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
For months now, it’s proved a daily challenge trying to work out what exactly Labour’s position on Brexit is. While the 2017 manifesto said the party wanted to retain the benefits of both the single market and the customs union, a lot of confusion follows when one tries to pin down whether that means staying
Wimbledon wouldn’t be Wimbledon without strawberries and cream, Pimms and…John Bercow in the Royal Box. The speaker of the House of Commons has been something of a permanent fixture over the last few years indulging his love of watching the tennis among the great and the good. Since 2015, he’s managed to get his mitts on
After David Lidington complained about ‘warm prosecco’ fuelling Tory leadership plotting, the Cabinet stepped things up a gear on Thursday as they made their way to 22 Old Queen Street for some chilled champagne at The Spectator summer party. After a difficult few months which saw Theresa May lose her majority in Parliament, the Prime Minister
Politicians have been busy swapping horror stories of the unacceptable abuse dished out to MPs and candidates running for Parliament. Fortunately for Labour frontbencher Jack Dromey, he appears to have escaped the worst of the vitriol. But when talking on the Daily Politics about his own experiences, Dromey resorted to some very unparliamentary language. Here’s what
During the election campaign, Tory MPs were queuing up to be snapped with Theresa May and the Prime Minister’s face was plastered all over Conservative party leaflets up and down the country. Now, though, it seems May has become something of an embarrassment to the Tories. The Prime Minister might be just about managing to
This week, Jeremy Corbyn got himself into a spot of bother when photos emerged of the Labour leader enjoying a pizza alongside a pro-Assad campaigner. Marcus Papadopoulos, who denied genocide in Srebrenica, shared a picture of the pair – praising ‘a wonderful dinner and discussion’: I'm having a wonderful dinner and discussion with hopefully the next Prime Minister
If you just listened to Corbynistas, one could be forgiven for thinking that (a) Labour won the snap election (b) the party increased its popularity among the working class. Last night offered a perfect example of Labour’s contrary rhetoric. Speaking at an Open Labour event, Clive Lewis boasted of how far the party had come
Theresa May’s decision to announce plans to launch an inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal on the day she ‘reboots’ her leadership, has been read by many as a sign of her growing weakness. With no Tory majority in sight, the Prime Minister today issued a plea to other parties to contribute – before giving way on
Oh dear. This morning, Rebecca Long-Bailey risked alienating the three million people who use the Uber taxi app, when she said that it was ‘morally unacceptable’ to do so. While the shadow business secretary cited concerns with the gig economy as her reason for doing so, it seems not everyone in her team agrees. Somewhat
Thinking of hopping into an Uber today? Think again. At least that’s the message from Labour frontbencher Rebecca Long-Bailey. The Corbynite MP – who has been widely tipped as a possible successor one day to Jezza – said she doesn’t use Uber because she doesn’t think it’s ‘morally acceptable’ to do so. Here’s what she told
When the Conservatives aren’t busy plotting against one another over a warm glass of prosecco, they are taking the struggle public in the select committee chairmanship elections. While young MPs Johnny Mercer and Tom Tugendhat attempt to usurp the older generation in the defence and foreign select committees, the two frontrunners for chair of the Treasury
Is Theresa May’s working majority about to get even smaller? After the Prime Minister called out unacceptable abuse directed at MPs, Theresa May is having to contend with bad behaviour from one of her own. The Huff Post UK has obtained a recording of Anne Marie Morris, the MP for Newton Abbot, using the N-word during an appearance on
With a recent YouGov poll giving Labour a six-point-lead over the Conservatives, it’s little wonder that Jeremy Corbyn is keen to pitch his party as a government-in-waiting. In this vein, the Labour leader has been visiting Tory marginals on weekends. On Saturday, Corbyn was in Hastings & Rye, where the Home Secretary clung onto her
This week, Emma Dent Coad, the Labour MP for Kensington, called for Sir Martin Moore-Bick to be replaced as head of the Grenfell Tower inquiry. The reason? He does not ‘understand human beings’. Happily, her appearance on the Sunday Politics this morning presented an opportunity for Dent Coad to elaborate on her comments. Yet aside from
Theresa May is spending the day flying the flag for Cool Britannia at the G20 summit in Hamburg. The Prime Minister promised to use the trip to show that Britain remains a global player. But with May also planning to bring up the Paris climate change agreement with President Trump, how will the special relationship cope
On last night’s episode of Question Time, David Dimbleby made his way to Burton upon Trent to chair a panel made up of Jacob Rees-Mogg, Richard Burgon, Caroline Lucas, Susie Boniface and (Sir) Craig Oliver. Unlike last week, the BBC anchor did not have to eject any audience members for rowdy behaviour. However, that’s not to
On Tuesday, Steerpike revealed that the hunt was on to find a new No 10 director of communications, with the BBC’s James Landale pipped against his Beeb comrade Robbie Gibb for the top job. After Landale dropped out of the race, the plum job has gone to Gibb, the head of live political programming at
Oh dear. Although Theresa May managed to get through today’s PMQs with a solid performance, she did fall short when it came to Scottish matters. The newly-elected Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine used a question to thank the Prime Minister for ‘taking time during the General Election to come up to Banchory and campaign
Ken Loach is no fan of Brexit. The veteran filmmaker and Corbynista luvvie warned last year that the referendum was a ‘dangerous, dangerous moment’ for the country. Now, Loach is dishing out even more doom and gloom, saying that leaving the EU could mean bad news for the British film industry. Loach said that a messy Brexit deal
Much excitement from Labour this morning over the new IFS report on tuition fees. With research finding that students from disadvantaged backgrounds will graduate with debts in excess of £57,000, Labour’s shadow education minister has said it’s time to ‘deliver a debt-free education system run for the many not the few’. Conveniently, the party has not