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
Lucy Powell is back. As Steerpike reported this morning, Jeremy Corbyn has appointed Ed Miliband’s blunder-prone deputy campaign chief as Labour’s shadow education secretary. The Labour MP kick started her first day in her new role with a return to old form. Taking part in an interview on BBC News, Powell spoke about how the party needed to rebuild
Given that Jeremy Corbyn has been on the receiving end of a barrage of bad press this morning, he could do with the help of an expert spinner. Yet everyone who has cared about the Labour Party over the years is appalled at his triumph; no one is willing to defend him. No one, that is, except
Ahead of the Labour leadership results, Lucy Powell engaged in some gentle bitching online about Jeremy Corbyn’s lack of social interaction with her. Ed Miliband’s former deputy campaign chief told Miliband’s former political secretary Anna Yearley that she had never, ever met the man of the moment. @AnnaYearley I have never, ever met or spoken
Jeremy Corbyn is only two days into his leadership of the Labour party, and his fans are beginning to realise what they have done Despite insisting throughout his leadership campaign that he would ensure ‘real gender equality’, Corbyn hasn’t seen fit to appoint a woman in any of the more senior Cabinet roles. As Helen Lewis
With Jeremy Corbyn appointed as the new leader of the Labour party, few could be more pleased by the news than the left-wing messiah’s personal cheerleader Owen Jones. In fact the Guardian columnist was one of the first to celebrate the Labour MP’s victory yesterday, praising Corbyn during a string of media appearances. He then moved on to
With Jeremy Corbyn announced as the new leader of the Labour party, shadow health minister Jamie Reed immediately resigned from the shadow cabinet. However, it seems the party aren’t too down hearted by the news. In fact Labour heavyweight John Prescott doesn’t even know who the Labour MP for Copeland is. Speaking on BBC News
With charter renewal looming, the BBC is under increasing scrutiny from the government to justify its licence fee. So it’s fair to say Thursday night’s Newsnight Yemen special did little to endear the corporation to some members of the Tory camp. The programme — led by the BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse — looked into Yemen’s ‘forgotten war’;
Given that Vivienne Westwood has today staged a fracking protest outside David Cameron’s constituency home, the Prime Minister ought to breathe a sigh of relief that he is safely far away in Leeds. Alas, any joy may be short-lived after he was accidentally recorded making a questionable comment about the people t’up north. While preparing to give a speech on the
While politicians are currently debating the Assisted Dying Bill in Parliament, Dame Vivienne Westwood has decided there is a more pressing matter that ought to be on the news agenda. The eco-minded fashion designer is on her way to David Cameron’s house in a massive tank. Alas, it’s not a friendly visit. Westwood has hired out the
An excerpt from Anthony Seldon’s David Cameron biography claimed that George Osborne finds his Tory leadership rival Boris Johnson ‘plain annoying‘. Happily the pair put any differences aside today as the Chancellor of the Exchequer paid a visit to Johnson’s constituency. The happy duo visited the Battle of Britain Bunker in Uxbridge to see how a
With Chelsea residents currently in the centre of a planning row over a proposed Crossrail 2 station on the King’s Road, concerned locals have started a ‘No Crossrail in Chelsea’ campaign. Of course given that this is Chelsea, the group’s protest methods are a step above the usual tactics employed by disgruntled parties. Last night saw London’s
Liz Kendall may say she is not the Blairite candidate in the leadership election but her campaign isn’t doing much to suggest otherwise. As well as possessing the most New Labour-esque policies, Kendall appears to be bringing back Cool Britannia. Just as Tony Blair was once the darling of the 90s music movement with musicians like Oasis
Harriet Harman ended her final appearance at PMQs as the interim Labour leader with a parting shot in the direction of Jeremy Corbyn, who is the odds-on favourite to be the party’s next leader. ‘It was quite surprising to discover I’m not possibly old enough or posh enough to be the frontrunner of this leadership election,’
As the Queen celebrates becoming Britain’s longest-serving monarch today, David Cameron led tributes for Her Majesty this morning in the Commons ahead of PMQs. While the Prime Minister praised her ‘unerring grace, dignity and decency’, Sir Gerald Howarth tried a different tack; showing his appreciation for her with an anecdote about his wife not wishing to attend a local donkey
Last night’s GQ awards were a tame affair. Russell Brand wasn’t on hand to make Nazi jokes at the expense of a sponsor and the magazine refrained from awarding a philanthropy award to Tony Blair for a second year in a row. They did, however, award a gong to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for being the
Although Conservative politicians insist they are not worried by the threat of a Jeremy Corbyn led opposition, an incident that occurred on Tuesday night appears to suggest otherwise. Channel 4’s Michael Crick discovered a Conservative press officer sat in the audience at Corbyn’s political rally in Nuneaton. When Crick confronted the staffer — known as Mike Watkinson —
After Richard Murphy was revealed as the man behind Jeremy Corbyn’s economic policies, many were quick to start casting doubts over the duo’s credentials. In fact Labour’s very own shadow chancellor Chris Leslie dismissed their ‘Corbynomics’, claiming their plan for quantitative easing amounted to printing money to ‘magically deal with all the public service and public investment
In 2010 a young Labour blogger by the name of Ellie Gellard introduced Gordon Brown at Labour’s manifesto launch. Unfortunately the party’s attempts to look down with the kids soon backfired as it was revealed that Gellard — who goes by the name @BevaniteEllie on Twitter — had previously written on her Stilettoed Socialist blog that she
In this year’s dissolution honours, the Liberal Democrats were awarded 11 peerages, three more than their total number of MPs. Since this brought the party’s roll call of Lib Dem peers to 112, sceptics have been quick to point out that this number appears to be at odds with the party, which had previously prided itself on reforming the
Given that Corbynmania has so far led users on Mumsnet to lust over Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘world weary sea dog’ looks, as well as inspiring a host of politicians to grow their facial hair, it was only a matter of time until the LGBT community also got in on the action. Mr S has come across a new Corbyn
