head of the civil service has been appointed to lead a review into the Labour party’s organisational structure. Bearded Bob has been charged with transforming Labour into a more ‘agile, cohesive and purposeful’ organisation to ensure the party can ‘fight and win the next general election in 2024’,
This morning, the Guardian published a column by Owen Jones, discussing the recent antisemitic tirade of the grime artist Wiley, who has since been suspended from Twitter and banned from Facebook. The column, headlined ‘I joined the Twitter boycott – but racism on social media is just the tip of the iceberg’ condemned Wiley’s remarks,
Much of Westminster is now off for the summer, but it seems someone forgot to tell the noble lords of the upper chamber. Earlier this afternoon, the Labour peer Lord Rooker took aim at the PM, accusing the Tories of taking suspect Russian donations. Lord Rooker had initially asked about UK-Russian trade following the release
Poor Grant Shapps. Having hopped on a flight to Spain on Saturday morning, the transport secretary discovered that his family’s holiday hotspot would be placed on the government’s Covid quarantine list from midnight. Shapps tells the Sun that he has spent the last 48 hours of his summer hols locked in emergency calls with industry bods and transport
Who would have thought a Prime Minister that once railed against the ‘continuing creep of the nanny state’ would be the one to launch a war on fat? Boris Johnson spent much of his journalistic life before No. 10 criticising the paternalistic instincts of policymakers. Yet now he is promising new laws to help ‘reduce the temptations that
Given this year’s Tokyo games had to be called off because of the Covid pandemic, you would think those sitting around at Olympic HQ might have a bit of spare time to brush up on their history. Judging by the official Olympic Twitter account, it would seem not. Some social media whizz-kid decided to put together an
Usually, MPs think debate is quite an important part of their job description – after all, the entire purpose of the House of Commons is to pit the opposition against the government of the day, to scrutinise their decisions, and in doing so make better policy. That appears to have passed the Labour MP and Corbyn
Last month, the New York Times published an opinion piece by the US senator, Tom Cotton, calling for the army to be used to quell rioters during the Black Lives Matter protests. Despite this proposition being supported by 52 per cent of Americans, the paper’s staff were not happy about its publication, and many publicly
Who would have thought that a man worth a reported £3 million would need a donation page? Apparently, his supporters do. After suggestions that Panorama journalist John Ware could take legal action against the former Labour leader, Corbynites have taken it upon themselves to set up a fund to help Jeremy in case of a legal dispute. The
#BorisFarewellTour. That’s the hashtag that has been trending on Twitter all morning as the Prime Minister headed north of the border to try and salvage the Union. His journey around Scotland began this morning in the Northern Isles of Orkney to a less than enthusiastic response. So how does a leader go about a tour
As MPs head home for the holidays, Keir Starmer goes into the recess having put clear water between himself and his predecessor. As well as apologising to anti-Semitism whistleblowers, Starmer declared at Prime Minister’s Questions that the party was under ‘new management’. That management appears to be landing well with voters – with Starmer leading over Boris