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
When Boris Johnson was asked by TalkRadio yesterday what he did to relax, and he embarked on a confusing ramble about his secret passion: making models of buses and painting them, few thought it was a sign of the former London Mayor’s famed erudition. https://twitter.com/rosskempsell/status/1143491303466053633 Indeed, many seemed to think that Boris’ strange rant was
Boris Johnson has had a tricky time being quizzed by journalists over the past few days, as he’s been grilled about his Brexit position, his negotiating stratgey, his late-night row with Carrie Symonds and his history of consuming (or not quite consuming) Class-A drugs. But it seems as if the former Foreign Secretary was floored
Boris Johnson has come out of hiding but it seems he is still doing his best to dodge scrutiny. On LBC this morning, Boris was quizzed repeatedly about how a picture of him in the Sussex countryside with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds found its way into the media. And 26 times, he refused to answer.
Can veteran Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow stop putting his foot in his mouth when it comes to race? The channel has already been forced to apologise this year after the presenter observed live on television that he had ‘never seen so many white people in one place’ when covering a Brexit rally in
There are few stranger relationships in Westminster than the close alliance of Boris Johnson and the campaigner, author, and self-described ‘Chief Fanny defender’ Nimco Ali. According to Ali, she first met Boris Johnson in Putney eight years ago when they bumped into each other on the high street, as she was campaigning about FGM. She asked
The current competition to become leader of the Conservative party and prime minister may be dominating the papers at the moment, but it’s clear that some parties are already thinking about the next race to Number 10. Mr S understands that the Brexit party are stepping up their preparations for a general election this week,
Britain has become rather used to hysterical prognostications about the threat of a no-deal Brexit from our MPs ever since we voted to Leave in 2016 – with some parliamentarians suggesting that supermarkets will be left empty and drug supplies will vanish if we don’t get a deal or extension by October 31. But Labour’s Rupa
As the battle for second place in the Tory leadership contest has heated up in recent days, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has shown himself more than willing to go on the attack against the frontrunner Boris Johnson – to prove that Hunt should be the MP to face him in front of Tory members. That
For a long time George Osborne was more likely to be found taking snipes at his one-time political rival Boris Johnson than supporting his political efforts. In 2016, the former chancellor mocked Johnson by saying that were he to go for the party leadership he would not ‘fumble the ball’ – a thinly-veiled attack on Johnson’s
The race for the Tory leadership race is on. More than a dozen candidates put themselves forward but to make it to the final two those seeking to replace Theresa May must persuade fellow Tory MPs to back them. Here are the latest tallies of who is left in the contest – and who is
After the second round of voting in the Tory leadership race earlier today, which saw Dominic Raab booted out of the contest, it seemed as if renegade challenger and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart had all the momentum heading into the televised BBC leadership debate tonight. But, while Stewart may be winning over his colleagues
It seems like half of Twitter has fallen in love with Rory Stewart and his whirlwind campaign to become prime minister. But recently, it’s not just centrist swing-voters who’ve been swept off their feet by the International Development Secretary. Certain figures on the pro-no deal side of the Brexit divide now seem to have fallen
So far in the Tory leadership contests, the candidates have spent a lot of time bashing the frontrunner Boris Johnson. However, with Johnson a sure thing for the final two, the real contest is currently between the other five leadership contenders, hoping to win second place to get on the members’ ballot. Hearing that battle cry,
When you consider that Theresa May’s unwise decision to campaign for a ‘dementia tax’ almost single-handedly cost her the general election in 2017, you would think that the current Tory leadership candidates would be very careful about alienating older voters ahead of any upcoming membership vote. Jeremy Hunt, though, seemed to take the opposite tack
It’s the first of the Tory leadership television debates tonight, as the candidates vying to be the next prime minister (minus Boris, who chose not take part) spar over Brexit and their suitability to lead the country in the next stage of the negotiations. And while it might seem like not that long ago that
For the past week they’ve been exchanging side-glances, passing on compliments, and making excuses to spend time together. Now they’ve made it official. Yes, late last night Chuka Umunna finally made his move and joined the Lib Dems. In an interview with the Times announcing the new relationship, the former Labour MP revealed that he
You might think that things couldn’t get any worse for the group of breakaway MPs, Change UK. First, the group was widely mocked for its poor branding and confusing name-change soon after its launch. Then, it had a disastrous showing in the European elections. And finally, earlier this month the party split and half of
The results of the first round of the Tory leadership election are in, with Boris Johnson achieving a resounding victory over his rivals in his bid to be the next prime minister. Further behind was his colleague Rory Stewart, who managed to make it through to the next stage after reaching 19 votes. The international
Is Boris Johnson’s campaign keeping a close eye on Jeremy Hunt’s? Three days ago the current Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, launched his campaign to become leader of the Conservative party in the decadent surroundings of Carlton Gardens, near his grace-and-favour home. Two days later his predecessor, Boris Johnson, kicked off his own campaign and chose
Gary Lineker earned at least £1.75m for his BBC work last year. That’s the equivalent of the TV licence fee from 11,326 over-75s, who this week learned they will no longer be exempt from the £154.50-a-year charge. The BBC’s announcement that it will scrap the exemption for pensioners has been big news all week. So
