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
Justin Welby, the nominated Archbishop of Canterbury, accepted his Spectator award for Peer of the Year (in recognition of his work on the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards) by conceding that, after the General Synod rejected women bishops yesterday, he has achieved the rare distinction of losing a vote of confidence without having assumed office.
Look out for Mr Steerpike in this week’s Spectator magazine, but here’s a taster of what’s coming up: ‘Lynton Crosby’s swear-box is filling up. The Aussie strategist may have guided Boris to victory in this year’s mayoral contest, but he managed to alienate many of BoJo’s inner circle in the process. One former Boris aide leaked
‘Passive Aggressiveness – a personality trait or disorder marked by a pervasive pattern of negative attitudes and passive, usually disavowed, resistance in interpersonal or occupational situations.’ Theory aside, Lord Ashcroft’s letter to the Tory’s returning adviser Lynton Crosby, published by his site ConservativeHome this morning, is a near perfect example. It’s dressed up as friendly
There was some TV stardust at Stephen Fry and Mark Rylance’s all male production of Twelfth Night at the Apollo on Friday night. Gary Lineker and his wife Danielle were part of an ecstatic audience that gave a standing ovation to the players in this wildly successful show, which has recently transferred from the Globe to
One of Britain’s leading pollsters has written to the Prime Minister to rebuke him for misleading his supporters over whether the Conservative Party would suffer in the polls if they legislated on gay marriage. The Spectator has seen an incredible exchange of letters between the Prime Minister, the former Welsh Secretary, Cheryl Gillan, and Andrew
Former Chief Whip Andrew ‘Thrasher’ Mitchell has been reflecting on his salad days. In an interview with Cambridge University’s alumni magazine, which one presumes was given some time before the row with a Downing Street police officer which ended his career, Mitchell recalls his arrival at Jesus College in 1975: ‘I came here straight out of
You have to hand it to Rupert Murdoch. The BBC is in turmoil and now being led by Tim Davie, its former audio and music chief whose journalistic experience does not even run to making cups of tea at the Scunthorpe Gazette. Mr Davie needs help, especially as he fancies his chances of keeping the
The Prime Minister chose his words carefully earlier today when asked if he would be sending his children to private school. Sky News’ eagle-eyed Sophy Ridge reports that Cameron was cross-examined by a pesky school kid at a ‘Cameron Direct’ meeting this morning at the John Cabot Academy in Bristol. Cameron told his inquisitor that
It’s strange how coy the rich and famous can be. Roger Moore never watches his own films, and celebrity chef Marcus Wareing never eats in his own Berkeley Hotel restaurant. The second of these facts changed on Wednesday night, when Wareing broke a nine year habit to mark the launch of a new limited edition Johnnie
Mr Steerpike is back in print in today’s Spectator. Here’s a taste of what to expect: ‘Hats off to Sir Jeremy Heywood. The Cabinet Secretary’s bid to delete himself from everyone’s Christmas card list is proving a great success. Ministers were not amused by Sue Cameron’s Telegraph column hailing Sir Jeremy as ‘the only person
Hats off to Sir Jeremy Heywood. The Cabinet Secretary’s bid to delete himself from everyone’s Christmas card list is proving a great success. Ministers were not amused by Sue Cameron’s Telegraph column hailing Sir Jeremy as ‘the only person trying to impose some order on the chaos’. She described him as the PM’s de facto
Team Cameron, as my colleague James Forysth points out, are rather pleased with Obama’s victory. Downing Street’s finest have been pushing the idea that Barack Obama’s victory speech echoed, word for word, Cameron’s constant refrain that ‘we are all in this together’ and that the ‘inherited economic mess’ is slowly being overcome. Dave the Statesman,
Let me salute Nadine Dorries’s principled ambition to bring I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here to a wider audience. For too long this edifying documentary series, which sheds light on the concerns of real voters, has been closed to Westminster’s lumpen commentariat; but no more: by inviting Nadine on the show, ITV has signalled its intention
T’was not in another lifetime, but in New York last week that our very own Taki became rather smitten with Hollywood bad girl Lindsay Lohan. Writing in this week’s magazine, the old rogue recounts how he weathered Hurricane Sandy with the troubled actress, more famed for her binges than her fortitude: ‘I went to Brooklyn,
Dame Helen Ghosh’s words about women and David Cameron’s government have put Downing Street backs up this afternoon. Dame Helen, whose Civil Service career spanned thirty-three years culminated in a troublesome spell as Permanent Secretary at the Home Office, told Cambridge students it was ‘difficult for women to get in’ when the Prime Minister favoured
I gather that self-important Labour MP Tom Watson has earned £10,812 in royalties for the book he recently co-authored on phone-hacking, Dial M For Murdoch. New parliamentary records show that Watson claims to have devoted 175 hours to the project. Despite shunning an advance from publisher Allen Lane, this means the MP has still made
The unusual sound of a toast to Gordon Brown echoed around a Parliamentary dining room earlier this week. Don’t get carried away: George Eustice was hosting a dinner for his alma mater Truro School, where the new headmaster is unfortunately cursed with the name of Andrew Gordon-Brown. There is still no sign of the real McCoy
Diners at Mayfair’s overpriced and underwhelming Japanese restaurant Hakkasan had something to distract them from their lobster ‘wrapped in glass vermicelli with Gu Yue Long Shan rice wine’ this weekend, as party planner extraordinaire and world renowned author Pippa Middleton dropped in. Witnesses, who sound dangerously like PR professionals, tell the Mirror that Pippa and
To the gardens alongside Parliament, where MPs and their mutts lined up this morning in a bid to win the coveted title of Westminster Dog of the Year. Miniature Dachshunds appear to be the dog du jour among Tory MPs, with three of them competing to be crowned top dog. However, their short legs put
What happens when you get two elderly proprietors, one with a book to sell and the other with a Twitter account? Well, sadly, with Conrad Black and Rupert Murdoch, the answer is a fairly one-sided fight. Black is enjoying both freedom and the airwaves at present by going on a PR megablitz for his new