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
The Tory donor racism row has entered its second week, much to the dismay of politicians on all sides of the chamber. Both the Conservatives and Labour have had to face uncomfortable questions on Frank Hester’s remarks about Diane Abbott in the last week. After the Tories were criticised for taking too long to condemn
Another day, another SNP spat. Humza Yousaf spent the weekend trying to drum up support amongst his core voters for his nationalist party, which is predicted to lose almost half of its Westminster seats to Labour in the general election. The main problem with the First Minister’s message, however, was that it seemed to focus
In the midst of a new development in the never-ending motorhome saga, Humza Yousaf addressed a rather, er, sparse crowd at the SNP’s ‘national council’ event in Perth today. With a speech that was much longer than it should have been, Yousaf spent most of his time lashing out at the Conservatives. Quelle surprise. ‘We
The SNP finance saga continues to drag on – but today it’s taken a rather strange turn. Last year, a £110,000 motorhome was seized by police from outside Nicola Sturgeon’s mother-in-law’s house as part of Operation Branchform into the party’s finances. On the same day, Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell was arrested, while Sturgeon and the
Oh dear. Things haven’t quite gone to plan for Liz Truss. (Where have we heard that before?) The former prime minister was hoping to debate her private member’s bill in the Commons this afternoon — but MPs ran out of time. In the same week that puberty blockers were banned for children, Truss’s Health and
Good heavens. Just when you think events north of the border can’t get any more ridiculous, they do. Now it has emerged that the director of an, er, hardcore porn project managed to secure £85,000 from government-backed Creative Scotland in January. The production, directed by Leonie Rae Gasson and titled ‘Rein’, was set to involve
Never able to keep herself from the spotlight for long, Meghan is back on Instagram. After her Archetypes podcast series failed and her previous blog The Tig bombed, the Queen of Privacy is embarking on a new venture. Now, the Duchess of Sussex is launching a lifestyle brand which she plans to use to resurrect
The Tory party hasn’t had the best week, what with one of their MPs defecting and their biggest donor embroiled in a racism row. But if Conservative politicians were looking for somewhere to go in Westminster this evening to lift their spirits, Mr S would not have recommended J. L. Partners’ ‘Election 2024’ event. Organised in
Back to the curious case of Michael Matheson and his £11,000 iPad bill. Despite desperate attempts by the former health secretary to stall the publication of a report into his behaviour — after Matheson tried to lump taxpayers with his ruinous roaming charges — the verdict is in. It has now been revealed that the
The Tories have had a tough week trying to find their line on comments made by their biggest donor Frank Hester. But the Labour party hasn’t escaped unscathed either. Independent MP Diane Abbott has taken her side of the story to the papers — and delivered a blistering attack on her former party. Abbott revealed
Back to Westminster, where Michael Gove has revealed his brand new definition of extremism today in a bid to push back against fanaticism. The communities secretary has offered assurances that there will be a high bar for defining a group as extremist, and that a ‘rigorous process’ would be followed when identifying group of concern.
Back to the UK Covid Inquiry and today it’s in Cardiff, where Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford has given some rather, er, colourful evidence. After watching Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Nicola Sturgeon being grilled in previous hearings, Drakeford had some idea at least of what to expect and prepare — and he’s certainly not
Dear oh dear. First the SNP’s health secretary attempted to use the public purse to cover his phone bill costs. Now, in a separate matter, the Scottish government’s tourism and trade minister has come under fire for lumping a similarly large bill on taxpayers. Richard Lochhead’s three-day trip to California resulted in a rather hefty
Is ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick on manoeuvres? He certainly looked the part as he waxed lyrical to a crowd of under 35s at the Onward’s ‘After Hours’ event in a Westminster pub. Jenrick said it was no surprise youngsters are struggling to get on the housing ladder. ‘You’re absolutely right to say that the housing
The Frank Hester saga continues after the Tory donor’s ‘rude’ remarks about Diane Abbott came to light on Monday. A Guardian investigation revealed that the West Yorkshire businessman had told colleagues in 2019 that looking at Abbott makes ‘you just want to hate all black women because she’s there’ and that ‘she should be shot’.
It’s a day that ends in ‘y’ which means the leader of the SNP is once again harping on about independence. Today Humza Yousaf addressed a crowd at the the London School of Economics about the economic woes of Brexit and how, surprise surprise, ‘achieving independence’ is the only solution for the people of Scotland.
Michelle Donelan has been no stranger to the spotlight lately. The Science and Technology Secretary was forced last week to retract the false accusations she made about an academic and pay the damages and costs. But she didn’t just fire off a letter of complaint to UK Research and Innovation about its board members. Donelan
Liz Truss launched her Popular Conservatism movement — catchily dubbed PopCon — just over a month ago. Taking aim at ‘left wing extremists’, Truss hit out at colleagues more interested in pursuing policies popular at ‘London dinner parties’ and explained that her new group would champion true Tory values. But it wasn’t just lefties that
Oh dear. The Tory party’s biggest donor Frank Hester is under fire for remarks he made about Diane Abbott in a 2019 meeting. The West Yorkshire businessman is facing intense criticism for unprofessionalism at work after it emerged he had told colleagues that looking at Abbott makes ‘you just want to hate all black women
Lee Anderson is back in the spotlight. The former Tory MP today jumped ship to Richard Tice’s Reform UK party, following weeks of speculation after he was suspended from the Conservatives. Telling reporters this morning that he had deliberately thrown them ‘off the scent’ when he formally denied he would defect to Reform, Anderson’s remarks