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
Although the weekend papers were filled with stories of MPs plotting to loosen the Treasury’s purse strings, there were some whisperings of who ought to succeed Theresa May. While Boris Johnson is still widely regarded as the frontrunner, it is actually his brother Jo who is destined for No 10? Mr S only asks after Sir
Oh dear. After Jeremy Corbyn led Labour to a better than expected general election result, the various party factions have done their best to put their differences to one side and come together. The Labour leader’s decision to invite his former leadership rival Owen Smith back into the shadow cabinet was seen by many as
Although Nick Robinson once accused the BBC of displaying anti-Corbyn bias, producers are keen to show that the Corporation is a broad church after all. On last night’s episode of Question Time in Hastings, Liam Fox, Stella Creasy, Economist editor Zanny Minton Beddoes and LBC radio host Nick Ferrari were joined by Kerry-Anne Mendoza, the founder
It’s that time of year again. After Rod Liddle used the key address at the fifth annual Freedom Dinner to turn his attention to Labour’s Jew-bashing, the anti-Brexit mob and Tim Farron, he was invited back by popular demand to speak at the event this week. At the annual libertarian bash, hosted by Forest, Liddle
Oh dear. Heidi Allen is fast establishing herself as one of the most rebellious MPs in the Conservative party. The Tory MP has spoken out against her party on issues like tax credits as well making her personal grievances with both George Osborne and Theresa May public. In today’s Queen’s Speech debate, Allen added her
George Osborne has been keeping himself busy recently putting the boot into Theresa May at every opportunity. Not content with using the Evening Standard to bash the PM, the former chancellor has now added job number six to his CV, having been made an honorary professor of economics at the University of Manchester. This means
As Michael Gove settles into his new role as Defra secretary, word reaches Steerpike that the Conservative MP is already facing some opposition from the farming community. On Wednesday, Michael Gove boarded the Greater Anglia train from London Liverpool Street to Norwich in order to attend the Royal Norfolk Show. Unfortunately the intrepid minister found himself waylaid
With austerity so last election, voters no longer seem too fussed by the deficit. It may be that they no longer think it’s a problem, with polls showing that the average voter thinks that debt is going down. Why? Because they keep being given that impression by broadcasters who talk about ‘deficit reduction’ while wrongly thinking
Of late, Channel 4 appears to be on a mission to rebrand itself as home of the Corbynista, with the broadcaster angling much of its coverage at those who backed the Labour leader in the snap election. But has Jon Snow taken things a step too far? Mr S only asks after coming across the
Well, that didn’t last long. The uneasy peace between the Blairites and the Corbynites since the snap election has come to an abrupt end. At today’s Progress conference, Paul Mason sat on a panel chaired by Progress’s Richard Angell, alongside fellow Corbynite Emily Thornberry and centrist MPs Wes Streeting and Liz Kendall. The guests attempted to
One of the biggest criticisms of the Conservative snap election campaign is that it failed to make the most of the Tories’ economic record. Since then, former minister Rob Halfon has said the party ought to correct this by rebranding as ‘the Workers Party’. But is Theresa May actually putting people out of work? Mr S only
Although the Conservatives won the most votes, most seats and increased their national vote share, many Labour supporters remain convinced that Jeremy Corbyn was the real winner of the snap election. On Question Time last night, one such supporter was so angry about the democratic election result that they had to be ejected from the
Following the disappointing snap election result, Theresa May has had to relax her approach to government – gone are the days when Cabinet members are kept off the airwaves. As a result of the new regime, lobby hacks today finally had a member of the government speak at a press gallery lunch. Doing the honours was David Gauke, the
In case you missed the memo, yesterday was officially the ‘day of rage’. Hard-left activists took to the streets, vowing to ‘bring down the government’. Although protesters’ claimed that they were seeking justice for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire, this was dismissed by a charity representing those effected; ‘they do not want their grief hijacked
Oh dear. Although Theresa May has managed to make it through the Queen’s Speech today, the real test will come next week when MPs vote on it. With the Prime Minister’s authority already weak, talk has turned to who will be her eventual successor. So, it was a helpful coincidence that the frontrunner to be
Yesterday Mark Carney – who hates it when politicians say anything about him – had a pop at Boris Johnson, ridiculing his optimistic approach to Brexit as seeking “cake and consumption”. Set aside the impropriety of the Bank of England governor making such a political swipe, Brexit was a deep psychological blow for people like
Although a Queen’s Speech tends to be a joyful occasion for the government in power, today’s has been rather sombre for the Conservatives. Theresa Mays legislative plan for government is rather sparse now that she has binned the majority of the 2017 Tory manifesto. Happily, Kwasi Kwarteng was on hand to cheer downcast MPs in
Dennis Skinner is no fan of the Monarchy. But he used his traditional quip at today’s Queen Speech to try and do Her Majesty a big favour. The rescheduling of the speech – which had been due to take place on Monday – has made things tricky for the Queen to make it to one
The new BBC documentary Brexit Means Brexit: The Unofficial Version lifts the lid on what has gone on behind the scenes since EU referendum result last year. While a host of Westminster stalwarts – including Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Anna Soubry – have contributed to the programme, it’s Alan Duncan’s appearance that has caught Mr
Poor old Ed Miliband. The former Labour leader was once convinced he was destined for Downing Street. Now, he’s hosting discussions about toilets on Radio 2. Standing in for Jeremy Vine, Miliband introduced music, chatted politics – and talked to guests about what types of loos they have. The Labour MP even asked one guest to flush their WC to hear