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
After Labour’s disastrous election result, Ed Miliband’s spin doctor Tom Baldwin made a swift exit from Labour HQ. For many in the party this was a welcome move; the king of spin was blamed for a number of election gaffes, including allegedly telling the BBC’s Nick Robinson that Miliband saw the HSBC scandal as ‘another Milly Dowler moment’. Despite
The brains at Scottish Labour must have been feeling pretty optimistic when they booked their venue at Brighton’s Hilton for their party conference bash. When Mr S arrived at the do last night, the party could hardly be described as packed: Still, the Scots did at least live up to stereotype; by the time Steerpike arrived a cash bar
As Labour conference kicked off on Sunday on Brighton pier, it was a case of the ghosts of Labour’s past at the annual New Statesman party. The magazine’s editor Jason Cowley told attendees who had their journeys affected by train works not to worry as ‘Corbyn has a plan for the railways’, before reflecting on what had happened to the party in
Given the criticism that Jeremy Corbyn received when he failed to sing God Save the Queen at a Battle of Britain memorial service, the Labour leader faces a new dilemma when he is sworn into the Privy council. Although it is custom to get on bended knee and kiss the Queen’s hand, the republican politician is said to
Nigel Farage has kicked off the first day of Ukip party conference at Doncaster Racecourse with a speech claiming that anti-EU groups are united and ready to push for a UK exit from the European Union: ‘We are together, we are united, and we believe that the tide has turned. I believe that we are on
Since Ed Miliband stepped down as the leader of the Labour party, the Labour MP for Doncaster North has vowed to keep a low profile as a hard-working backbencher. So Mr S suspects that the former Labour leader was disappointed to discover that half of the lobby have joined him this morning on his train journey
While luvvies have been busy worrying about the future of the BBC in recent months, it appears that Channel 4 may actually be the broadcaster in the government’s firing line. According to Steve Blacks, the Downing Street photographer, an unknown man was snapped heading into 10 Downing Street with an ‘official’ document concerning the future of
Today Labour’s vegan shadow environment secretary Kerry McCarthy has come under fire for comments she has made about meat. In an interview with ‘Viva!Life’ magazine — given before she was given a role in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet — McCarthy said ‘meat should be treated in exactly the same way as tobacco with public campaigns
Oh dear. Sarah Montague is not having a good day. The Today presenter managed to make not one, not two, but three gaffes while hosting today’s Radio 4 show. 1. Things got off to a bad start when Montague began her interview with Simon Kirby, the Chief Executive of High Speed Two, on the Chancellor of
With yet more allegations concerning David Cameron published today as part of the Daily Mail‘s serialisation of Lord Ashcroft’s Call Me Dave, the Prime Minister will be hoping that ‘piggate‘ will soon be all but a distant memory to most. Alas, while the press feast on fresh revelations that Cameron once allegedly said that he was
While Number 10 has refused to comment on the claims made in Lord Ashcroft’s David Cameron biography, the Prime Minister did manage to make a small reference to the book at a dinner last night at the Carlton Club. James Landale, the BBC’s deputy political editor, says that Cameron appeared to acknowledge his old foe Ashcroft’s book
Emily Thornberry has only just made it back onto the frontbench after she had to resign from the shadow cabinet over a tweet she sent of a photo of a house covered with St George flags during the Rochester and Strood by-election. However, despite discovering the dangers of Twitter first hand, the Labour MP has not
As the Liberal Democrats try and find a place for themselves in politics following a disastrous election result, the party can at least pride itself on having the most musical party conference. After their Lib Dem Disco over the weekend, a Lib Dem Glee Club is at conference today: Alastair Carmichael leads #ldconf in song…
With doubts cast over the credibility of Lord Ashcroft’s unofficial biography of David Cameron following ‘piggate‘, his co-author Isabel Oakeshott appeared on Newsnight to defend ‘Call Me Dave’. Cameron’s official biographer Sir Anthony Seldon joined the former Sunday Times political editor in the studio where he raised concerns about the book: ‘Quite frankly, why are we here talking about
With the Downing Street press office declining to comment today on allegations from Lord Ashcroft involving the Prime Minister and a dead pig, Labour has also stayed quiet over the claims. However, members of the Labour press office were unable to resist ignoring the alleged incident completely, with press officers giving out sweets to hard-working lobby journalists. The choice
With Lord Ashcroft’s claim in today’s Daily Mail that David Cameron once enjoyed intimate relations with a dead pig, talk has soon turned to which unnamed Tory MP was the source of the story. With the incident allegedly taking place at an initiation ceremony for the Piers Gaveston dining society – which is named after Edward
Today’s news has been dominated by the claim in Lord Ashcroft’s David Cameron biography that the Prime Minister once had intimate relations with a dead pig. Naturally Cameron has been the subject of much mockery, even though the story has come from only one source, who remains unnamed. While Ashcroft says that the MP who told him the
Given that Lord Ashcroft and David Cameron are known not to be on the friendliest of terms, the former Conservative Party deputy chairman’s biography of the Prime Minister was never going to be a puff piece. Yet Steerpike suspects that even Cameron will be taken aback by today’s Daily Mail front page: Monday's Daily Mail front page:Revenge!#tomorrowspaperstoday
Ahead of the Labour leadership election result, David Cameron warned that Jeremy Corbyn would take Britain back ‘to the days of Michael Foot and Arthur Scargill’ if elected. Well, a week into Corbyn’s leadership of the party — and several gaffes later — it turns out that there is one small snag with regards to Cameron’s
Mhairi Black won millions of fans with her maiden speech in Parliament criticising George Osborne over his cuts to the welfare system. However, today she has offered the nation a glimpse of her softer side, professing her love for Titanic. In a somewhat bizarre interview with Jon Snow, Black plays My Heart Will Go On — the theme from the
