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
In a long, winding, and emotional speech in the Chamber this afternoon, John Bercow informed MPs that he would be resigning his position as Speaker of the House of Commons by 1 November. Bercow promised to either resign at the end of the parliamentary session if MPs backed the government’s plan for a general election,
As the Labour party currently decides whether it wants to fight a general election, many observers are still trying to work out (three years after the referendum) what the party’s actual Brexit policy is. Does Labour want to Remain? Does it want to fight a second referendum? And if there is a second referendum, what
On Tuesday, the former Conservative MP Rory Stewart won GQ’s Politician of the Year award. It was probably the best part of the week for Stewart, who has had the Conservative whip removed and been roundly mocked after posting a series of photographs on Twitter, in which his typical grinning selfie smile disappeared when he was next
Boris Johnson was dealt a bitter blow this morning. Not only did the Prime Minister suffer his first ministerial resignation, a mere 43 days in to his premiership, but it was his own brother Jo who wielded the dagger. The former universities minister, who signed up to Boris’s government in July, dramatically announced his resignation
Jeremy Corbyn backtracked on one of his core political messages yesterday, when he told Boris Johnson that he no longer wants a general election. The Labour leader is now briefing that his MPs will not vote for an election until a bill has been passed blocking a no-deal Brexit. Is this not quite the U-turn
In a dramatic move earlier this evening, the MP Phillip Lee crossed the House of Commons floor to join the Liberal Democrats, in protest at Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy. The MP, who represents Bracknell (a constituency that voted Leave in 2016), blasted the government in a statement for ‘using political manipulation, bullying and lies’ to
Dr Phillip Lee, the MP for Bracknell, has left the Conservative party to join the Liberal Democrats. In the middle of Boris Johnson’s statement to the House of Commons this afternoon, the ex-minister crossed the floor to sit beside the Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson. In a statement coinciding with his dramatic defection, Lee blasted
When Boris Johnson announced that Tory MPs who rebelled against the government this week to stop a no-deal Brexit would be deselected at the next election, the prime minister was clearly hoping that the raised stakes would deter at least some of his colleagues from rebelling. This morning though, it seems that the threat has
It’s all out war in the Conservative party this morning, after the former Tory Prime Minister John Major announced that he was joining a legal action (started by the Remain campaigner Gina Miller) which will argue that Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament was unlawful. In his statement Major grandly stated that: ‘I promised to that,
There were howls of outrage yesterday when Boris Johnson announced that he was calling for a Queen’s Speech on 14 October, and suspending parliament for several weeks beforehand. MPs, Remainer commentators and even the Speaker of the House of Commons chimed in to label the move a ‘constitutional outrage’, and accused the government of politicising
Last night, hundreds of people gathered in Parliament Square to vent their fury at Boris Johnson and his decision to prorogue parliament for several weeks in September. The crowd were in a raucous mood, but none were in finer spirits that the left-wing journalist Paul Mason. In a video published online, Mason could be seen (with
Boris Johnson announced this morning that he will attempt to schedule a Queen’s speech on 14 October, and will suspend parliament for several weeks in September to do so – cutting down the amount of time MPs have in parliament to prevent a no-deal Brexit. It’s entirely normal for a new government to schedule a
Boris Johnson’s plan to suspend Parliament is not going down well with MPs, not least among some of those on the Tory backbenchers. Dominic Grieve reacted furiously to the news. The Tory MP said the Prime Minister’s decision is ‘outrageous’ – and he threatened to help bring down the Tory Government, even if it means
Britain’s civil service is supposed to be the envy of the world, seamlessly executing the will of whichever government happens to occupy the offices of state. But Mr S wonders whether the reality can be rather different. Disgruntled civil servants have toppled more than one over-mighty minister. Others have admitted actively trying to undermine government
To the G7 summit in Biarritz where Boris Johnson has held his first meeting with Donald Trump since becoming Prime Minister. The two blondes used the breakfast meet to talk up trade, with President Trump saying the UK leaving the EU will be like losing ‘an anchor round the ankle’. A more jolly affair than the
Mr S was curious to spy a puzzling email sent out by CCHQ to their prospective parliamentary candidates today. The message asked would-be Tory runners to send in their CVs so that the party can select candidates for the next general election. Recipients were told that anyone selected as a parliamentary contender would cease to
The time has come to announce the winner of our much-lauded Brexit poetry competition. Earlier this week, we called on our good readers to provide us with a poem to commemorate the UK’s exit from the European Union on 31 October. Our announcement came in response to the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage saying that he
Boris Johnson’s critics predicted that he would be something of a disaster on the world stage, but his debut as Prime Minister in Berlin has got off to a good start. Firstly, he avoided the fate of Theresa May, who managed to get locked into her car when she arrived to meet Angela Merkel. And
Theresa May spent her first day outside of No. 10 at Lord’s cricket ground, watching the second day of the England match against Ireland. The game proved portentous, with Ireland squaring up to presumed English supremacy before the match was called off due to an imminent storm, all while May and her allies watched from
It’s not often Mr S jumps to the defence of the EU, but he is prepared to make an exception. A new handball rule in football caused controversy over the weekend after a last-minute goal by Manchester City was ruled out. The reason? City player Aymeric Laporte was judged to have lightly touched the ball