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
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
After spending some time in the shadows ahead of the first round of voting in the Tory leadership contest, Boris Johnson officially launched his campaign today, giving a speech in central London where he reiterated his intention to take Britain out of the EU by 31st October. Unsurprisingly, considering his confusing array of past comments on
Channel 4 posted its annual report yesterday, revealing that its revenues were up by £15m in 2018 and its digital audience had increased by a quarter year-on-year. Unfortunately though, it appears that one part of the broadcaster didn’t do quite as well. Under a section entitled ‘Telling the full story’, Channel 4 News revealed that their
Rory Stewart has not exactly had the most orthodox of campaign strategies to become the next leader of the Conservative party. The dark horse of the leadership race has built up a cult following by heading out across the country, recording hand-held campaign videos and having conversations with various members of the public. And he
Twitter was awash this morning with pictures of Tory leadership contender Rory Stewart, bending to stroke Larry the Downing Street cat as he made his way into Number 10. However, Mr S couldn’t help but notice that Larry gave Stewart something of a cold shoulder, casually strolling away without a backward glance. Perhaps the sensible
Jean-Claude Juncker’s term as European Commission president may be coming to an end, but it’s clear that the EU leader won’t be hiding his strong opinions about Brexit and the UK negotiating process anytime soon. At a Politico event held this afternoon, Juncker ruled that he would not renegotiate any part of the Withdrawal Agreement
No political rivalry in recent years has been as fierce as the one between Andrea Leadsom and the Speaker of the House, John Bercow. As leader of the Commons, Leadsom spent a huge amount of time in the Chamber speaking on the government’s behalf, and frequently clashed with the pugnacious Bercow over parliamentary procedure and
ITV breakfast presenter Lorraine Kelly has such a reputation for being friendly and warm on screen, that the TV host managed to win an entire tax case based on the fact that she doesn’t play herself, but a ‘chatty’ version of ‘Lorraine’ in front of the cameras. So plenty of eyebrows were raised this week