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 tragic news of the deaths of three British aid workers in Gaza, killed in an Israeli strike, has sobered the nation this week. It sparked a strongly-worded letter from Rishi Sunak to Israel’s Prime Minister on Tuesday evening, in which Sunak said he was ‘appalled’ by the killing of aid workers and the ‘intolerable’
The Tories are battling bad press almost every day now, what with rumours of rebellions and leadership challenges on top of a number of unflattering polls. The party might have hoped, then, that if former Conservative MPs wanted to raise party-specific concerns they would do so in private — rather than adding publicly to the
As if MPs didn’t have enough security threats to consider just now, a growing number of Westminster staff have raised concerns about being caught up in a phishing operation. 13 men have now come forward after receiving intimate and rather salacious messages from suspicious mobile numbers. Behind the messages, foreign affairs committee chair Alicia Kearns
As Scotland’s embattled First Minister continues to face backlash over his Hate Crime Act, his party has been hit with yet more bad news. New polling from YouGov suggests that Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party will become the largest party in Scotland, taking 28 seats and pushing the SNP into second place. The Nats are
It’s three days since Scotland’s Hate Crime Act took effect and there is no sign of public outrage dissipating anytime soon. Within the first 24 hours of Humza Yousaf’s hate bill becoming law, over 3,000 complaints were submitted — with the First Minister on the receiving end of more complaints than JK Rowling. Mr S
Is the SNP on a mission to make itself even more unpopular? Wellbeing economy minister Màiri McAllan is the latest politician to face a backlash after she confused voters with claims about Scotland’s progressive tax system on Twitter. McAllan first insisted that when making comparisons between Scotland and Ireland’s economic growth, the fact that Ireland
In a week that will prove testing for Humza Yousaf as public outrage over his hate crime bill continues, there is a tiny glimmer of hope for the beleaguered First Minister. A new poll has suggested that out of all the leaders of Scotland’s political parties, Yousaf is the public’s top choice for First Minister.
Scotland’s Hate Crime Act has got off to a rather rocky start, to put it mildly. On Monday, when the bill came into force, renowned author JK Rowling took to Twitter to reiterate her concerns about how expressing gender critical views (namely, that biological sex is a reality) could be an offence under the new
Easter recess may be in full swing, but government ministers aren’t getting a break. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan was sent out on the morning round today, to talk about the Tories’ free childcare expansion package. Eligible working parents of two-year-olds can now receive 15 hours of government-funded childcare a week during term time. From September,
Reform are breathing down the neck of the Tories, according to the latest polls. So it’s perhaps no surprise then that hostilities have stepped up between spokesmen for the two parties. The Mail on Sunday has today run a two-page story on various eccentric candidates standing for Reform at the forthcoming election. Among them include
Oh dear. Another week, another bad poll for the Tories. The Conservative party’s prospects have plummeted further, with polling suggesting Rishi Sunak’s party is on track to win fewer than 100 seats. Labour, meanwhile, could win 468 — resulting in a rather astounding 286-seat majority. But that’s not the worst news for Sunak: Labour is
It seems Angela Rayner is in hot water again. The Labour deputy leader might have thought she had escaped unscathed from claims about the sale of her ex-council house. But Greater Manchester Police (GMP) now says it is reassessing its previous decision not to investigate allegations that she gave false information on official documents, in a
The fall-out continues from Friday’s attack on Moscow concert hall attack in which 139 people were reported dead. Russian officials have directly accused Ukraine and the West of being involved – despite, er, the Islamic State claiming responsibility and releasing video of the atrocity. But in their bid to prove their side of events, the
It’s five weeks to go until the local elections and Tory high command are stepping up their attacks. On Monday, the Conservatives released the first of several videos focusing on Labour controlled administrations. A 70-second, black-and-white video attacked Sadiq Khan’s record and gravely intoned that ‘London under Labour has become a crime capital of the world.’ But
In the two months since Lee Anderson’s resignation as Tory deputy chairman, there’s been something of a vacancy at CCHQ. Who could fill the gap left by the red wall rottweiler, to motivate the grassroots and energise the base? Well now it seems we have our answer: Jonathan Gullis, a close friend of Anderson and
To parliament, where the Commons is about to go into recess, again. Winding up this term’s proceedings was Rishi Sunak’s traditional grilling at the Liaison Committee. Back in the good old days of Boris Johnson there was mutual loathing between the Prime Minister and the various chairs of the select committees, some of whom were
Ping! An email arrives in Steerpike’s inbox. Some happy news for headline-starved hacks at last: the National Conservatism conference is back! After last year’s Westminster offering brought with it quotes galore from Miriam Cates and Suella Braverman, this year’s event in Brussels promises more of the same. For Braverman is now being billed as the
Oh dear. In his never-ending quest to prove that he’s almost as funny as Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert has tripped up again. The late-night American TV host was last night forced to issue a humiliating apology to the Princess of Wales after he produced a segment mocking her ‘disappearance’ and marriage – shortly before it
It must be a hard job being the Metropolitan Police. Too hardline and you risk howls of protest from the left; too soft and you’re lambasted by the right. So Steerpike is pleased to bring his readers news of a policing decision that will please all inhabitants of the Westminster village, regardless of their political
So. Farewell then Scott Benton. The disgraced Blackpool South MP today becomes the disgraced former Blackpool South MP after he announced plans to quit the House of Commons. In April last year Benton lost the Tory whip after being filmed in an undercover Times sting in which he offered to lobby for gambling industry investors.