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 evening, Andy Burnham has whipped social media into a frenzy after the Labour MP decided to wade into ‘barista-gate’. Following reports that the Home Secretary is considering plans for ‘barista visas’ — which would allow young Europeans to work in the hospitality industry after Brexit — Burnham has taken to Twitter to let it
As if Jeremy Corbyn wasn’t already getting it from all sides on the home front, the beleaguered Labour leader has come under a fresh line of an attack from a former Bush aide: propping up Donald Trump. Yes, speaking on The Spectator Podcast, David Frum – senior editor at The Atlantic and former Bush administration staffer – accused
With George Osborne set to start his new part-time job as editor of the Evening Standard next month, the former chancellor could be forgiven for taking things easy for now and just focussing on his two other big jobs — as an advisor for Black Rock and the MP for Tatton. However, given that this
Although Nick Robinson claims the BBC no longer has a duty to be balanced over Brexit now the referendum has been won, what about Scottish independence? With ‘IndyRef2’ on the horizon indefinitely, Mr S was curious to note the approach Andrew Marr took to interviewing the SNP’s Alex Salmond compared with unionist Ruth Davidson. When Davidson
Oh dear. Someone at The New European is about to have a very bad Easter break indeed. Although the pro-EU paper claims it is an advocate for unity and tolerance, it seems they hold no qualms about stirring up division in UK towns. In the press release for this week’s issue of the newspaper, it’s
Oh dear. Today Jeremy Corbyn launched his new small business policy with a press conference at the Federation of Small Businesses. Alas things took a turn for the worse when the BBC’s Mark Lobel attempted to ask the Labour leader about the situation in Syria: .@jeremycorbyn refused to answer a question on Syria at a business conference
As regular Spectator readers will know, universities today aren’t what they used to be. From students at LSE attempting to ban a free-speech society to City University students banning newspapers at the institution famed for its journalism school, censorship is on the rise on campus. What’s more, the election of Malia Bouattia — who called Birmingham University ‘a
There’s no such thing as a free lunch — and Owen Jones is quickly discovering that there’s also no such thing as a free jacket in a fashion shoot. The Guardian journalist has come under fire over his decision to model a £1,080 jacket while discussing the ‘collapse of capitalism’ with the men’s magazine. While Jones
They say a picture can paint a thousand words. So, it was a curious decision by Guardian columnist Owen Jones to wear a £1,080 jacket while discussing the ‘crisis of capitalism’ in an interview with GQ. Discussing the path to true socialism in a wide-ranging interview with Alastair Campbell, Jones rallies against inequality and Tory cuts: ‘With
Oh dear. Last week the Times reported that brains at the Grauniad are pondering moving the paper’s offices back to Manchester in an attempt to save money. Although Mr S heralded the move the paper’s best idea in decades, not everyone agrees. While Steerpike was sure the paper’s leading columnists would jump at the chance to up
Diane Abbott suggested last year that some voters backed Brexit because they wanted to see ‘less foreign-looking people on their streets’. On Question Time yesterday, she finally got her comeuppance. A furious Leave supporter took her to task on the show by asking her whether she had any remorse for her remarks. The audience member told
This week Nick Robinson set the cat among the pigeons when he claimed that the BBC no longer has a duty to ‘broadly balance’ the views of Remain and Leave in its Brexit reports now that the EU referendum is over. However, many have questioned Robinson’s so-called ‘due impartiality’ — with 70 Eurosceptic MPs previously signing a letter
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