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
John McDonnell spent a large amount of his time this week attacking the career history of the newly-promoted Chancellor, Sajid Javid. While some might take heart at the way Javid, as son of a Pakistani bus driver, worked his way up to become a banker and then the second most powerful politician in the country,
‘Imagine there’s no countries,’ John Lennon once sang. It seems that one Labour MP is taking that song literally. Paul Sweeney, who represents Glasgow North East, had this to say: Well, Mr S. has to admire the scale of Sweeney’s ambitions, but he also wonders whether this plan might not be the best way to
As the Liberal Democrats celebrate their win in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, other parties are licking their wounds. The Tories narrowly missed out and now must deal with the realities of being the governing party with a working majority of one. Labour meanwhile came a distant fourth – only just managing to hold on
It seems the New York Times has decided to continue its bizarre crusade against Britain, which culminated in last year’s outlandish claim that the nation lives on a diet of mutton and oatmeal (although, given current reports that the government is considering buying up Welsh lamb in the event of a no-deal exit, this strange
It’s well known that all good Silicon Valley billionaires these days have one issue that is firmly at the top of their agenda. So it’s no surprise that when the owners of the tech behemoth Google hosted their seventh ‘Google Camp’ – a private, three day conference for the rich and famous on the southwest
Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings has found himself in the news today after a video clip emerged of him suggesting most Conservative MPs ‘do not care’ about ‘poorer people’ or the NHS. Now in No. 10, Cummings appears to be on a mission to change that – with a focus on applying the Johnson ethos
Boris Johnson has appointed a former Daily Mirror Chicken as his chief spin doctor, the paper’s front page revealed today. Lee Cain, Boris’s new communications director, donned the infamous costume during a stint at the Labour supporting newspaper and began ruffling Tory feathers during the 2010 general election, when he pursued David Cameron round the
Jeremy Corbyn was in Blackpool today, where he joined a protest against the fracking firm Cuadrilla and launched his ‘Green Industrial Revolution in the North West’. On his trip to the seaside, Corbyn was joined by local Labour politician Chris Webb, who is currently vying to become the MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys. Webb certainly seemed to
Two Spectator contributors were invited on to the BBC’s Newsnight last night to discuss the prospect of Britain leaving the EU without a deal on 31 October. Matthew Parris and Doulgas Murray joined Emily Maitlis in the studio, as the pair discussed the nature of no deal, whether the vote to Leave in 2016 was a true mandate
Now that Boris Johnson’s new ministers are in place and the key players in his administration firmly established, the curtain has been decisively drawn over the May era. But who has lost the most and been cast aside in the transition to Boris’s new ‘golden age’? Mr S. presents his pick… Alan Duncan Alan Duncan,
Jacob Rees-Mogg’s frontbench debut made it clear he won’t be a typical member of the Cabinet. Fresh from making waves in Parliament, the new leader of the house of Commons has now released his own style guide for staff. On the banned list are full stops after Miss. or Ms., commas after and, and double
Theresa May’s clashes with Jeremy Corbyn were usually dull affairs. Now that Boris Johnson is Prime Minister, Mr S. is looking forward to some livelier bust-ups in Parliament. Boris didn’t disappoint in his first encounter with the Labour leader. Here are five of the best bits from Boris’s government debut: Corbyn’s ‘terrible’ Brexit ‘metamorphosis’: Boris wasted
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is already delighting his supporters, but not everyone is happy about Britain’s new leader. Boris’s first speech in Downing Street and the Cabinet bloodbath that followed has led to a fair bit of wailing and gnashing of teeth, not least on Twitter. From independent group MPs and David Lammy to the
Jacob Rees-Mogg, as newly appointed Leader of the Commons, had his first stint at the dispatch box this morning, after being elevated to Boris Johnson’s Cabinet late last night. The Commons Leader is responsible for the government’s business in the House and as expected Mogg, with his encyclopaedic knowledge of parliamentary procedure and history, was clearly
Boris Johnson has only been in Downing Street for a few hours but already Dominic Grieve is trying to stir up trouble. Asked to sum up the new Prime Minister, Grieve responded: ‘He’s a charlatan. I mean that is the clear evidence of his career and the way he has operated politically. And that is
Boris Johnson may have been elected by Tory members and become leader of the Conservative party, but until he finally meets the Queen in Buckingham Palace he is not, constitutionally, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Which explains why some, clearly still hoping to stave off his premiership, made a desperate bid to stop
The appointment of Remain-leaning Mark Spencer to Chief Whip in Boris Johnson’s incoming government has excited Conservative MPs from across the benches. Many will be wondering who else will be chosen to join what could be a broader coalition than had been expected. Perhaps though they should show some caution. Speaking on The Spectator’s Women with Balls,
Theresa May’s time at Parliament’s despatch box is up. The Prime Minister has just faced her final session of PMQs, finishing off by telling MPs the ‘duty’ to ‘serve my constituents will remain my greatest motivation’. Here is the video of the moment she said goodbye: Most MPs stood up and applauded the PM as
Jared O’Mara, the former Labour MP (who was briefly suspended from the party in 2018 over a series of online comments) has been something of an enigma in Westminster of late. Although he promised to fight for his constituents when he left the Labour party to become an independent, the politician has since missed a
Tom Watson’s face is splashed across the front pages of the newspapers today but unfortunately for the typically publicity-hungry Watson it’s for all the wrong reasons. Labour’s deputy leader is facing calls to quit following the conviction of Carl Beech, a fantasist who was yesterday found guilty of making up claims about a VIP paedophile