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
With the Irish border problem rearing its head once again this week, Sir John Major has popped up with an intervention Theresa May could probably have done without. In a speech today, the former prime minister urged May to keep Britain in ‘a’ customs union for the sake of the peace process. He went on
Oh dear. This week the Daily Mail published the findings of an investigation into the ‘racist and thuggish’ past of ex-Formula One boss Max Mosley. The paper asked whether Mosley – who donated more than £500,000 to Tom Watson, lied at his orgy privacy trial. Under oath at the High Court, Mosley denied a leaflet allegedly published
Here we go. Although Theresa May and her government are meant to be on a Brussels charm offensive ahead of next month’s crunch EU council meeting, Michael Gove couldn’t resist a dig at the other side today. The Defra minister – who has recast himself as an eco-warrior in recent months – took issue with
Oh dear. It’s no secret that there is little love lost between the Conservatives and the Speaker. John Bercow rarely misses an opportunity to discipline his former comrades in the Chamber. Today was no exception. During Treasury questions, Philip Hammond found himself in the firing line. Bercow interrupted Liz Truss as she responded to a
Liam Fox is set to take to the stage this afternoon to give a speech on the opportunities of free trade as part of the government’s roadmap to Brexit. Only the International Trade Secretary has already hit a bump in the road. The former permanent secretary at his department, Martin Donnelly, has launched a broadside attack
Oh dear. It’s a common sight nowadays to see a politician down the line struggle to hear what their interviewer is saying as soon as the questions start to get difficult. Whether it’s bad weather or bad signal, there’s a long history of earpieces failing at the most convenient times. So, spare a thought for
Oh dear. Today Jeremy Corbyn is expected to back ‘a’ customs union when Britain leaves the EU. To begin Labour’s Brexit blitz, Barry Gardiner was sent onto the airwaves to wax lyrical about Labour’s new pitch. The problem is that of all of Labour’s shadow cabinet – other than Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell –
Here we go again. Within Parliament it’s no secret that there is little love lost between Conservative colleagues Boris Johnson and Tom Tugendhat. When Tugendhat suggested that it was ‘really, really hard to do cross-cultural humour’, the Foreign Secretary responded that jokes can be an ‘effective way of getting your diplomatic message across’. Now Tugendhat has
The Labour shadow cabinet have been out in full force on the airwaves this morning dropping heavy hints that Jeremy Corbyn will use a speech tomorrow to announce that his party backs the UK remaining in ‘a’ customs union post-Brexit – which would mean the UK would be unable to strike its own free trade
Oh dear. When the Sun reported this month that Jeremy Corbyn met with a Czech spy – posing as a diplomat – during the cold war, the story appeared to raise serious questions over the Labour leader’s judgment. A spokesman for the Labour leader admitted he had met a diplomat, but said Corbyn had never
Here we go. Ahead of today’s crunch Cabinet away day at Chequers, Theresa May held a meeting with Dame Tessa Jowell. The Labour stalwart is suffering from a brain tumour – and the pair met to discuss what can be done to improve the ‘woefully low’ survival rates going forward. It was lovely to spend
When Matt Hancock released the ‘Matt Hancock app’ this month, there was much mockery from his critics. While some found the idea of a personal app egocentric, others queried whether the Culture Secretary’s app was in breach of data protection laws. Now thanks to the latest register of interests it’s possible to know what the
Theresa May has a lot on her plate this week. As well as today’s crunch Brexit Cabinet away day, she is facing a Tory backlash over her university funding review and working to stave off a rebellion on the customs union. Now she has another problem to deal with: Stormzy. Yes, the Prime Minister has
Diane Abbott is no stranger to getting her numbers in a muddle, and it seems the shadow home secretary has now done it again. Abbott warned this week that some were using immigration as a euphemism for race, but Mr S was surprised by one passage in her speech. The Guardian reports that Abbott told
Oh dear. It’s safe to say that the Conservative party’s foray into WhatsApp hasn’t always been plain sailing. After MPs formed an official Tory MPs’ group on the encrypted messaging app to communicate with one another, many presumed their conversations would be secure. Alas this hasn’t proved to be the case – with the papers
Brexit minister Steve Baker has his colleagues to thank for his disastrous turn on the Daily Politics. Tory ministers have been piling in to the Corbyn Czech spy row, but it’s fair to say that some may have taken things a little too far. The Labour leader has been accused of having ‘betrayed’ his country,
The Jeremy Corbyn Czech spy story is something of an open goal for the Tories. It was no surprise then that Theresa May used the ongoing row to make a gag at the Labour leader’s expense at PMQs. During an exchange on Brexit, the PM told Corbyn: ‘Normally he stands up every week and asks
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.
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
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
