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
A new year brings with it fresh headaches for Rishi Sunak. Chris Skidmore, a former energy minister, has announced he will stand down as an MP in protest at plans to issue more oil and gas licences. Parliament is expected to vote on Monday on the government’s flagship bill to guarantee annual licensing rounds in
Oh dear. It seems that those strategic geniuses in the SNP have done it again. This week saw the ban on XL bully dogs come into force in England and Wales, following a string of violent attacks by the pugnacious breed. But up in the people’s paradise of Humza Yousaf’s Scotland, ministers there decided that
Sir Keir Starmer was up this morning in Bristol, giving a big speech on the importance of transparency. The Tories, he gravely intoned, had wrecked Britain, with their relentless sleaze and cronyism. So it must have been, er, sub-optimal then for the Labour leader to have his big speech blown off course when Jim Pickard
President Gay, we hardly knew thee. Six months ago, the political scientist was appointed the head of Harvard University to much fanfare: hailed as a trailblazer, Gay was the first black woman to hold such a role. Now, after weeks of damning headlines, she has a new claim to fame: she is the shortest-serving president
Ding, ding, ding! It seems that James Cleverly took Downing Street’s instructions to get in some much-needed R&R over the holidays very seriously indeed. The Home Secretary was raring to go on this morning’s broadcast round, getting into several spats with the host of Radio 4’s Today programme, Mishal Husain. Cleverly was on air to
Sadiq Khan was hoping to project a message of ‘unity to the world’ with this year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks in London, which of course included the customary genuflections to the NHS, Windrush and inclusivity. But for all the highfalutin spiel about London’s place in the world, the mayor seemed rather less comfortable talking about
When Boris Johnson lost power, he didn’t just blame Dominic Cummings. He thought he was victim of a wider plot to replace him with Rishi Sunak who, he suspected, was in cahoots with his former adviser. ‘I heard that Cummings has said he started to plot to get rid of me in January 2020,’ he
The Cabinet Office is sometimes described as the ‘thinking brain of government’. So it’s a pity then that so little thought is applied to making it an open one. With a Freedom of Information (FOI) team that is infamous for their excuses, the ministry is frequently ranked as one of Whitehall’s worst-performing departments for transparency.
It’s gongs galore today as Liz Truss’s resignation honours’ list is published alongside the traditional new years’ one. And while the former is attracting more comment than the latter, Mr S couldn’t help but note the inclusion of one Tory favourite. The Prime Minister is a well-known lover of a Jilly Cooper bonkbuster – so
These days parliament seems less like an episode of House of Cards and more like a Spooks reboot. Whether it’s Chinese spies or cyber-attacks, the good men and women who work in the Palace of Westminster have rarely felt more conscious of their safety – and that’s not to mention the collapsing roof and crumbling
Ah, the true meaning of Christmas: an excellent chance for some photo opportunities. And while the Tory tech bros of No. 10 have been goofing around for their Home Alone remake, Labour kept it simple. Sir Keir posted a picture of himself and his wife enjoying, in his words, a ‘traditional Christmas drink with neighbours
A new year brings the same old headaches for hapless Humza Yousaf. There’s plenty of problems awaiting the in-tray of Scotland’s flailing First Minister from drug deaths and school standards to Michael Matheson’s iPad data. But perhaps no policy area sums up his party’s failures in office than the ongoing farce over CalMac ferries. The
A month after ‘Stockton-gate‘, the Home Secretary is in the headlines again over reports of another verbal indiscretion. James Cleverly has tonight apologised for comments made at a Downing Street reception about spiking his wife’s drink with a date rape drug. Speaking to female reporters at the No. 10 lobby drinks on Monday, Cleverly said
So. Farewell then 2023. Twelve months of strikes, strife and struggle – though (mercifully) fewer occupants in No. 10. In Britain, the year ends as it began, with Rishi Sunak struggling in the polls. There is, however, a new King on the throne after the Coronation back in May. Abroad, the Ukraine war continued to
It may be the the last First Minister’s Questions before Christmas, but no one in Scottish Parliament is in the festive spirit. After the SNP announced a winter budget that would make even Scrooge seem upbeat, it’s no surprise that hapless Humza got a grilling today. Douglas Ross appeared to be enjoying himself, with the
The Covid Inquiry seems to be fixated on one thing at the moment: how much cash can it burn through before it is expected to conclude in 2027? So far the Inquiry has already racked up £56 million on costs to fund its army of lawyers and civil servants, with £1.3 million alone spent on its
Congratulations to the SNP, which has today given new meaning to the phrase ‘slow and steady wins the race’. Members of hapless Humza’s government have announced today that they will complete dualling of Scotland’s ‘most dangerous road’ by 2035 – a decade later than first planned and a rate of construction that works out at,
They say that April is the cruellest month but for Jolyon Maugham it seems to be December instead. Four years ago, the kimono-wearing, baseball-bat wielding KC infamously beat a fox to death, incurring much mockery and the opprobrium of the RSPCA for his boastful tweets about the slaying. And now the Babe Ruth of the
Merry Christmas, Rishi Sunak. With parliament rising for recess, some in No. 10 might have been hoping to put their feet up, now that the PM’s Liaison Committee grilling is out of the way. But tonight an unwelcome gift has been dropped at Sunak’s feet: his party will shortly be facing a by-election in the
It’s a Christmas tradition as old as the nativity itself: the annual lobby drinks party. Each year, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition host rival shindigs to entertain Westminster’s press pack with their best quips and warmest wine. First, it was Sir Keir Starmer’s turn to roast the lobby, having neatly skewered