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
Much has been made of Liz Truss’s book since its publication a fortnight ago. Jeering critics were quick to mock but Mr S was among the first to note that Amazon actually sold out of copies within 72 hours, such was the demand from punters. And today’s Sunday Times confirms that there is a still
So. Farewell then Dan Poulter. The Central Suffolk MP has today switched from the Conservatives to join the Starmer army, firing off a double-barrelled blast at his former party’s handling of the NHS. The Tories, Poulter says, are now little more than a ‘nationalist party’ who have abandoned ‘compassion’ as part of an increasingly ‘rightward
Scotland’s beleaguered First Minister Humza Yousaf is reportedly considering his position this morning, despite insisting on Friday that he would not resign from the post and intended ‘to win the vote of no confidence’. Hapless Yousaf made his bed on Wednesday morning by U-turning on the Bute House Agreement and ditching his coalition partners –
If the Scottish Greens are good at anything, it’s making every issue about themselves. While the First Minister of Scotland faces two votes of no confidence next week — one in his own leadership and another in the SNP government — his party’s former coalition partners continue to vent their anger at the breakdown of
Dogs bark, cows moo and Sadiq Khan puts his foot in it again. With a week to go until polling day in the capital, you might have thought that the Mayor of London would try to avoid any bad headlines. But there he is, giving another ill-judged interview to Mehdi Hasan. In it, the Mayor implied
Oh dear. Poor Chris Philp has done it again. Fronting up the broadcast brief last night, the policing minister was wheeled out on Question Time to sell the government’s migration mission. But the Home Office minister appeared to make a bit of a blunder when asked a question about the Rwanda scheme. One audience member
Oh dear. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is no stranger to poor poll outcomes – but a new survey may cut a little closer to the bone. Over 500 GB News loyalists were quizzed on their political attitudes in the lead up to the next general election and the results are now in. Amongst the channel’s
If last week wasn’t bad enough for hapless Humza Yousaf, this week has brought him even more turbulence. Now the Scottish government’s SNP-Green coalition has collapsed leaving the SNP to field a minority government and some rather, er, furious Greens in opposition. And to add insult to injury, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross delivered a
More bad times at the BBC. The Corporation is in hot water yet again following last week’s episode of Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. During a discussion on whether extreme weather events are caused by carbon emissions, TV eco-warrior Chris Packham launched into one of his patented rants when asked by businessman Luke Johnson to provide
Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill might have got through parliament, but are his own ministers convinced it will work? Among the sceptics appears to be Lord Cameron, who seemed a little apprehensive this morning when grilled on the government’s immigration plan. It’s hardly the best look when your own Foreign Secretary appears unconvinced… Cameron was asked
To the fantasy land of the Greens, where no promises are off the table — no matter how surreal. Just 48 hours after the Scottish branch embarrassed themselves over the Cass report, now it’s the turn of their London counterpart. Step forth Zoe Garbett, the party’s pink-haired nominee for the capital’s mayoralty, who is running
Will Humza Yousaf ever catch a break? The short answer is: not anytime soon. Last week was dubbed the First Minister’s worst in the job – which is saying something, given the chaos that has engulfed his party over the past year. And if Yousaf had hoped for improved fortunes this week, his wishes were
Following last night’s mammoth parliamentary ping pong session, a funny thing happened early this morning. As various members of HM Press Gallery began to stir themselves today, the social media feeds of various Labour candidates began to be bombarded with graphic after graphic of the English flag, emblazoned with a message wishing one and all
Civil service appointments rarely generate much excitement in Westminster. But it’s not every day that Britain’s most senior diplomatic posting comes up for grabs. The Financial Times this week reports that our next man in Washington is going to be national security adviser Sir Tim Barrow. The Brexit-era veteran is set to succeed Dame Karen Pierce in the
If there was ever an immutable truth in Scottish politics, it is that Nicola Sturgeon never misses an opportunity to talk about the joys of independence. So it’s curious, then, that after being presented with the perfect chance to do exactly that, the Dear Leader has suddenly pulled out. What could have changed her mind? To mark the 25th anniversary of
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is one step closer to stopping the boats — or so he hopes. After months of back and forth on the Prime Minister’s immigration deterrent, Sunak’s Rwanda legislation has finally passed through parliament. The ping-pong palaver just made it into the early hours of the morning after the House of Lords
It’s hard these days being a teller of truths. So many of the leading lights in British broadcasting have found in recent years that they’re unable to do so in the less-than-lucrative halls of the BBC. Among those who have joined the exodus from the Corporation in recent years was Jon Sopel, who left in
There are many words to describe Patrick Harvie but ‘clinician’ certainly isn’t one of them. Yet his trademark arrogance was out on display this weekend when the co-leader of the Scottish Greens deigned to sully himself with a round of media interviews. Appearing on BBC Scotland, Harvie was asked about the decision of NHS Scotland
Has Nicola Sturgeon discovered a sudden enthusiasm for free speech? The former SNP leader has today reviewed Salman Rushdie’s latest book Knife for the New Statesman. Steerpike has read it so you don’t have to. Cliche abounds: ‘Rushdie pours himself, heart and soul, onto the page.’ The former FM also writes that: It is clear
Might this be the worst week of 2024 for the Nats so far? Hapless Humza Yousaf demonstrated extraordinary indecision over the Cass review, Patrick Harvie’s barmy army helped ditch a Scottish government green pledge and, to top it all off, Nicola Sturgeon’s husband has been charged with embezzlement. You couldn’t make it up. The long-running
