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
In recent months brains at the BBC have undertaken a number of steps to tackle ‘anti-Corbyn bias’ head on at the corporation. After the Beeb’s former political editor Nick Robinson wrote to colleagues warning them against anti-Corbyn bias in the political coverage, the message was then picked up by the comedy department. Barry Humphries revealed this week that he was told he could not do
It’s safe to say this week hasn’t been the best for Labour. As well as a never-ending reshuffle saga, Corbyn was accused of ‘low-level non-violent misogyny’ over the lack of women in the top roles in his Shadow Cabinet by Labour MP Jess Phillips. So with the cabinet officially reshuffled, brains at Labour HQ decided it
After Diane Abbott falsely claimed that Labour MP Jonathan Reynolds was a former special adviser on last night’s Newsnight, Reynolds hit back by describing her as a ‘sell-out’. Now — just when it seemed Labour’s in-fighting couldn’t get much worse — Ken Livingstone has appeared on the Daily Politics to offer his take on the incident. Asked if Abbott was
After a tough day yesterday for Corbyn’s team following his chaotic reshuffle, there was only one thing left to do to save the day: send Diane Abbott onto the airwaves. The gaffe-prone shadow international development secretary appeared on Newsnight to wax lyrical about the state of Corbyn’s slightly reshuffled Shadow Cabinet. When put to her that things might
Labour has found itself on the verge of a civil war today as a number of MPs have turned on their dear leader over his Shadow Cabinet reshuffle. After weeks of conflicting briefings in the media, it was Corbyn’s decision to axe Pat McFadden which proved to be a particular sore point amongst Labour MPs as two
Jeremy Corbyn made his views on changing the Labour party’s Trident policy pretty clear last night when he moved pro-Trident Maria Eagle out of the role of shadow defence secretary in favour of Emily Thornberry. Thornberry – who is anti-Trident – has been labelled as a controversial appointment by some given that – as well as
This week Jeremy Corbyn has found himself battling with the media once again as he had to reprimand lobby journalists for loitering too close to his office during his Shadow Cabinet reshuffle deliberations. Happily he no longer has to deal with such proximity issues when he returns home this evening. Mr S revealed back in December that
In December, Julie Burchill had lunch with Jess Phillips MP, and decided in an article for Spectator Life that the gobby Brummie had the balls to drag the Labour party back from Korbyn’s Keystone Kommunism. It now seems that Phillips agrees. Speaking on Newsnight last night, she admitted – over a pint – that she was indeed interested
No doubt David Cameron looks back on his 2010 election victory with fond memories — the excitement on the night, the subsequent celebrations and of course the gifts that followed. So Mr S is sorry to report that one election present may not have been quite what it seemed. Julian Sayarer’s forthcoming book Messengers details his time
Michael Dugher has today been fired by Jeremy Corbyn from his role as Shadow Culture Secretary after serving less than five months on Corbyn’s frontline. Just been sacked by Jeremy Corbyn. I wished him a happy new year. — Michael Dugher (@MichaelDugher) January 5, 2016 While the move will no doubt come as a blow to
Oh dear. After Nick Robinson declared that he was on a mission to tackle anti-Corbyn bias in the BBC’s political coverage, it appears some brains at Broadcasting House may be taking his sentiment a little too far. It now seems that there is also an anti-Corbyn bashing rule when it comes to satire. Barry Humphries — who
When Jeremy Corbyn formed his Shadow Cabinet after he was voted in as Labour leader, he soon became the subject of much mockery in the media. This wasn’t so much because of his appointments, but because his late night discussions about who to appoint were overheard by loitering hacks who then published the private discussions.
Although the first rule of spin doctoring is to never become the story, Leave.EU’s Andy Wigmore appears to be taking the Alastair Campbell approach when it comes to managing the campaign’s comms. After the Mail on Sunday revealed that Nigel Farage may have been the victim of an assassination attempt — after a wheel on
Back in August — after much anticipation — Jeremy Corbyn finally revealed some of his economic policies to the world. His policies — also known as ‘Corbynomics’ — took inspiration from the tax expert Richard Murphy’s blog. While several of the ideas — which included reclaiming the £120bn ‘tax gap’ and quantitative easing — were described as ‘starry-eyed,
While a new year can mean new beginnings, Steerpike would hate for anyone to forget some of 2015’s more ‘interesting’ incidents. So Mr S thanks the Geneva-based UN Watch for the following list which highlights the ten worst moments of 2015 when it comes to the United Nations: 10. Iran elected to UN Women Executive Board ‘Electing the Iranian
This week the Today show is being edited by a selection of guests including Sir Bradley Wiggins, Lord Browne and the architect David Adjaye. The Welsh actor Michael Sheen kicked proceedings off on Monday when he managed to upset a number of flood victims as he dismissed calls to cut foreign aid in order to spend more on flood defences
In recent months both Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell have defended the Momentum group from criticism. Created as a result of Corbyn’s leadership campaign, the grassroots movement aims to organise activists in towns and cities in order to create a mass movement for the Labour leader. Despite this, the far-left group has repeatedly been accused of being linked to deselection threats
The Queen always judges her Christmas message perfectly – and today was no exception. As she knows, her subjects are mad keen on Kate & Wills. So she spent the longest chunk of her piece-to-camera with a picture of them, plus kids, facing the camera. To justify that, she flashed a small shot of Charles &
It’s nearly Christmas. That means it’s the time for carols, goodwill to all men and… leaving the EU — that’s according to the Bow Group anyway. The conservative think tank have released their traditional ‘Bow Group Christmas Fairytale’ read by John Redwood, the MP for Wokingham. This year it has a Brexit theme: ‘Red Riding
During the general election campaign, David Cameron’s close relationship with Rupert Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks was regularly used as a whacking stick against him by his opponents. However, with a Tory majority now won, the Prime Minister appears to have few qualms about socialising with the media mogul once again. On Monday night the Prime Minister attended an intimate Christmas drinks
