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
Lord Ashcroft is celebrating his 70th birthday at the Grosvenor House Hotel and Mr S is honoured to be one of the guests. William Hague, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Iain Duncan Smith, Penny Mordant and even Tom Watson are amongst the guests at perhaps the most lavish birthday party anyone will host in London this
Although Alastair Campbell no longer works in politics, he remains a divisive figure in Westminster thanks to the reputation he earned as Tony Blair’s spin doctor. During this time, Campbell is said to have been instrumental in using spin to win parliamentary approval for Blair’s call to invade Iraq. Still, Campbell appears to think that
After Simon Hughes lost his seat in the general election, the Liberal Democrat stalwart went from Justice Minister to unemployed overnight. Happily the former Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats has since managed to find work, recently being appointed to cover maternity leave for the Open University’s head of public affairs Laura Burley. However, Mr S understands that
Michael Crick’s Channel 4 report into Tory election spending has led to an investigation by the Electoral Commission into the hotel bills and advertising bills the Conservatives failed to declare as election expenditure. So it’s safe to say that Crick is unlikely to be the flavour of the month over at CCHQ. In fact Lord
This week Jeremy Corbyn received flak from the Prime Minister during PMQs over the decision by Labour’s NEC to allow Gerry Downing — a member of the Trotskyist Socialist Fight — to re-join Labour. Cameron said he was ‘completely appalled’ by the decision — as revealed by Guido Fawkes — as Downing has previously described
Although the EU referendum is supposed to be an issue which transcends party politics, the memo is yet to be received by Richard Burgon. Labour’s blunder-prone shadow City minister managed to bother those on both sides of the House today thanks to his question on the EU. RB: If the British people vote to leave the European
Today’s Sun claims on its front page that the Queen backs Brexit. The paper reports that the Queen clashed with Nick Clegg, who was then Deputy Prime Minister, over Europe at a lunch in 2011. During a heated discussion on the EU, Her Majesty is reported to have declared that the EU was ‘heading in the
On International Women’s Day, Priti Patel managed to divide members of the fairer sex after she claimed that the suffragettes fought for the same cause as those who back Brexit. Speaking at the Women for Britain launch, Patel said it was the duty of Out-ers to protect the ‘democratic freedom’ the women had fought for: ‘As
This week Yvette Cooper was taken to task by Nick Ferrari on LBC over her refugee pledge. Although the former Labour MP had declared that she would be happy to house refugees in her own property, it turns out that she hasn’t actually done so: NF: Have you taken yours yet Yvette? YC: No that’s what
Today’s lobby lunch was the cause of much amusement among hacks. John Whittingdale used his speech to cast a light on Labour spinner Seumas Milne’s school days. The Culture Secretary recounted his time at Winchester College with Milne. He said that during this time, Milne co-authored a manifesto supporting Chinese communist dictator Chairman Mao. What’s more he even
When Lexie Hill appeared on Question Time last month, she left Cabinet minister Liz Truss speechless when she offered up her argument for leaving the EU. The Brexit youth dismissed the Environment Secretary’s claim that the Prime Minister’s EU negotiation deal will reduce the ‘pull factors’ attracting migrants — arguing that a rise in the
Last year a host of celebrities and politicians alike slammed the government for their handling of the refugee crisis. As part of this, several figures including Sir Bob Geldof, Stan Collymore, Nicola Sturgeon and Yvette Cooper volunteered to take refugees into their home. Alas, when Mr S checked last year both Geldof and Collymore were
When Tony Gallagher left the Daily Mail to become editor-in-chief of the Sun in September, the appointment took many by surprise. On top of Gallagher previously denying the rumours, many thought that the paper’s showbiz supremo Gordon Smart would be handed the reins. Gallagher’s appointment was seen as Rupert Murdoch’s way of ‘sticking two fingers up
For those uninspired by the current London mayoral race, there is still hope that things will get more interesting. Morrissey, the Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now singer, is said to be pondering entering the running. The Animal Welfare Party have asked The Smiths frontman to consider standing as their candidate in the election, while his fan website claims
This week Nigel Farage revealed that he had been left ‘worried’ about Boris Johnson’s ability to campaign for Brexit after his ‘slightly shambolic’ North London press conference. While the Ukip leader insists he has since come round to Johnson’s involvement, Mr S wonders what he will make of the Mayor of London’s turn on The Andrew
To the Conrad hotel in St James where Nigel Farage went head to head with former Labour spinner John McTernan in a Ladbrokes’ Brexit debate. Although the EU was the number one topic on the agenda, the panel chair Isabel Oakeshott — who is the co-author of Call Me Dave — managed to get pig on the
As Zac Goldsmith fights to be the next Mayor of London against Labour’s Sadiq Khan, he is striving to appeal to all Londoners. Alas, somewhere in the process of doing this, he appears to have got a bit confused. In an interview with Pink News — the news website aimed at the LGBT community, Goldsmith said that
This week Donald Trump surged ahead in the race to be the Republican candidate in the US presidential election following Super Tuesday. Since then, there has been a lot of negative press surrounding Trump — with naysayers worrying about his plans to build a wall between America and Mexico, and ban Muslims from entering the country. While Piers
With Nick Clegg now a mere backbencher, his former staff appear to no longer feel the need to protect the Liberal Democrat from negative publicity. Today Clegg’s former campaign manager Ben Rathe has written a blog in which he reveals what happened when his search for a location for Clegg to give a speech — at the
Brexit campaigners make the argument that the European Union just isn’t working when it comes to Britain’s interests. While some are yet to be convinced, it’s safe to say that some parts of the EU parliament just don’t work full stop. Last night Paul Brannen, the Labour MEP, found himself stuck in a lift in parliament, in Brussels. When door
