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
Here we go. As the debate continues within the Labour party as to which Brexit policy will win the party the most seats at a general election, the mainstream domestic policy agenda is progressing nicely. This evening, Labour delegates approved a motion for a Labour government to seemingly abolish private schools. The motion is to
With a cross-party group of MPs successfully passing legislation to instruct the government to seek an Article 50 extension rather than go for no deal, the Prime Minister could be forced to seek a Brexit delay if he cannot agree a deal. However, Boris Johnson has said on numerous occasions that he will do no
Tom Watson’s position as deputy leader of the Labour party hangs in the balance this weekend after a move was made on the party’s national executive committee to oust him by abolishing his post. The motion was proposed by Jon Lansman, founder of Labour grassroots group Momentum. Although Watson survived Friday’s vote, a second attempt will be made
If Brexit can’t be sorted out by mere mortals, perhaps the UK and EU need some divine inspiration to break the deadlock. That was perhaps what an Irish priest was thinking when he presented Taoiseach Leo Varadkar with a bottle of holy water this afternoon. But it seems Varadkar had other ideas about what to do
Students went on strike today worldwide to protest against climate change. Luckily, the London protest took place only a stone’s throw away from the Spectator office so Steerpike went down to Parliament Square to see what action the eco-protesters want taken as a country. Only, with signs ranging from ‘F–k Boris’ to ‘Defy Tory Rule’,
Is Jeremy Corbyn pro Remain or pro Leave? Three years have passed since the EU referendum, but the Labour leader still won’t answer that question. In an interview with ITV’s Joe Pike, Corbyn was asked eight times whether he now backed leave or remain. And eight times he refused to say: Joe Pike: “So are you
Since 2016, Brexit has been dividing families, splitting friends, ruining dinner parties. But perhaps the one family whose split over the EU has been the most public, drawn-out and frankly Shakespearean, is that of the Johnson family. While Boris is determined to take us out by 31 October do or die, his Remainer brother Jo
Jean-Claude Juncker, the outgoing President of the EU Commission was in fine spirits today, as he passed on some positive news for those hoping a Brexit deal will be struck by Boris Johnson before 31 October. The former Luxembourg PM was interviewed by Sophy Ridge for Sky News, and assured her that a Brexit deal with the
The Liberal Democrats have been going through something of a minor identity crisis as of late, after the party allowed the former Tory MP Phillip Lee to cross the aisle and join their ranks. Lee’s support in the past for checking migrants at the border for HIV, and his abstention on a key vote for
There have been plenty of revelations about David Cameron this week, from the time he questioned Michael Gove’s sanity to when he got ‘off his head’ on dope at Eton. But Mr S thinks our former prime minister might have saved the best admission until now. On ITV’s This Morning, Cameron was talking about how
A suitably mad crowd gathered at the Spectator offices last night to celebrate the launch of Douglas Murray’s new book, The Madness of Crowds. Mr Steerpike marvelled at Mr Murray’s ability to bring such an intriguing mix of people together: where else in the world could you find Kevin Spacey, Paul Joseph Watson and a
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has admitted she felt sympathy for the officer who said Carl Beech’s claims were ‘credible and true’. Speaking to Nick Ferrari on LBC, Dick said when she heard the officer’s comments she ‘just felt for him immediately’. Convicted paedophile Beech was jailed for 18 years in July after he was found guilty of
Thinking of digging deep for a good cause? Mr S is a big fan of giving his hard-earned cash to those in need but he won’t be coughing up for the latest organisation to ask for money. Leftist pro-Corbyn fan group Momentum has just emailed to warn that ‘in the coming weeks, we’re going to be
It’s the last day of the Liberal Democrat conference today, which means that leader Jo Swinson will deliver her keynote speech to excited delegates at the seaside town of Bournemouth. Normally, political parties arrange for a photoshoot ahead of the final speech of conference, so that various MPs and bigwigs are snapped walking triumphantly into
Oh dear. Relations between Boris Johnson and Michael Gove could become a bit awkward this week after an extract from David Cameron’s memoirs published today in the Times revealed that the current PM asked Cameron whether Gove was “a bit cracked”. Johnson apparently inquired about the mental wellbeing of his now close cabinet colleague after Gove
Boris Johnson has just cancelled a press conference after being booed in Luxembourg, but was the Prime Minister set up? Luxembourg’s leader Xavier Bettel took a dig at Boris Johnson as he gave a short speech next to an empty lectern. Bettel said he ‘wanted to thank Boris Johnson’ as he pointed into thin air: But
Jo Swinson has said she will never forgive David Cameron for calling the EU referendum in 2016. ‘I think so many of the problems that we are facing right now stem from David Cameron’s shocking misjudgement in putting the interests of the Conservative party ahead of the national interest,’ the Lib Dem leader told her party’s
When Jo Johnson quit government, reports began to circulate that his wife Amelia Gentleman – the Guardian journalist – had put pressure on him to leave frontline politics and thereby not serve in his brother Boris Johnson’s government. The Sun reported that Gentleman had grown tired of ‘seeing Boris presiding over an increasingly fractured government,
What is going on at The Guardian? They don’t like David Cameron, fair enough, but an editorial published earlier on this evening attacked him for only experiencing “privileged pain” following the death of Ivan, his six-year-old, severely-disabled son. Its leading article, published at 8.40pm – and presumably in the print issue tomorrow – had this to say:-
There are plenty of ways to go about winning an election if you’re fighting to become an MP, from coming up with a winning electoral strategy, to tapping into a burning local issue. The one thing you probably shouldn’t do though is start off by insulting your local constituents. The North Devon Liberal Democrat candidate