Steerpike

Steerpike

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

Ken Livingstone: I was too left-wing for the KGB

The row about Jeremy Corbyn and a Czech spy shows no sign of dying down. Following a former Czech spy’s claim that Corbyn was paid by the Eastern bloc to spy on Britain in the 1980s, the Labour leader has denied the claim and instructed solicitors to respond to ‘any false and ridiculous smears’ appearing online.

Irish Herald’s headline fail

Oh dear. We’re only two months into 2018 and already the winner for ‘headline fail of the year’ appears to have been found. The Irish Herald today publishes a report on a man who ‘lived’ in a flat with his ‘dead wife’s body in a wardrobe for 48 hours’. Rather unfortunately the accompanying half page

Toff apologises to the Rees-Moggs

Since Georgia ‘Toff’ Toffolo was crowned queen of the I’m a Celeb… Get Me Out of Here jungle, the (majority of) Conservatives have been on a mission to hug their celebrity supporter close. In that vein, Toff was the centre of attention at this month’s Black and White ball, where she attended as Stanley Johnson’s

Gavin Williamson’s diplomatic incident

Since Gavin Williamson was appointed as Defence Secretary, the Conservative MP has been in a rush to prove his credentials. From battling the Treasury over proposed military cuts to posing with rescue dogs, Williamson certainly seems a man in a hurry. However, with speed comes mistakes. Today’s Financial Times reports of a diplomatic gaffe committed

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Tory MP’s Glastonbury blunder

George Freeman doesn’t have the best record with regards to the Glastonbury music festival. The Conservative MP found himself the subject of light mockery this summer over his plans for a ‘Tory Glastonbury’. Freeman organised the Big Tent Ideas Festival to try and reinvigorate his tired party. Now, he has tried to take aim at

Sarah Champion does a Leadsom

Here we go again. During the last Conservative leadership campaign, Andrea Leadsom came under fire for suggesting that having children made her a better choice to be prime minister than Theresa May. In an interview with the Times, the mother of three said having children meant she had ‘a very real stake’ in Britain’s future. The

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Ukip’s woes go from bad to worse

Poor old Ukip. The party is already in dire straits, with its collapsing vote share, lack of funds and a laughing stock for a leader. You might think that things couldn’t get any worse for Ukip. But you’d be wrong: the party’s troubles look to have just increased dramatically. Ukip has just been ordered to

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Government’s Carillion fail

Oh dear. With the government already in the firing line over the decision to hand Carillion contracts despite profit warnings, ministers are attempting a damage limitation exercise as they deal with the fall-out of the company’s collapse. So, Mr S suspects whoever wrote today’s ‘update’ for Carillion workers will live to regret it. A ‘news

Janan Ganesh, citizen of… Washington, DC?

Theresa May’s decision to launch a verbal attack on ‘citizens of nowhere’ backfired in the snap election when metropolitan voters turned on the Prime Minister over fears her Brexit vision was an inward one. Happily, citizens of nowhere have since found some champions of their own. Citizen-of-nowhere-in-chief Janan Ganesh, the Financial Times columnist, kindly wrote

CCHQ vs the Moggster

Last week Theresa May came under fire from grassroots activists not over her weak and wobbly leadership but over reported proposals to limit the say local party members have when it comes to selecting candidates. So, it’s rather unfortunate for the Prime Minister that the man currently favoured by the membership as her successor is

Andrea Leadsom receives anti-Brexit death threat

Boris Johnson will have his work cut out on Wednesday when he attempts to give a speech uniting Remainers and Brexiteers. Last week, Brexiteers started received death threats from the mysterious ‘real 48 per cent’. Zac Goldsmith was the first to go public when an 80-year-old constituent received one in the mail. Now Andrea Leadsom

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Burns burns Soubry

Oh dear. This week Boris Johnson will give a speech intended to unite the country over Brexit – and, most importantly, reassure Remain voters that Brexit Britain is a country that can and will reflect liberal values. Offering a trailer for the speech on Westminster Hour was the Foreign Secretary’s PPS Conor Burns. Speaking to

Andrew Marr’s on air gaffe

Oh dear. Andrew Marr has found himself in the firing line this morning after the presenter congratulated a Tory minister on her interview… live on air. Penny Mordaunt appeared on the programme to answer questions on the unfolding Oxfam scandal and her plans as the recently appointed DfID Secretary. After putting in a confident showing,

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Grauniad’s Dominic Raab attack falls short

The Grauniad is on a mission this week to expose the shortcomings of the government’s crackdown on unpaid internships. The paper reported that Dominic Raab, the Conservative minister, had advertised an unpaid internship to support his constituency work just hours before the government published its plan to tackle unfair working practices. Only, Mr S can’t help

Freemason fightback

Here we go. This week the Freemasons have come under increased scrutiny after the Grauniad ran a front page reported that two Freemasons’ lodges are operating at Westminster – which it said were for MPs and political journalists. This had led to a series of hit-pieces and criticism of the secretive society. Now the Freemasons are fighting

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Listen: John Humphrys taken to task over Carrie Gracie row

John Humphrys is usually the one who asks the questions on the Today programme. Not today. The veteran presenter was taken to task this morning for appearing to make light of the Carrie Gracie row, after leaked remarks revealed him joking with the BBC’s Jon Sopel. At the end of his interview with the Lib

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Inside the Conservatives’ Black and White ball

To the Natural History Museum, for the Conservative Black and White ball. Theresa May’s Cabinet were given a chance to unwind with a glass or three of ‘Brexit juice’ (English sparkling wine) after a crunch meeting on the Irish border that afternoon. Guests munched on beef and kale (a pitch to metropolitan liberals?). Theresa May’s

Watch: Greg Hands’ disastrous turn on Daily Politics

Oh dear. It’s crunch day for Theresa May as her Brexit war cabinet gathers for the first of two meetings to discuss the type of trade relationship the UK ought to seek with the EU post-Brexit. With tensions running high in the party and Brexiteers nervous that Theresa May could be about to agree to

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Beast of Bolsover’s broken birthday promise

PMQs proved a more lively affair than usual thanks to the Beast of Bolsover. Dennis Skinner attempted to ask a question on NHS funding but John Bercow managed to distract from the message by congratulating the veteran Labour MP on his upcoming birthday. The MP for Bolsover will turn 86 on Sunday – not that he’ll