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
Well, well, well. It now transpires that the Scottish government will follow Westminster’s lead on the UK puberty blocker ban – after Health Secretary Wes Streeting told parliament that he would be extending the policy following the findings from Baroness Cass’s review. How very interesting… On Wednesday, the Health Secretary told MPs that the way
At the end of November, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults Bill passed its second reading with a majority of 55 in favour. Now, the MPs who have been selected to sit on the bill committee have been revealed. Find the full list – including each parliamentarian’s party and how they voted on the
As if 2024 hadn’t been packed full of elections, eyes are already moving to next year’s local polls – and it seems some quite interesting conversations are taking place. According to Bloomberg, it transpires that Tory and Reform party branches in parts of the country have held discussions about working together in next year’s council
The public outrage at Labour’s family farm tax isn’t going away any time soon. Today farmers from across the country have driven their tractors to Westminster in yet another protest at Rachel Reeves’s inheritance tax on agricultural assets, as countrymen fear for the future of family-owned farms. Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot insist the majority
Back to Scotland, where it appears hapless Humza Yousaf is still trying to stay relevant by going after, er, GB News. The failed former first minister of Scotland is said to be considering his options against the channel after a new report into GB News suggested Yousaf would have a ‘very strong case’ if he
To the Commons, where this afternoon a rather odd intervention took place. The Westminster rumour mill was in overdrive today as word spread that a Member of Parliament was planning to speak against a bill calling for a ban on marriages between first cousins. Not long after speculation began, it was confirmed that a new
Poor old Keir Starmer. He has scarcely been in power for four months and yet is already wailing about ‘many people in Whitehall’ being ‘comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline’. So as he, Morgan McSweeney and various other Keirleaders all prepare to take on Sir Humphrey, who better to get advice from then
As the government’s fortunes continue to worsen, Reform UK only seems to be on the up. It now transpires that former Conservative donor and luxury property developer Nick Candy has defected from the party to join Nigel Farage’s start-up – to become Reform’s new chief fundraiser. Another Tory bites the dust… Speaking to the Sun,
It’s a gaffe a day with Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot – and this time David Lammy is in the spotlight. Addressing parliament on Monday over the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the Foreign Secretary seemed to be a little confused on the detail – specifically the, er, geography of the Middle East.
With a change of government, you might have thought 4 July would see a lot of new brooms in Whitehall. Yet, for some mandarins, the dissolution of the last parliament seems to have been the cue to get all the paint brushes and toolkits out. Since the end of May, more than £130,000 was spent
The wind of change is sweeping through the Upper House. What with Labour’s plans to expel the last hereditaries and Gavin Williamson’s effort to boot the bishops too, soon the House of Lords will be devoid of any colour. How will the sketch writers cope eh? Today brings more bad news for traditionalist lovers of
Well, well, well. In a rather curious turn of events, it now transpires that Rael Braverman – husband of former Home Secretary Suella Braverman – has started campaigning for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. How very interesting… Farage took to Twitter to announce that Braverman had not only been canvassing for the party on the streets
Justin Welby can’t seem to get anything right these days – not even his own leaving speech. Now the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury has been forced to apologise for the gag-filled monologue he delivered to the House of Lords on Thursday after causing a rather lot of offence with his choice of language. Dear oh
Welcome to Labour’s Britain, where failure is lauded and incompetence rewarded. According to reports in the Financial Times, it appears that Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, has ended up on the draft list for the New Years honours. Also thought to be receiving a gong is Labour lefty Emily Thornberry, chair of the foreign affairs
It’s not been a good week for Sir Keir’s lefty lot. In the last few days alone, Starmer’s army has been hit with the revelation that over half of all Brits feel disappointed by Labour’s achievements in government so far – while just hours ago, a new survey by FindOutNow saw Nigel Farage’s Reform party surge to second place,
‘More bobbies on the beat’, cried Keir Starmer in his definitely-not-a-reset speech earlier today. But even when there are coppers out on patrol, are they doing enough to strike fear into lawless criminals? Just a stone’s throw away from The Spectator offices in Westminster is the Brutalist monstrosity of the Ministry of Justice’s headquarters. Known
It’s a simple question: how much is the Chagos Islands’ handover going to cost British taxpayers? Yet for weeks now, Labour ministers have been stonewalling and squirming in their efforts to avoid giving a clear straight answer. Shortly after the deal was announced on 3 October, Foreign Secretary David Lammy told MPs that ‘the agreement
When it rains for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot, it pours. In the same week an Ipsos poll revealed that over half of all Brits feel disappointed by Labour’s achievements so far, now another poll brings more bad news for Starmer’s army. The FindOutNow voting intention poll has demoted Sir Keir’s crowd to third place
While all eyes were on the Prime Minister’s big ‘plan for change’ announcement today, the government also chose this morning to release some new data to the public. One of the reports published today includes the latest Prevent stats – and they paint a rather interesting picture. Between March 2023 and 2024, there were a
Once the popularity of politicians was judged by how many babies they were asked to kiss – now it’s by how many kids are named after them. The Office for National Statistics has today revealed the most popular baby names for last year, with Olivia remaining the top girls’ name and Muhammad overtaking Noah to