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
Paul Dacre, the former editor of the Daily Mail, has reportedly been asked by the Prime Minister to chair the broadcasting regulator Ofcom. This is the same Paul Dacre who, when put in charge of the Press Complaints Commission, Boris Johnson compared to ‘putting the Boston Strangler in charge of the code of practice for
As the government’s 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants came into force this week, Mr. Steerpike can’t imagine that the outcome is exactly what No.10 were hoping for. Multiple videos on social media show pub dwellers being thrown onto the streets at 10pm, only to congregate together outside and pack onto public transport. Members of
The National Trust has been making headlines of late over its decision to dip a toe into woke waters. As well as a previous drive for rainbow lanyards and trading antique furniture for beanbags, they recently came up with a dossier listing the country pads of Winston Churchill, Rudyard Kipling and William Wordsworth as properties with connections to ‘colonialism and
Gasps abounded in the Commons this afternoon after a testy exchange between Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and his Labour opposite number. A clearly riled Wallace decided that he had had enough of John Healey’s interventions during the second reading of his bill to limit prosecutions of servicemen and women. The cabinet minister told the House:
As the BBC’s new director general Tim Davie works to change the perception of the BBC – with social media crackdown and an alleged plan to tackle left wing comedy bias – there seems to be an acceptance across the corporation that they need to work harder to reflect modern day Britain. So, it was perhaps bad timing
With the country facing a possible second wave and the prospect of further restrictions to our daily lives, Labour’s Kate Green has an entirely different train of thought. The shadow education secretary wondered how best to exploit the coronavirus for political gain. Speaking at a Labour Connected event, Green said: ‘I think we should use the opportunity,
Is Tory mayoral hopeful Shaun Bailey a fan of renaming things or not? It’s hard to tell. When London mayor Sadiq Khan announced a commission to review statues, road names and plaques, Bailey was furious: But now it seems he has changed his tune, at least when it comes to the names of stations. Bailey
Actor Alan Cumming used an interview over the weekend to talk about the difficulty of being a Scot in London. Cumming, who is best known for appearing in TV show The Good Wife, said Scots like himself faced an ‘insidious and subliminal racism’ in the capital. He said: ‘I feel…assumptions are made about your intelligence, your background,
It would be fair to say that Piers Morgan was one of the top cheerleaders for caution during our initial response to coronavirus. Since March he has consistently urged his Good Morning Britain viewers and social media followers to restrict their daily activities to help fight the virus. On Sunday he tweeted in support of cancelling Christmas in
This afternoon, leading human-rights lawyer Amal Clooney (and wife of George) handed in her resignation to the government. Clooney has been a UK special envoy for media freedom since July last year, when she promised to use her position to stick up for embattled and persecuted journalists around the world. Her relationship with the UK
Shots fired. The ‘rule of six’ has divided opinion in Westminster and beyond. While Health Secretary Matt Hancock championed the limit on group gatherings as the safest option – several of his Cabinet colleagues took the view that it was a step too far. Not that this has stopped ministers since taking to the airwaves to wax lyrical
Cancel culture has come for Belfast’s finest son. Ulster singer-songwriter Van Morrison, consociationally worshipped god of Norn Irn dad rock, is under fire for a trio of new, anti-lockdown songs. One particularly on-the-nose number is No More Lockdown, which contains the lyrics: ‘No more lockdown No more government overreachNo more fascist bullies Disturbing our peace.No
Chris Grayling recently went down in history as the one of the only men able to lose a rigged election. The former Transport Secretary had been lined up by No. 10 to chair the intelligence and security committee, but ended up being rejected by his fellow committee members when his Tory colleague, Julian Lewis, decided to
Robert Buckland was touring the Westminster studios this morning, batting away questions over the Internal Market Bill and touting his new sentencing white paper. What he probably wasn’t expecting was yet another flurry of questions about a story that’s now more than two weeks old. Cue Kay Burley and her seemingly never-ending obsession with Tony Abbott,
Lots of excitement in Westminster circles this morning over the four ‘senior American congressmen’ who have written a stern letter to Boris Johnson wading into the latest row over the Withdrawal Agreement and Ireland. The four US lawmakers have warned that a US-UK trade deal would be imperilled by any action the government might take
It’s that time of year again. It gets darker sooner, the leaves are falling off the trees and a tell-all book has been published. ‘A diary of an MPs wife: inside and outside power’ is Hugo Swire’s wife Sasha’s account of life as a member of the Cameron set. The book – of which excerpts
Oh dear. It seems the whips failed to assuage Charles Walker, vice chair of the influential 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives. The well-respected Brexiteer told of his frustration over Covid restrictions, as well as his concern over the controversial Internal Market Bill. And Walker certainly didn’t pull his punches. He clearly wanted to send a message when
Fancy an ice-cream anyone? While defending his Internal Market Bill, Boris Johnson chose to make what appeared to be a pointed dig at one of the Bill’s opponents. Describing the possibility of a tariff border down the Irish sea, Johnson provided MPs with a handful of helpful examples. He explained that the Withdrawal Agreement risked: Tariffs
Geoffrey Cox has been causing the government a bit of trouble of late. Ahead of votes on Boris Johnson’s internal market bill, the former attorney general has published an article in The Times on why he can’t vote for it – accusing the Prime Minister of doing ‘unconscionable’ damage to Britain’s international reputation through his proposals to break international
When Geoffrey Cox was Theresa May’s Attorney General it was his refusal to go give his blessing to her Brexit deal that ensured her party would not vote for it. His reputation as a man with unbending principles meant many MPs simply took his word for it: if No10 said one thing and Cox said
