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
This week, there has been a chemical attack in Syria, Labour decided not to expel Ken Livingstone from the party and Michael Howard suggested that Britain could take military action if necessary to protect Gibraltar. So, what are the hard left protesting? A left-wing magazine daring to criticise Corbyn. Tomorrow: Protest New Statesman's biased coverage of
With health bosses warning last month that the NHS faces a ‘mission impossible’ to meet the standards required by the government with the current levels of funding, there are financial worries over its future. So, how is the NHS spending its limited funds? Well, the latest register of interests shows that Naz Shah has been brought in to
Although Nick Robinson claims the BBC no longer has a duty to ‘broadly balance’ the views of Remain and Leave in its Brexit reports, this hasn’t stopped the Today programme facing flak for its seemingly gloomy broadcasts. A recent News Watch study found that — in the six month period after the referendum vote — of
Oh dear. Someone at the BBC is having a very bad day indeed. Earlier today the corporation announced that Brian Matthew — the veteran BBC presenter and former host of Sounds of the 60s — has died aged 88. The news was soon followed up by several newspapers, with obituaries published and a message of condolence from
Hold the front page. The Guardian may have just had its best idea in decades. According to the Times, brains at the Grauniad are pondering moving the paper’s offices back to Manchester in an attempt to save money. Senior executives at Guardian Media Group are said to have held ‘top secret’ talks about moving the newspaper’s
To say Labour’s decision not to expel Ken Livingstone from the party — but instead suspend him for a year — over his comments on Hitler and Zionism has gone down like a cup of cold sick with the PLP would be an understatement. Following the move, Luciana Berger branded it ‘a new low’ for
Oh dear. Jeremy Corbyn’s war with the MSM (aka mainstream media) entered a new fractious chapter tonight thanks to an interview with ITV. Following months of dire polling, the Labour leader lost his temper when he was asked whether he should stand aside in the wake of the party’s poor ratings: Jeremy Corbyn reacts angrily to a question
Today the news agenda has been dominated by Easter eggs — or just eggs, depending on who you speak to. Theresa May sent hacks into a spin on her official visit to Saudi Arabia when she declared the National Trust’s decision to drop the word Easter from the name of their egg hunts ‘absolutely ridiculous’. Jeremy Corbyn has
Although Nick Robinson once accused the Corporation of anti-Corbyn bias, he takes a different approach when it comes to allegations of Brexit bias. After 70 Eurosceptic MPs signed a letter accusing the BBC of a biased and ‘pessimistic’ view (and another 80 Remain MPs sent a letter asking the BBC to stay strong), the former
This morning there has been much outrage following the National Trust’s decision to drop the word Easter from the name of their egg hunts (previously called ‘Easter Egg Trails’), in association with Cadbury. The Prime Minister has branded the decision ‘absolutely ridiculous’ as Easter is ‘a very important festival for the Christian faith for millions across the
It’s judgment day. Today Ken Livingstone is expected to find out if he has been expelled from Labour, over controversial comments he made last year about Hitler and Zionism. So in the final hours before the verdict, how is Livingstone occupying himself? Well, by talking about Hitler, obviously. Only now Ken has a new enemy in his
Last year, Baroness Ruth Deech warned that Britain’s leading universities are becoming no-go zones for Jewish students because anti-Semitism is so rife. With a survey out today reporting that two-thirds of Jewish students say the National Union of Students does not respond appropriately to allegations of antisemitism, there is clearly work to do tackling discrimination on campus.
When Theresa May was snapped shopping in Waitrose last year, the Prime Minister was praised by the Telegraph for putting the politics of envy to one side by unapologetically shopping in the high-end supermarket. But is the real story that she was in a supermarket to begin with? Mr S only asks after Richard Burgon —
On last night’s Question Time, David Dimbleby chaired a panel — comprised of Ruth Davidson, Lisa Nandy, Paul Nuttall, Len McCluskey and the IEA’s Kate Andrews — from Carlisle. With the Unite election underway, McCluskey — who is standing for re-election — tried to use his appearance to defend Labour’s bad polling under Jeremy Corbyn, Explaining
After George Osborne was announced as the new editor of the Evening Standard, there was outrage across the House as many asked: how can Osborne serve as an MP, financial advisor and daily newspaper editor all at the same time? Alan Rusbridger has now graced us with his take on the situation. In an editorial for the
Ken Livingstone will find out in a few hours’ time whether he’s been permanently booted out of the Labour party for mouthing off about Hitler. So, how is he spending the hours before the verdict is in? Well, by mouthing off about Hitler – obviously. Outside the hearing where he will discover his fate, the former Mayor
In the excitement of the Prime Minister’s Article 50 statement — and the subsequent SNP row over heckling — yesterday, much of the drama of PMQs was forgotten. While Jeremy Corbyn once again failed to land any serious blows against Theresa May, it’s John Bercow’s conduct that disappointed Mr S. The Speaker of the House
Ever since the (fast depleting) SNP 56 descended on Parliament in 2015, they have been frequently criticised for failing to grasp Westminster etiquette. There have been a number of incidents — from Angus MacNeil chewing gum in the Chamber to the SNP clapping en masse. Today was no exception. During PMQs, the Speaker had to intervene after Joanna
As Ken Livingstone faces a two-day disciplinary hearing from Labour into his claim that Adolf Hitler was a Zionist ‘before he went mad and murdered six million Jews’, the former Mayor of London has submitted a 17-page defence of himself to Labour’s National Constitutional Committee. In the hefty document, he describes the accusations against him as ‘essentially a political charge’
Given that Owen Jones, Glenda Jackson and Derek Hatton are just a handful of the figures to recently turn on Jeremy Corbyn, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Labour leader is turning people off Labour. So, Mr S was surprised to learn of Labour’s latest recruit, in today’s issue of the Times. Step forward
