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
Back to the monarchs of Montecito, who are not have a good time of it at the moment. It transpires that Prince Harry has lost his battle for control of the charity he launched in his mother Princess Diana’s memory – after the charities watchdog blasted him for his part in a ‘damaging’ bullying row.
Another day, another poll. This time YouGov has found that almost six in ten Brits say that immigration is one of the most important issues facing the country – almost double those who rate health as their number one concern, and more than double those worried about crime. Crikey! Fears about immigration have climbed by
Back to the Online Safety Act which, since it came into force just over a week ago, has sparked outrage across the country as social media posts showing rioters fighting with police have been suppressed while those referring to sexual attacks have been automatically flagged as pornographic. As the Spectator‘s cover piece noted last week,
To Reform UK, which is in its third week of its crime crackdown campaign which looks to tackle ‘Lawless Britain’. The party claimed Monday’s press conference was the most significant one yet, with two new recruits unveiled. The first was former MEP Rupert Matthews, who – after 40 years as a member of the Tory party
Uh oh. As if Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch didn’t have enough on her plate with the rise of Reform eating into the Tory vote, now one of her predecessors has taken a pop at her. Liz Truss has taken to the august pages of the Telegraph to attack Badenoch, accusing the Leader of the Opposition
While the Supreme Court in April backed the biological definition of a woman, it would appear that in Scotland the ruling hasn’t yet been taken into account. Women’s rights campaigners have taken aim at an Edinburgh Fringe venue – Underbelly Bistro Square – for allowing biological men to use women’s toilets. Dear oh dear… The
Another day, another dispiriting quangocracy revelation. This time the spotlight is on the Valuation Office Agency, whose performance has been rapidly declining year on year – while complaints about the organisation have skyrocketed. Freedom of Information data received by the TaxPayers’ Alliance shows that call wait times have more than doubled over the last three
Well, well, well. It transpires that in plans to make Whitehall more working class, civil service internships will only be offered to, er, students from low income families. The Cabinet Office has said that only those from ‘lower socio-economic backgrounds’ will be able to apply to Whitehall’s internship scheme – with eligibility based on, um,
There are a number of ways to measure the public’s dissatisfaction with their politicians: party polling figures, favourability ratings and, of course, the result at the ballot box. But a less obvious indicator is baby’s names – and 2024’s most popular list is a damning indictment of Britain’s Prime Minister. It transpires that a grand
Silly season is upon us, as MPs jet off on holiday (or back to their constituencies) to get a well-needed break from Westminster. Sir Keir Starmer had to cancel his summer holiday last year after riots broke out across the country – but hopefully this year the Prime Minister will manage to enjoy some time
Watch out, John Swinney – Donald Trump is, it seems, eyeing up your job. During the US President’s trip up north to visit his Turnberry golf course and open his new ‘Mona Lisa’ course in Aberdeenshire, Trump was full of praise for bonnie Scotland and its people, going so far as to single out the
Back to Gary Neville, the left-wing right-back who has never met a camera he didn’t like. Just when we thought he’d disappeared from our screens for good, the lefty ex-footballer has reared his head again to take a pop at, er, Labour. That’s a turnaround for the books! Speaking to Sky News this morning, the card-carrying
It’s the second week of Reform’s six-week ‘Lawless Britain’ campaign and there has been some back and forth about whether crime rates in the UK are getting better or worse. New polling out today reveals, however, what the public think about the tackling of crime in this country – and the results are rather damning.
You’d think two botched party launches would have chastened Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn somewhat. Not so. The duo continue to heap praise on the number of sign-ups their new group has seen – reaching 550,000 in the last 24 hours – while Sultana uses the rising figure to barb Reform, boasting at the weekend
An extraordinary exchange on Sky News this morning. Peter Kyle was invited on to discuss the reaction to the implementation of the Online Safety Act, amid concern that it is stifling free speech on the internet. But the Science Secretary opted to hit out at Nigel Farage after his comments at press conference yesterday, by
While relations between Sir Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump have been lauded as ‘unparalleled’ by the President himself, the same cannot be said for Sadiq Khan. In a press conference in Scotland this afternoon, Trump was pulling no punches when London came up in conversation. When quizzed on whether he would visit the
After a rather botched party launch attempt in which Zarah Sultana appeared to force Jeremy Corbyn into letting her co-lead a new left-wing group, speculation abounded about what exactly this outfit would look like – and even what it would be called. Well, the wait is over; the name has been announced. The new harbinger
Another day, another drama over at the Beeb. The BBC has apologised to ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe and his Rape Gang Inquiry, acknowledging that it should have given the parliamentarian more time to respond to reports that he was being probed for not registering donations in time. Lowe was cleared of breaching MP rules In
All is not well in the Green party. Adrian Ramsay is standing for re-election in the party’s leadership contest this summer – against the party’s deputy leader Zack Polanski. The rivalry appears to be more than professional though, as demonstrated during yesterday’s leadership debate on Iain Dale’s LBC show. As the election looms, the pair
Uh oh. Protests have broken out outside an empty Canary Wharf hotel after claims began to circulate that migrants were being relocated to the venue from Epping. In response to the rumours spread by controversial figures like Tommy Robinson, protestors have over the last 24 hours turned up to the hotel in the centre of
