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
Labour ministers are very keen to be good Europeans. But could the cause of closer continental ties come at the price of Wes Streeting’s smoking ban? Tobacco firms are perplexed as to how proposals to ban tobacco products for younger Brits will work in Northern Ireland. Under the terms of the UK’s revised Withdrawal Agreement,
Football fans are known to get a little rowdy after a game, but the horror that broke out after the Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax game on Thursday night was an entirely different matter. As Jonathan Sacerdoti wrote for the Spectator today, hundreds of Jews were hunted and beaten by mobs after the game while videos
In an uncertain age, who do you want keeping the nation safe? How about the guy who just bartered away the Chagos Islands? Yes, that’s right, fresh from his Mauritian shenanigans, Jonathan Powell has today been announced as the new National Security Adviser in No.10. A former career diplomat, he famously served as Tony Blair’s
It’s the election drama obsessing much of Westminster. No, not Donald v Kamala but rather the race to be Chancellor of the University of Oxford. The ten-month slug-fest began back in February when incumbent Chris Patten announced his intention to retire after 20 years. An early attempt to vet candidates by committee was blocked after
Dear oh dear. Donald Trump’s presidential victory has not thrilled everyone – and, Mr S suspects, least of all Prince Harry. The president-elect has suggested the royal could be, er, deported from the States. The suggestion came after the publication of Harry’s book Spare, in which the prince claimed he once dabbled with drugs like
It’s less than a week since he formally handed over the reins of power – but Rishi Sunak is wasting no time. On Wednesday, just five days after he formally resigned the leadership of the Conservative party, Sunak and his wife Akshata registered their latest venture on Companies House. The newly-incorporated ‘Office of Akshata Murty
While Republicans across the US celebrate Donald Trump’s victory and eagerly await his return to the White House, those that backed the wrong horse appear to be struggling to come to terms with it. Mr S is still waiting to hear whether certain lefty celebrities are going to follow through with their plans to leave
Was it Labour wot lost it? It was less than a month ago, as Kamala Harris appeared to be riding high, that dozens of bright-eyed British Starmtroopers began descending on America. In a now-infamous LinkedIn post, Sofia Patel, Labour’s head of operations, urged others to join them in North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia. ‘I
It’s never too long before Labour’s woes are back in the news. Now suspended MP Mike Amesbury has been summonsed to court to face an assault charge – after some rather shocking CCTV footage emerged a fortnight ago. The video appears to show the then-Labour politician speaking to a man at the side of a
Despite receiving the backing of a whole host of A-listers, including Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris still managed to lose the 2024 US election. Donald Trump will soon return to the White House – but he may not be the only one preparing a big move. Over the course of the campaign,
Twelve months ago, it was Rishi Sunak who was lighting a candle outside No. 10. So with a new regime installed in office, Mr S wondered how Keir Starmer would go about marking the Hindu festival. Sadly it seems that Starmer’s reverse Midas touch has struck again. For Steerpike hears that last week’s big bash
The US election has been and gone and Donald Trump emerged victorious, with the former president set to re-enter the White House. The government sent Pat McFadden onto the airwaves today to field questions about the new president-elect – but the Labour MP became rather curiously tongue-tied on the matter of Trump’s politics… Quizzed by
Donald Trump has won the US election, and will become the 47th president of the United States. But while the Republicans celebrate, the Labour lot may not be quite as happy. Starmer’s army has a history of being less than cordial about the president-elect, as new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch noted today at PMQs. Did
It’s not been First Minister John Swinney’s year. Not only did his Westminster group fail fantastically at the July poll to cling onto their seats, now the SNP leader has found out he backed the wrong horse at the US election. Talk about a bad bet! Last month, Swinney lent his support to Kamala, telling
So Donald Trump is heading for the White House once again. It’s a result that has stunned much of the British commentariat, many of whom fawned over Kamala Harris when she was unveiled as Joe Biden’s successor. Yet, just like in 2016, Harris could not live up to her cheerleaders’ hype. With both Keir Starmer
Donald Trump is on course to win the US election – and it’s safe to say that Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell aren’t thrilled about the news. On a livestream of their Rest is Politics podcast, Stewart – who earlier this week said he hadn’t ‘changed my mind on Kamala Harris winning comfortably’ – struggled
Over the past half hour, the famous New York Times ‘Needle’ has moved out of the ‘toss-up’ range, and into the ‘Trump range’. As of 2.47 a.m. UK time, the Grey Lady gives Donald Trump a 69 per cent chance of returning to the White House. The model estimates Trump will get 286 Electoral College
With polls open across the United States a new President is about to be elected. But who is it going to be? Steerpike has already taken a look at the betting markets who have Trump down as the winner. But do Spectator readers agree? For the past fortnight Mr S has been asking new subscribers
In a few hours, US election results will start to roll in, and while Britons this side of the pond have no say on the outcome they’ve been keen to give their opinions to prowling pollsters. New YouGov polling of 6,520 UK adults has revealed that almost four in ten Brits expect Kamala Harris to
The countdown is on, with just days left until the result of the US presidential election is announced. With pollsters across the world undecided about the likely outcome, Sir Keir’s Starmer’s government is trying to hedge its bets. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has insisted on the airwaves today that ‘there will be a really good