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
With Boris Johnson’s hopes of making it into Number 10 dashed, the former Mayor of London is now on a damage limitation exercise with the focus on retaining his dignity. Bruised from Theresa May’s dig yesterday that his EU negotiation experience amounts to his controversial purchase of three ‘nearly new’ water cannons, it’s safe to say that
At times this week it has seemed as though Sarah Vine will soon be running the country — that is, if she isn’t secretly already. As well as informing readers, through her Daily Mail column, that she — along with her husband Michael Gove — has been ‘charged with implementing the instructions of 17 million people’
In the bloody annals of Westminster history, has there ever been an act of treachery greater than Michael Gove’s knifing of Boris Johnson yesterday? Perhaps not, but there is probably an analogy in the HBO series Game of Thrones. The Justice Secretary is a great fan of the series, and often uses it as a
Who ever does become the new Conservative leader is going to face a difficult challenge uniting the party, let alone leading the Brexit negotiations. Following Michael Gove’s decision to run for Tory leader without bothering to tell Boris Johnson, a number of BoJo allies are distinctly unimpressed with the Justice Secretary. Perhaps none more so
Boris Johnson managed to surprise commentariats and colleagues alike today when he used his supposed leadership launch to announce that he was actually bowing out of the race. Johnson’s allies feel that he was forced into the decision after his fellow Brexiteer Michael Gove announced just an hour earlier that he would stand in his own
Given that Jeremy Corbyn set-up Labour’s anti-Semitism inquiry to examine the extent of the problem in the party, he will have been hoping that it would help resolve the crisis. In fact, given that Shami Chakrabarti’s inquiry concluded today that the Labour Party is not overrun by anti-Semitism or other forms of racism (though there is an
Today Boris Johnson has found himself attacked on all sides with his leadership bid now seen to be over before it even began. With his fellow Brexiteer Michael Gove running against him for leader, Theresa May has used her own leadership launch to pour cold water on BoJo’s ability to lead the country. The most cutting remark
Oh dear. This morning Sarah Vine surprised Daily Mail readers after she declared in her column that both she and her husband Michael Gove had been ‘charged with implementing the instructions of 17 million people’ following the Leave vote. While Vine’s central role in the Brexit negotiations prompted laughter in some quarters, it now transpires that she
As Jeremy Corbyn faces even more Shadow Cabinet resignations today, it’s becoming difficult to locate a Labour MP who thinks he should stay in the post. Now the Prime Minister has added his voice to the cause. David Cameron — who is stepping down in the autumn — used today’s PMQs to call on Corbyn to
Since Leave triumphed in the EU referendum, there have been growing concerns that the Brexiteers were not suitably prepared for success at the polls. As well as no clear plan of action, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove have been uncharacteristically quiet since the result came in. Happily Gove’s wife Sarah Vine has now filled us in
As the Labour party slowly implodes, Jeremy Corbyn is doing his best to keep the show on the road. To do this, the Leader’s Office today agreed that it would be a good idea to let Sky News film a meeting of the new Shadow Cabinet. Although Corbyn’s director of communications Seumas Milne clearly hoped this
With Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet now somewhat depleted, brains at Labour are left with less choice when it comes to who to send onto the airwaves to protect the leader’s honour. As a result, readers ought to expect to hear a lot more from Diane Abbott — the newly appointed Shadow Health Secretary — in the
As Labour MPs drowned their sorrows in Strangers’ Bar last night following a fractious meeting of the PLP, over in the Red Lion the pro-Corbyn contingent gathered for a pint. Mr S’s mole reports that Momentum’s Jon Lansman met with Richard Burgon, the Shadow Justice Secretary, and Seb Corbyn at the Westminster watering hole to give the
While Corbyn faced an open revolt from MPs at tonight’s meeting of the PLP, over in Parliament Square the Corbyn fightback got underway as hundreds gathered for a Momentum rally in support of the Labour leader. Not content with the drama at the meeting, Richard Burgon — Labour’s former blunder-prone shadow City minister who has just been promoted
It’s not proving to be a great day for Jeremy Corbyn. After over half of his Shadow Cabinet resigned, the Labour leader has now faced a revolt in the Chamber. While giving a statement on the European referendum, Corbyn called for MPs to refrain from in-fighting: ‘The country will thank neither the benches in front of
Given the flak that Tom Watson received for partying until 4am at Glastonbury on Saturday as his party imploded, one could be forgiven for thinking that any remaining Labour MPs at the annual festival would have got out of there as soon as possible. However, there is a rumour doing the rounds that Corbyn’s new
Ahead of the EU referendum, David Cameron’s sister-in-law declared that she would never vote Conservative again if Leave won. Now that Brexit is firmly on the agenda — and her brother-in-law set to stand down — Emily Sheffield is preparing to join the Labour party. Samantha Cameron’s sister has taken to Twitter to ask how quickly she
Today Jeremy Corbyn has had not one, not two, not three but ten Shadow Cabinet members hand in their resignation. What’s more, with a growing number of Labour MPs confessing to having lost faith in the Labour leader over the EU referendum result, he now faces a difficult task trying to fill the vacancies. Happily, one man
As Jeremy Corbyn tries to hold off the threat of a coup from members of his shadow cabinet, it’s probably for the best that he pulled out of a planned appearance at Glastonbury today. However, not everyone in Labour’s top command appears to have received the memo about putting the party’s woes above the annual music festival.
It’s not turning out to be a great weekend for Jeremy Corbyn. First he had to pull out of a planned appearance at Glastonbury on Sunday to focus on Brexit, now his visit to London Pride has, too, been ruined by the referendum result. On meeting with members of Labour’s LGBT community at Pride, Corbyn was
