Steerpike

Steerpike

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

Carla Denyer quits as Green party co-leader

The eco-activists are back in the news this morning after Carla Denyer announced she will not stand again as co-leader of the Green party of England and Wales. The parliamentarian has claimed she will instead focus her energies on her MP role after leading the environmentalists for the last four years alongside co-leader Adrian Ramsay.

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Could Reform become the official opposition in Scotland?

To Scotland, where some rather curious polling has been published – suggesting that after next year’s Holyrood election, Reform UK could become the largest opposition party north of the border. The Survation survey for True North projects the current party of government, the SNP, will become Scotland’s largest party – taking a third of the

Senior Tory MPs and peers call for recognition of Palestine

Well, well, well. The conflict in the Middle East has caused splits among the Labour lot and now it seems serious divides are forming in the Conservative party over the issue. As reported by the Guardian, it transpires that more than a dozen senior Tory MPs and peers have broken ranks and written to Sir

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Watch: Haigh accuses No. 10 of briefing against women

All is not well in the Labour party. After a rather bruising set of local elections for Sir Keir Starmer, now the PM’s advisers are under scrutiny after ex-transport minister Louise Haigh accused No. 10 of briefing against women. Speaking to the Beeb’s Victoria Derbyshire on Newsnight, Haigh admitted she was ‘really fed up’ of

Watch: Reform MP gets sworn in

It’s been a whirlwind few days for Sarah Pochin who has become Reform’s newest MP after winning the Runcorn and Helsby by-election by just six votes. It was only on Friday morning that Pochin discovered she had clinched the victory in the Labour safe seat – and today, Runcorn’s new representative has been sworn in

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Watch: Sturgeon refuses to apologise to women over gender ruling

Well, well, well. Nicola Sturgeon has finally broken her silence over the Supreme Court judgment that backed the biological definition of a woman. Speaking to journalists in Holyrood today, Sturgeon insisted that while she accepts the ruling from the highest court in the land, she remains concerned about the impact on the lives of transgender

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Reform councillor attacks Farage as she quits party

Reform UK enjoyed success in last week’s local elections, but it hasn’t all been plain sailing for Nigel Farage’s party. It transpires that one of his new councillors Donna Edmunds has quit the party just days after winning her Shropshire seat – following her suspension from the group for posting on Twitter that she had

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Mike Amesbury urges Labour MPs to rebel

You’d have thought ex-Labour MP Mike Amesbury would have tired of making headlines by now, but the former politician can’t seem to keep his head below the parapet. Now the former Runcorn and Helsby parliamentarian – who prompted last week’s by-election after he punched a constituent – has called on Labour backbenchers to rebel against

Labour minister: rape gangs are a ‘dog whistle’ 

Uh oh. Commons Leader Lucy Powell has found herself in hot water after making some rather careless remarks on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions yesterday. The Labour politician sparked outrage over her reaction to a point by Tim Montgomerie – the founder of Conservative Home who has since aligned himself with Reform – who brought

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Suspended Labour candidate wins in Lancashire

Some real characters being elected today. Remember Azhar Ali? He was dropped as Labour’s candidate in the Rochdale by-election last year after he was recorded claiming that Israel ‘allowed’ the 7 October massacre, and making dark insinuations about ‘Jewish quarters’ of the media… Well, Mr Ali (these days an independent) has just been re-elected by

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Darren Grimes wins Durham council seat for Reform

To Durham, the mining heartland of the UK and a traditional working class county. Yet despite its rich history with the reds, being the first of England’s county councils to be controlled by Labour – with the party retaining that control for over a century – Nigel Farage’s Reform party is making gains. Now it

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Watch: Starmer admits Runcorn loss ‘disappointing’

It’s been an eventful day – and there are still many more local election results to go. After a long night in Runcorn, and a full recount, Nigel Farage’s Reform party clinched the win in what had been a Labour safe seat by just six votes – securing a fifth parliamentarian and their first female

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Farage: ‘Not true’ I have a woman problem

Well, well, well. It’s been a good start to the day so far for Nigel Farage’s Reform party, with the group in the lead on council seat wins, securing victory in the Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty and, to top it all off, coming first place in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election. Now the party has returned

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Farage to Kemi: ‘Please stay’

Happy six months anniversary to Kemi Badenoch. Elected leader at the start of November, she today has to watch her party shed councillors at a rate of knots. Coming off the back of the ‘Boris bounce’ in 2021, it was always going to be a hard night for her – but even this will be

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Watch: Reform celebrate Runcorn victory

It was a long, tense night in Runcorn and Helsby as constituents and candidates awaited the results of their parliamentary by-election. Initially Labour looked to have come out on top, before reporters were informed that Reform UK were four points ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s army. ‘Doubtful’ votes prompted a recount – and almost eight

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Watch: Labour mayor turns on Starmer

Oh dear. It has been a pretty grim night for Sir Keir Starmer’s party. Loyalists have been out spinning desperately, with Science Secretary Peter Kyle given the thankless task of defending the indefensible on the overnight shows. One ray of sunshine which the party is citing is the North Tyneside mayoralty, where Ros Jones narrowly

Reeves probed over late theatre ticket declarations

Dear oh dear. Rachel Reeves has found herself in yet another spot of bother, as it transpires that the Chancellor is under investigation for a late declaration of theatre tickets. The Labour politician is being probed by Westminster’s standards watchdog for belatedly declaring two sets of gifted tickets from the National Theatre after the freebies

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FA bans trans players from women’s football

Well, well, well. The ramifications of the Supreme Court’s ruling on single-sex spaces are beginning to be seen. It transpires that transwomen are to be banned from playing women’s football in both England and Scotland. The judgment from the highest court in the land that backed the biological definition of a woman put pressure on