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

Cameron snubs Albania for impromptu cabinet meeting

Dear oh dear. Rishi Sunak failed to quash election speculation in this afternoon’s Prime Minister’s Questions and now lobby hacks are desperately trying to figure out whether a big announcement really is looming. In their hunt for clues, a number of journalists have drawn attention to the cancellation of two rather high profile events as

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Watch: ‘Bionic MP’ welcomed back to parliament

It’s a momentous day for Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay. Today the Tory politician returned to the Commons following a prolonged battle with sepsis after being admitted to hospital with the life-threatening condition last September. After becoming suddenly unwell overnight, the politician was rushed to A&E where he developed disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). In a bid

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Wallace turns his guns on the Foreign Office

Uh oh. This time, it seems, mandarins at the Foreign Office have finally gone too far. In a scathing piece penned for the Telegraph, former defence secretary Ben Wallace has opened fire on civil servants after the Foreign Office drew up a statement on the death of Iran’s president. Ministers have refused to use wording

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Listen: BBC’s Emma Barnett in bust up with Jeremy Hunt

Another day, another drama. This time it involves the BBC’s Today programme, where interviewer Emma Barnett was quizzing Jeremy Hunt on the UK’s economic prospects. The conversation didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned for the Chancellor… Barnett started on how today’s inflation figures have decreased to 2.3 per cent this morning — the lowest

Prince Harry loses bid to name Murdoch in phone-hacking trial

As much as Prince Harry claims to hate the media, he never manages to stay out of the spotlight for long. Now it transpires that the renegade royal has been reprimanded by a High Court judge for trying to bag ‘trophy targets’ — and has been told that he cannot take phone-hacking allegations against Rupert

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Taxpayer-funded porn project causes uproar in Scotland

Scottish government-backed quango Creative Scotland is back in the limelight over its porn project controversy. As Mr S wrote in March, the director of a hardcore pornographic performance, ‘Rein’, managed to secure £85,000 of taxpayers’ cash for her rather, um, explicit work. Now it can be revealed that, despite officials denying full knowledge of the

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Europe’s leaders hail Rwanda scheme

Well, well, well. Rishi Sunak’s immigration plans have been met with a fairly underwhelming response in Britain – only a quarter of people believe the Rwanda scheme will work, while the PM has faced some rather public dissent from within his own ranks over his record on small boats. But the Rwanda policy does in

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Will Ken Clarke lose his peerage?

In the aftermath of the tainted blood scandal, there is no shortage of blame to go around – but some are more culpable than others. As a junior health minister from 1982 to 1985, Ken Clarke was at the heart of Whitehall as reports of the risks from blood transfusion began to be published. According

Sturgeon takes aim at young people in politics

Back to Scotland, where Nicola Sturgeon is once again stealing the spotlight. This time the former first minister decided the Charleston literary festival held in Sussex this weekend would be the perfect place from which to ruffle feathers in her own party. The SNP’s Dear Leader bemoaned the number of young people entering politics ‘for

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Bank of England’s £80k social media advertising spend

Once upon a time, the Bank of England was headed by a series of anonymous figures, whose identities remained largely unknown to the public. Yet now, in the age of the Monetary Policy Committee, the Governor and his team have become familiar figures in the financial world – thanks partly to Liz Truss’s regular swipes

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Could Corbyn be excluded from Labour for good?

Jeremy Corbyn is back in the spotlight again, causing yet more issues for his former party. The ex-Labour leader who at one point fancied his chances of becoming Britain’s prime minister currently sits as an Independent MP after his suspension four years ago. Now, however, he faces being excluded from the party for good. Talk about

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EU sends its ‘sincere condolences’ to Iran

Oh dear. It seems that the Eurocrats of Brussels have blundered again. Following the news of the Iranian president’s death, most western governments have chosen to keep a dignified silence. Hardly a surprise, perhaps, given that President Raisi was, in the words of Sky News, the ‘man who launched the first direct attack on Israel

Which Tory contenders are on weight-loss drugs?

It’s the surest sign that a politician is on maneuvers: a slimmer waistline and a sharper suit. But are some of our leading lights in Westminster getting some extra help in their bid to battle the bulge and take the Tory crown? For the Mail on Sunday today reports that at least two Conservative leadership

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Labour silent over Welsh First Minister’s £31,000

For 25 years, Welsh Labour has ruled Cardiff Bay with an iron fist. But these days, the party’s grip over the Senedd is looking distinctly shaky, following the decision of Plaid Cymru on Friday to pull out of their power-sharing arrangement. Vaughan Gething is now on the ropes, ahead of a likely looming confidence vote,

Is Jeremy Hunt telling the truth?

A stern-looking Jeremy Hunt gave a speech in a rented office opposite the Treasury today saying he had come to puncture myths. Labour has said that if he abolishes National Insurance (as he hints) it would cost £48 billion. Asked about this, he said: ‘It is a lie – I don’t make any bones about

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Sturgeon laments ‘bad faith’ politics of today

The SNP’s Dear Leader never manages to stay out of the spotlight for long. Nicola Sturgeon is back on the speech circuit, this time appearing at Edinburgh University to bestow her wisdom upon some unfortunate souls. In her time away from the Holyrood frontbenches — during which she has spoken only a handful of times

Scottish Greens expel members who believe in ‘biological sex’

If you thought the Scottish Greens couldn’t get any battier, then strap in. Patrick Harvie’s barmy army has ramped up its baffling stance on gender politics and is now expelling party members for declaring that ‘sex is a biological reality’. There really are no words… The eco-zealots have turned on their own membership after a

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May mocks her successors’ books

To the Commons, where Theresa May was the guest of honour for today’s parliamentary press gallery lunch. The former premier was on sparkling form as she spoke of the crisis facing global democracies. Asked by one journalist as to whether populism worked, May retorted: ‘Well, let me I see – how many successors am I

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Sunak: I will stay in parliament even if we lose

In a year of tough interviews, perhaps the most unusual one the Prime Minister has encountered thus far was today’s shock appearance on ITV’s Loose Women. Instead of finding himself vis-à-vis with the usual lobby culprits, Rishi Sunak was instead surrounded by the show’s formidable panel of Kaye Adams, Judi Love, Janet Street-Porter and Jane