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
Emmanuel Macron’s global charm offensive continues. But his bid to woo the Australian Prime Minister Down Under appears to have backfired somewhat. Thanking his host, Malcolm Turnbull, for his warm welcome, Macron had this to say: ‘I wanted to thank you for your welcome, thank you and your delicious wife for your warm welcome…Thanks to
Chris Williamson is no stranger to appearing on Russia Today, and it seems the Corbynista MP is not going to break the habit any time soon. Or could he? The latest register of interests reveals that Williamson landed himself £300 for a TV appearance back in January. So where was the money from? Williamson declared
Although Gavin Williamson has managed to get through the week without telling any world leader to ‘go away and shut up’, he’s also had to deal with a new leadership rival entering the scene in the form of Amber Rudd’s successor Sajid Javid. Not one to be outdone, Williamson has made sure to have a
Although John Bercow once said he would only serve as Commons Speaker for only nine years, the Conservative MP has since suggested that he plans to stay on longer. But will he get a say in the matter? Mr S only asks as Bercow is in the line of fire after an explosive Newsnight package
We’ve all been there – you’re lined up to go live on air to explain to the public why it’s in the public interest for your supermarket company to merge with a supermarket rival and suddenly you find yourself singing… ‘we’re in the money’. Or at least, this is what happened to the CEO of Sainsbury’s
Amber Rudd’s resignation is something of a coup for Diane Abbott, who has spent the last week calling for the Home Secretary to go. But Abbott’s disastrous interview on Good Morning Britain might well have cut Labour’s celebrations at Rudd’s departure somewhat short. The shadow home secretary was asked repeatedly what Labour’s policy on illegal
When Nick Boles tweeted in January to complain about the ‘timidity and lack of ambition’ in Theresa May’s government, the Conservative MP kickstarted a mini-revolt which saw the party come close to turning on May. So, it doesn’t bode well for May that Boles appears to level some of the blame for Amber Rudd’s departure
To the disappointment of Conservative MPs and the delight of Labour politicians, Amber Rudd has resigned as Home Secretary – but the best politicians can always clutch victory from the jaws of defeat. Or at least that appears to be what Anna Soubry is trying to do. The arch-Remainer has taken to social media to
Ken Livingstone could soon find himself booted out of Labour for good if the party ever gets its act together to deal with his suspension. So it Ken sorry? Not a bit. The former mayor of London told LBC this morning that the anti-Semitism row was a ‘complete diversion’ and insisted it wouldn’t damage the
Dominic Raab has found himself the subject of much mockery today after one of his aides allegedly told an undercover reporter about his rather repetitious lunch habits: ‘He has the chicken Caesar and bacon baguette, superfruit pot and the vitamin volcano smoothie, every day. He is so weird. It’s the Dom Raab Special.’ Happily, Mr
Diane Abbott is calling for Amber Rudd’s head over the Windrush scandal – but Mr Steerpike was somewhat taken aback by her line of attack against the Home Secretary. On BBC News, Abbott asked: ‘Who can have confidence in Amber Rudd to make far-reaching changes in the Home Office, if she doesn’t seem able to
Today’s Sun reports that Cabinet ‘big beasts’ – Michael Gove, Amber Rudd and Gavin Williamson – are amassing ‘huge war chests’ as they line up leadership bids. Williamson is on £10,000 – behind both Rudd and Gove. Still, the ambitious Defence Secretary is making sure he is not outdone on other fronts. Williamson is down to
Dominic Raab has awoken to a scandal relating to his team. The Daily Mirror reports that one of the Housing Minister’s staff has been ‘selling sex to sugar daddies’. While the paper refrains from identifying the staffer in question, it does publish their account of life working under Raab – and this is where the real
Oh dear. On Tuesday evening, Jeremy Corbyn met with Jewish leaders to discuss his party’s anti-Semitism problem. The meeting didn’t sound as though it would be the most harmonious affair what with the Labour leader accused of not taking the concerns of the Jewish community seriously – and his decision to meet with the ‘radical’
Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron have a history of trying to upstage each other on the world stage. When the pair met in Paris last year, they subjected each other to a half-a-minute long handshake, with both determined not to be the first to let go of each other’s hand. At the Nato summit, Macron
Oh dear. As anxiety grows about the Theresa May’s customs union stance, Jacob Rees-Mogg has this afternoon told hacks that the government’s mooted customs partnership is ‘completely cretinous’. The Moggster’s tough talk will play out well among Brexiteers who fear May’s own resolve has weakened in recent months. What will play out less well with
Amber Rudd is not having a good few weeks thanks to her department’s shaky handling of the Windrush scandal. Now she’s under fire on another front: shoes. The Financial Times reports that the Home Secretary told guests at a private business dinner this month that the post-Brexit registration scheme for EU nationals will be ‘as
Owen Jones triggered the MSM over the weekend when he took to social media to complain that too many journalists went to private school and were not representative of society at large. While Mr S directs the Guardian columnist to this article on representation at Jones’s paper of choice, a number of hacks have risen
This week Question Time moved to Chesterfield with a panel comprised of Liz Truss, Emily Thornberry, Vince Cable, Nesrine Malik and LBC presenter Iain Dale. However, the talk that proved the most newsworthy related to international affairs. Discussing the government’s strikes on Syria over an alleged chemical attack by the Assad regime, Thornberry suggested that the
After the EU referendum, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove were such a dream team that the pair looked destined to take the top two jobs in government. However, some political back-stabbing on Gove’s part soon put an end to that friendship and, as history shows, paved the way for Theresa May to become Prime Minister.
