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
Ever since the EU referendum, Boris Johnson has found his local neighbourhood in Islington turn a little bit frosty. Residents in the Remain-voting borough have taken on occasion to heckling him over his pro-Brexit stance. Happily, the Foreign Secretary has since managed to find a safe space – even if it is a little far
With two new polls putting the Conservatives ahead of Labour for the first time since the snap election, there’s reason for Christmas cheer in No 10. However, despite this, the result of the disastrous election remains a sore point in government. So, Steerpike was curious to see Sajid Javid make a joke at the expense
It’s party season in Westminster and last night saw the Women’s Lobby drinks reception, Jeffrey Archer’s festive drinks – or, if you were lucky enough to receive the invitation, Gavin Williamson’s Christmas drinks. The newly-installed Defence Secretary invited a select group of MPs to the vaults of the Ministry of Defence, where he gave a
Working out Labour’s position on the single market is no easy task. Jeremy Corbyn has said Brexit will mean Britain leaves it. So far, so simple. But not everyone in the party – including Corbyn himself, who has since guaranteed access to the single market – appears to agree. Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary,
After David Davis caused a mini-furore over the weekend by claiming that the government’s Brexit compromise on the Irish border was a ‘statement of intent… much more than legally enforceable’, the Brexit Secretary was sent back onto the airwaves this morning to attempt a second time lucky. With the Irish government concerned over Davis’s comments
As Theresa May attempts to keep her party on side over the terms agreed in stage one of the government’s Brexit negotiations, leading Brexiteers have been sent out to praise the deal so far. Michael Gove began the day on the Today programme – praising the Prime Minister – and Steve Baker has been tweeting
With Jeremy Corbyn too anti-establishment to speak to the Parliamentary Press Gallery over lunch, George Osborne was hauled before lobby hacks today as the alternative opposition. The former Chancellor didn’t disappoint with his address. The former Conservative politician – and now Evening Standard editor – accused the Tories of ignoring the 48pc Remain voters in
It’s fair to say that (not for the first time in recent months) things are a little bit awkward around the Cabinet table at the moment. The latest bust-up is between Philip Hammond and Gavin Williamson, with the pair falling out after an ally of the Chancellor compared the new defence secretary to Private Pike
It’s safe to say this hasn’t been a good week for the government with Brexit talks unexpectedly stalling on Monday. But if there were to be one Cabinet minister said to be having the worst time, it would be David Davis. At a select committee appearance on Tuesday, the Brexit secretary came unstuck over the
Theresa May’s Brexit red lines were intended to keep her backbenchers happy, reassuring them that there would be no backsliding on Brexit. The approach worked. But at PMQs today there were signs that some Brexiteer Tory MPs are starting to worry. Jacob Rees-Mogg told the Prime Minister he was concerned her red lines were ‘beginning
Oh dear. It turns out it’s not just the British government having a bad week. The latest issue of Cambridge News is out and the splash is… a ‘100-T SPLASH HEADING HERE’. It turns out the paper went to print before anyone had a chance to write a headline on the first page… Wow. It’s
Unfortunately for Theresa May, her working lunch on Monday with Jean-Claude Juncker didn’t work when it came to agreeing ‘sufficient progress’ with Brussels. However, as the Prime Minister works to solve the negotiations deadlock with the DUP – and subsequently the EU, she can at least find some light relief in the abundance of Maybot
Nowadays Brexit is blamed for a lot of things – in fact when good news does occur it’s often accompanied by the phrase ‘despite Brexit’. But up until now Mr S didn’t realise the dark force of Brexit had spread to a different time continuum. Steven Moffat, the creative force behind Doctor Who, has revealed
At this year’s Labour conference, John McDonnell went somewhat off message when the shadow chancellor announced at a fringe event that his party was ‘war-gaming’ for a ‘run on the pound’ if elected. Given that this hardly signs like a desirable outcome for a party of government, the shadow chancellor has since tried to retract his
Spare a thought for Damian Green. As the Cabinet Office investigation into whether or not he broke the ministerial code over allegations of inappropriate behaviour continues, the Secretary of State is in the news once again. This time, a former Scotland Yard detective has told BBC News that he was ‘shocked’ by the amount of pornography
Jeremy Corbyn caused a social media flurry on Thursday after it was revealed that he is the cover star of the new issue of GQ magazine. Sticking to his socialist values, the Labour leader managed not to fall in the trap of other comrades (like Owen Jones) who put on designer gear for the glossy
It’s Opposition day and the SNP’s motion calling for improved transitional measures for the ‘waspi’ women has been the cause of much commotion in the Chamber this afternoon. Although both sides intended to make important points on a pressing issue, it soon descended into a shouting match between the SNP’s Mhairi Black and the new
Theresa May left it to Damian Green to fill in for her at PMQs today and it’s fair to say that things didn’t go entirely smoothly. The deputy PM remains the subject of a Cabinet Office investigation into his behaviour and there was silence in the Commons when he was asked by Labour MP John
Oh dear. You can tell a meeting has gone badly if you leave £15,000 poorer then you were when you went in. So, spare a thought for Andrew Bridgen at yesterday’s meeting of the Regulatory Reform Select Committee on Tuesday. Bridgen is chair of the committee – with select committee chairs earning an extra income of £15,025
The case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British mother jailed in Iran, has attracted cross party support after Boris Johnson’s comments at a select committee led to the Iran government re-examining her sentence. Of all the MPs to call on the Foreign Secretary to do more to help improve her situation, few have been as vocal as Tulip
