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 papers might have welcomed Sunak’s conference speech but others aren’t so accommodating. First, the pro-independence Alba party reported the Prime Minister to the police for contempt of court after making fun of Nicola Sturgeon’s legal woes. And this morning, Sky presenter Kay Burley floated the idea that Sunak could have beached equalities legislation after telling
Rishi Sunak’s conference speech yesterday, in which he sought to claim the mantle of change, has received a reasonably welcome reception in the papers this morning. The Times front page says this ‘son of a pharmacist’ is casting himself as Thatcher’s heir, while the Telegraph focused on the PM’s ‘huge decisions to change Britain’. It
It’s been a mixed fortnight of fortunes for GB News. Their party at Tory conference attracted a galaxy of right-wing stars, with Liz Truss and Priti Patel among those toasting the self-proclaimed ‘People’s Channel.’ But as the Manchester meet-up draws to a close, the thorny question of the Ava Evans scandal has reared its head
The blue-collar Conservative Common Sense Group’s event at Tory conference yesterday evening felt more like a celebrity visit than a political fringe. Following her conference speech, Home Secretary Suella Braverman was met with chants of ‘BRA-VER-MAN’ and rapturous applause from her Tory fanbase as she came on stage at the event, hosted by the Daily
Dogs bark, cows moo and Lee Anderson shoots his mouth off. The firecracker that is the Tory deputy party chairman took to the ConservativeHome stage on the Tory conference fringe this afternoon, and he certainly didn’t hold back. Speaking to Anand Menon, director of the think tank UK in a Changing Europe, the plain-talking Anderson
So much for a blue-on-blue ceasefire. The Conservative party conference is inching towards its close but not without some penultimate day drama. The Tory London Assembly chair was this afternoon dramatically escorted out of Suella Braverman’s speech today after heckling her comments on gender. After quietly remarking that the Home Secretary was talking ‘trash’ about ‘gender ideology’, Andrew Boff
Nigel Farage has been enjoying himself at Tory conference. The former Brexit party leader was filmed last night singing karaoke with Priti Patel and today he’s been propping up the bar in the Midland hotel in Manchester. Farage certainly looks comfortable rubbing shoulders with Tory delegates, but would he ever be welcomed back into the
Jacob Rees-Mogg was in stirring form this morning, at a Tory party conference event on ‘Restoring prosperity, restoring Conservatism’ hosted by the Legatum Institute. The former minister for Brexit opportunities began his speech – where else? – at 1215 with Magna Carta before embarking on a potted history of English liberties, at one point digressing on the
Lee Anderson isn’t one to shy away from controversy and his speech on Monday evening at a fringe event at Tory conference certainly did not disappoint. The party’s deputy chairman addressed a packed out room at a Manchester club. While recounting his life story, Anderson couldn’t resist taking a pop at Guardian journalists, Diane Abbott and, er, Margaret Thatcher.
It looks like the sniping has already begun here at Tory party conference. On Tuesday, Liz Truss decided to use the event as a vehicle to launch her ‘Great British Growth Rally’ – an attempt to push the party to reduce the size of the state. That has not gone down well though with some of
Who pays up to £242 for a member ticket to the Conservative party conference only to disrupt its events? You’d have to ask the young man who heckled the health secretary during his Q&A at Monday’s Health and Care reception… Barclay spent 15 minutes hinting at what the latest Tory plan to save the NHS
Fresh from mingling with Bully XL owners, ‘Stop Brexit Man’ Steve Bray has popped up again – this time at a conference fringe event asking ‘Can the Tories win?’. Mr S thinks he knows what Bray’s answer to that question might be. During the event, Bray stood up to unveil his ‘Stop The Tories’ top.
Every world leader these days needs to have a pet. Joe Biden has a pair of out-of-control German Shepherds that are busily biting their way through the president’s secret service guards; Boris Johnson had Dilyn, a Jack Russell which was as well trained as its owner; and Rishi Sunak owns Nova, a Red Fox labrador.
Rishi Sunak is the talk of the Scottish Tory fringe at Conservative party conference — but perhaps not in the way the Prime Minister might hope. Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross wasted no time at all at making a dig at his boss — perhaps a sly retaliation to the fact Rishi Sunak wasn’t able
Rishi Sunak’s first Conservative party conference as prime minister is off to a roaring start. Never one to miss a chance to stick it to his opponents, he marked the occasion by ribbing his opposite number Keir Starmer. This evening in Manchester Sunak was guest of honour at the 1922 committee and ConservativeHome’s drinks reception.
It’s the first night of the Conservative party conference and (so far) the drama is yet to live up to last year’s mini-Budget mayhem. But just down the road from the official venue in Manchester, rebel grassroots’ group the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO) tonight threw a black tie gala dinner. Some 300-odd attendees were in
Kemi Badenoch’s war with Stonewall opened up on a new front this evening. Earlier this year, the business secretary incurred the wrath of the LGBTQ+ charity when she told government officials to withdraw from Stonewall’s top 100 employers’ scheme over the charity’s dubious positions on gender rights. Now, speaking this evening, she has raised the
It’s day one of the Conservative party conference and already Tory politicians are being probed on the tough questions. One of the hot topics in Manchester this afternoon was Kemi Badenoch’s declaration that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) needs to be ‘on the table’ as an option for the UK. Among the first
It wouldn’t be a Tory party conference without hundreds of protesters lining the streets. Manchester has not disappointed. From trade unionists, Steve Bray’s die-hard remainers, the Young Communist League, Extinction Rebellion and, of course, Just Stop Oil, anyone with a grievance appears to have made it to the Rainy City. Even Bully XL owners have
It’s Tory conference – which means the Conservatives are at each other’s throats once again. This morning, Priti Patel took a pop at Suella Braverman, accusing the Home Secretary of attention seeking. Patel also suggested Braverman was guilty of focusing on words over action. The slap down came a few days after Braverman used a