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
Oh dear. With both Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn opting to give tonight’s ITV leaders’ debate a miss, leaders of the other political parties had the perfect opportunity to step into the spotlight and make a good impression in front of the electorate. Alas Ukip’s Paul Nuttall appeared to miss the mark. Nearing the end of
Although the Mainstream Media would have you believe that the major political force in this election is the Tories, is it actually the Workers Revolutionary Party who are on the march? Mr S only asks after the WRP’s Frank Sweeney appeared on the Daily Politics to explain why it has to be the Trotskyist group at
Before Theresa May revealed her plans to call a snap election, there was much speculation over what her surprise announcement might be. With hacks simply told that she would be making a statement outside No 10, theories doing the rounds ranged from royal drama to ill health relating to the Prime Minister. When Adam Boulton raised
Oh dear. After batting off accusations that he has been put into hiding for the course of the general election campaign, Boris Johnson today resurfaced on the campaign trail in Bristol. Visiting a Sikh temple in St George’s, Boris spoke positively about the opportunities that would come with Brexit — including ending tariffs on whisky between
Diane Abbott isn’t having the best election campaign so far. Although her seat is safe, the shadow home secretary has come under fire for her attempts to explain Labour’s plans to put more police on the beat. So, her appearance yesterday at the Police Federation conference was bound to be testing. After voicing her concerns on the
Oh dear. Given the number of complaints from local Conservative groups about the amount of CCHQ control freakery involved in candidate selection for the snap election, one would have thought that those who made the cut would be the crème de la crème of the party. So, Labour’s Peter Kyle ought to count his lucky
Oh dear. Today Labour have launched a ‘fully costed’ manifesto which fails to mention anywhere the cost of its nationalisation plans. So, with that in mind, Andy McDonald faced an undesirable task in appearing on the Daily Politics to explain how exactly that might work. The shadow transport minister appeared completely out of his depth
Happy Labour manifesto day. The party has decamped to Bradford for its official manifesto launch. Aside from bashing the Tories, Jeremy Corbyn has announced a number of new policies — from raising income tax for high earners to scrapping tuition fees. However, it’s another message that has caught Mr S’s attention. In the backdrop to
Over the past few weeks, Theresa May has toured the country meeting a carefully curated audience of Tory supporters. This has helped to cultivate the idea that Theresa May’s Team are incredibly popular across the land. Today, CCHQ changed the formula and the Prime Minister met with non-vetted members of the public, on the campaign trail
Nicholas Soames may be MP to one of the safest Conservative seats in the country — with a majority of 24,286 — but that doesn’t mean the Tory grandee is taking anything for granted. Winston Churchill’s grandson has been snapped out on the campaign trail — travelling by horse, natch: https://twitter.com/Tim_R_Dawson/status/864093380028100610 No doubt the horse
Oh dear. With Rebecca Long-Bailey widely touted as Jeremy Corbyn’s far-left successor, the Labour MP will be hoping to use this election campaign to show that she’s got what it takes to lead a party. So, it was a curious decision by Long-Bailey to appear on today’s Sunday Politics but refuse to answer any questions.
With less than four weeks to go until polling day, tensions are running high between politicians from the two main parties. On the Andrew Marr Show, Michael Fallon and Emily Thornberry came to blows over Jeremy Corbyn’s links to the IRA. When the Defence Secretary criticised Corbyn on this issue, the shadow foreign secretary hit back
After a tricky week for Jeremy Corbyn and his team, the party hopes to refocus its efforts on Labour’s official manifesto launch this week. But Mr S fears a new hire to Corbyn’s election team could distract from the message. Mr S understands Unite chief of staff Andrew Murray is being drafted in to help with the final stages of Labour’s
An eagle-eyed Twitter user has spotted something that could be a metaphor for the last 12 months of British politics. Theresa May’s 2017 general election battle bus is – wait for it – last year’s Remain bus, spray-painted with new ‘strong and stable’ slogans. It looks like the number plate checks out: 1/2 Theresa May's presidential
With Labour’s draft manifesto out in the open today, politicos and pundits are beginning to cast judgment on whether it offers an innovative set of policies that could transform Britain or if it’s really a socialist disaster just waiting to happen. Alas, Tony Blair’s former director of political operations falls into the latter category. Speaking
Jeremy Corbyn’s day is going from bad to disastrous. Labour’s draft manifesto has been leaked and is splashed all over the newspapers. And the Labour leader was a no show at the party’s poster launch. So you might be forgiven for thinking that things couldn’t possibly get any worse for Corbyn. Not so. When the
The original EdStone may have been broken up and discarded soon after Ed Miliband’s 2015 defeat, but its memory lives on. In fact, the Conservatives have even managed to spin a tidy profit from it — auctioning replica versions to party donors. So, last night at the Ivy Chelsea Garden’s champagne-fuelled summer party, Mr S was
Oh dear. Does anyone in the Labour party have a head for numbers? Mr S only asks after Jack Dromey became the third Labour politician in recent days to come up short on being asked about basic Labour policy figures. In an interview on the Daily Politics, Dromey came up short as he attempted to explain
Last week it was Diane Abbott who was caught on the hoof by Nick Ferrari when she took to the airwaves to unveil Labour’s policing policy. Unable to give the correct figures regarding how much her party’s plan to put more police on the beat would cost, the shadow home secretary seemed woefully unprepared for office. Today
Jeremy Corbyn said this morning that Brexit was ‘settled’. Now, it seems, he isn’t quite so sure. The Labour leader was quizzed repeatedly on whether the UK would definitely leave the EU behind if he becomes Prime Minister on June 9th. Seven times, Corbyn refused to answer. Instead, Corbyn insisted that he would ‘get a good
