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
Well, well, well. It now transpires that Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party has spent thousands of pounds on media training for its ministers since winning the July election – yet, despite this, senior politicians have still managed to make a series of rather embarrassing gaffes. Hardly money well spent, eh? Starmer’s army spent almost £17,000
In some rather strange news this festive season, it transpires that the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) has banned John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men from being studied at GCSE level in Wales. The news comes amid concerns about the use of racist language in the novel, with the move to come into force from
It’s been a pretty good year for Nigel Farage. At the beginning of 2024, he was out of politics and fresh out of the jungle, having returned from I’m A Celeb… with no imminent plans of a comeback. Now, fast forward 12 months, he is an MP, party leader and beating Keir Starmer as a more
Another day and another thumping defeat for Keir Starmer. This time, it’s for one of three seats in the previously safe ward of Brockmoor and Pensnett in Dudley. Labour previously won here in July with almost 64 per cent of the vote. But, this morning, it transpires that they have now slumped to third in
Uh oh. Less than 24 hours after Peter Mandelson was appointed the next UK ambassador to Washington, Donald Trump’s team are kicking up a fuss. Now Chris LaCivita has taken to Twitter to blast the new ambassador and Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government for the decision. Writing on the social media platform, LaCivita – who
Well, well, well. The political peerages list is finally here and the nominations from Sir Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Sir Ed Davey have been formally approved by King Charles III. The list includes some rather interesting names – including the Spectator’s Toby Young, Liz Truss’s former deputy prime minister Thérèse Coffey and despite her
Parliament may be in recess, but Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government still can’t catch a break. The Prime Minister is facing further allegations of cronyism after a pro-Labour lobbyist was appointed to a top government advisory job. Dear, oh dear… Iain Anderson, a prominent businessman who defected to Labour from the Tories in 2023, has
Is there room for more than one furry feline in Whitehall? Initially brought into quell the government’s mouse problem, the various departmental cats have over the years become a brand in themselves – with one of the longest serving being No. 10’s Larry the cat. Yet since Labour got into power, Larry has been the
When it rains for Sir Keir Starmer, it pours. The Prime Minister is now facing ridicule today after making a rather, um, strange pronouncement at this afternoon’s liaison committee. At Sir Keir’s first appearance before the group, he faced questions everything from public services, foreign affairs and the economy. But one of his answers has
The Labour drama just never seems to stop. All eyes are now on Tulip Siddiq after the Daily Mail revealed the Labour minister was named in an embezzlement probe. It has been reported that Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission has launched an investigation into the lefty MP, her mother and her aunt over claims the family embezzled
To Scotland, where the focus is back on Operation Branchform. It now transpires that the late former first minister Alex Salmond met and spoke with police in the probe into the SNP’s funds and finances – which saw three senior nationalists arrested and Nicola Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell charged with embezzlement. How interesting… It has
Christmas may be just around the corner, but not everyone is in festive spirits quite yet. The mood has certainly soured among the WASPI women campaigning for government compensation over changes to the state pension age. On Tuesday, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced that no payouts would be forthcoming, with costs of up
Jetting off on one of his (many) trips abroad last month, Keir Starmer was snapped on his plane sipping from an intriguing choice of mug. The Labour leader seems to favour a specially produced cup emblazoned with the number ’10’ – just in case he, er, forgets that he is actually the Prime Minister, again.
The talk in Westminster is how much Elon Musk is going to give to Reform. But might the Tories might be a better bet for the Tesla billionaire? On this morning’s media round, Andrew Griffith – the Shadow Business Secretary – made his pitch to the X owner, praising him as an ‘accomplished’ businessman and
Nigel Farage’s party has been having a rather good time of it lately, after winning its first five seats in the July election and continuing to gather support across the country. But north of the border, Reform has found itself in a spot of bother after its party organiser in Scotland was found to have
As if Starmer’s Labour government hasn’t had enough bad news lately, it now transpires that Mauritius has rejected the Sir Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal. Mauritian PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam has told his parliamentarians that the agreement was just not good enough and is now calling for improvements. Back to the drawing board… Speaking to his
Well, well, well. It has now emerged that the SNP government will ban WhatsApp on official devices in the wake of the Covid Inquiry. The announcement from the SNP’s deputy first minister Kate Forbes came today after the publication of an external review into the use of mobile messaging apps on government devices. ‘The use
Another day, another drama. Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has finally confirmed that the WASPI women will not receive pension compensation. The decision comes after women born in the 1950s began campaigning to be reimbursed for a previous rise in the state pension age, with activists claiming millions had not been adequately informed
Well, well, well. It now transpires that hapless Humza Yousaf will step down as an MSP at the next Holyrood election, with the former first minister of Scotland making the announcement this morning. It comes after Yousaf spent a year in the top job before being ousted in April this year when he rather abruptly
Another day, another bit of bad news for Sir Keir Starmer. A new Ipsos poll carried out between 27 November and 4 December has revealed that dissatisfaction with the Labour leader has reached a staggering 61 per cent – his worst rating as leader of the lefty lot. Good heavens… It’s not just Sir Keir
