Steerpike

Steerpike

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

Craig Oliver in the firing line at All Out War launch

To the Policy Exchange for the launch of All Out War, Tim Shipman’s tome on the EU referendum. As the Sunday Times political editor welcomed ‘Bremoaners, Brexiteers, esteemed guests and members of David Cameron’s honours list’ to the launch, he spoke of his relief that there were people present who hated each other more than they hated

Watch: Will Straw – I don’t know why I got my gong either

What did Will Straw do to deserve his gong? It’s a mystery which has baffled many – including Mr. S – ever since Straw was handed a CBE for leading the ‘Stronger In’ campaign to a resounding defeat in the referendum. Straw’s inclusion on David Cameron’s resignation honours list was labelled a ‘joke’, while others said it was a clear

Steerpike

Tory MP compares unpaid internships to the slave trade

As the government considers a ban on unpaid internships, Theresa May has been accused of pursuing a ‘purge of the posh’. Today Alec Shelbrooke appeared on Daily Politics to put forward the case for the ban. Alas, things took a questionable turn when the Tory backbencher decided that there was an apt and fair comparison to be

Steerpike

Michael Heseltine: I strangled my mother’s dog

Oh dear. It seems Michael Heseltine ought to prepare for a visit from the RSPCA in the next week or so. The former Deputy Prime Minister has admitted to a crime, in an interview in this month’s Tatler. The 83-year-old conservative makes the confession that he strangled his mother’s pet dog, by the name of Kim.

Jeremy Clarkson takes one last swipe at Danny Cohen

Although Jeremy Clarkson has now moved to Amazon Prime to host a new car show, it appears that the BBC is never far from the former Top Gear host’s mind. In an interview with the Sunday Times over the weekend, Clarkson couldn’t resist revisiting his ongoing feud with Danny Cohen, the former director of television

Michael Gove falls in love…again

Michael Gove has been keeping himself busy this week with his non-apology apology tour. He came close to saying sorry to Boris Johnson and admitted he made mistakes during the party’s summer leadership contest. But he has saved his biggest about-turn for this morning. In his column in The Times today, the Brexit backer has admitted

Watch: John McDonnell’s ‘chaotic breakfast’ Brexit gaffe

Spare a thought for John McDonnell. The shadow chancellor was up and about early this morning to criticise Theresa May on the airwaves for her stance on Brexit. But while McDonnell was eager to get his message across, Mr S wonders whether he might have forgotten something before he left the house. It seems by the time

Labour fined £20,000 for the EdStone

Just when you thought it was confined to political folklore, the EdStone returns again to haunt Labour. Mr S was interested to learn this morning that the Electoral Commission has fined the party £20,000 for failing to declare the money spent on the doomed eight-foot tombstone. Labour failed to declare £7,614 worth of receipts for the stone plinth,

Arron Banks revisits old wounds

During the EU referendum, there was a fierce contest between Vote Leave and Grassroots Out over which would win the official designation to campaign for Out. In the end, it went to Vote Leave — after it was decided that they held the widest cross-party support. Part of the issue was that the majority of

Chuka can’t

Although Chuka Umunna was widely tipped to succeed Keith Vaz as chair of the home affairs select committee, in the end it was Yvette Cooper who proved triumphant. In fact, Umunna came a distant third in the election — with Caroline Flint coming second. So, what went wrong? The word being put round Westminster is that the

Watch: Theresa May’s risqué PMQs joke about Mrs Bone

Theresa May’s track record of telling jokes in the Commons isn’t good. Last month at Prime Minister’s Questions, her wise cracks went down badly and she was criticised by a Labour MP for telling ‘silly jokes when asked serious questions’. At today’s PMQs, she was at it again – and Mr S is pleased to

Steerpike

Russell Brand’s principles prove costly

Spare a thought for Russell Brand. Although the comedian-turned-revolutionary-turned-comedian-again has made clear that ‘profit is a filthy word‘, in recent years this hasn’t stopped Brand from making one himself. Last year, Mr S had to break the sad news that the annual accounts for his company Pablo Diablo’s Legitimate Business Firm showed a healthy profit of

Steerpike

Science Must Fall: it’s time to decolonise science

First we had Rhodes Must Fall, now it’s the turn of Science Must Fall. Students at the University of Cape Town in South Africa have taken issue with the science faculty — or science in general, to be more exact. The issue? Science as it is currently understood is colonial and ought to be abolished.

Steerpike

Notting Hill set splits in two – ‘it’s agony’

Since the EU referendum result led to David Cameron’s resignation, the former Prime Minister’s friendship groups have experienced a change of fortune. While the Chipping Norton set have simply found themselves cut out, over in Notting Hill they are turning on one another. In fact, things have got so bad that Cameron’s friends are no

Watch: Emily Thornberry’s calamitous Question Time appearance

Emily Thornberry put in a memorable performance on Question Time last night. Unfortunately for the shadow foreign secretary, it was an appearance that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Thornberry was heckled after sucking up to Corbyn, and she managed to make the audience groan when she claimed what united Labour was ‘so

Steerpike

Paul Mason turns on Jeremy Corbyn

Since stepping down as the economics editor of Channel 4 News, Paul Mason has become a key cheerleader for Jeremy Corbyn. Mason has used media appearances — along with his social media — to campaign for the Labour leader and call out MPs who fail to show Corbyn sufficient loyalty. So, Mason today finds himself