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
He’s been writing PMQs lines for 20 years but today, at long last, Oliver Dowden got the chance to deliver them himself. With Sunak globe-trotting, his deputy relished the chance to face off against the Stockport scrapper, Angela Rayner. Labour’s deputy leader got some laughs with her reminder that after last year’s locals, Dowden had
Another set of local elections offers another chance to expose the fallacy of the ‘progressive alliance.’ Every so often, misty-eyed centrists of a certain age like to wax lyrical about Labour, the Lib Dem’s and Greens joining together to kick those wicked Tories out of office. A Marvel Universe for moderates, if you like. Sadly
It’s not the SNP’s year is it? Just when the nationalists thought they could catch a break after the chaos of recent months, fresh revelations have been published about the infamous police raid on Nicola Sturgeon’s house. It turns out that Police Scotland put in their requests for a search warrant of the Sturgeon-Murrell property
It was Yes Minister which joked that open government is ‘a contradiction in terms: you can be open or you can have government.’ And it seems that the Sunak regime has now taken that maxim to new limits in its bid to avoid anything that might cause the slightest embarrassment to King and country. Back
It’s fair to say there was some controversy about the selection of Mae Muller as Britain’s entry to this year’s Eurovision song contest. Muller is a 25-year-old Corbyn supporting Twitter devotee, whose past efforts include posted a number of messages on Twitter critical of Boris Johnson, including one post in which she declared ‘I hate
Oh dear. It was all meant to be going so well for British-Irish relations. Earlier this month both the Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the Republic’s president, Michael D. Higgins, flew out to London for King Charles’ coronation – the first Irish nationalist leaders to attend a British coronation in over a century. Even Sinn Fein’s
To Bournemouth, where two-hundred odd attendees of the Conservative Democratic Organisation are meeting for their first conference. The CDO has been labelled a ‘Tory Momentum’ and a ‘Bring Back Boris’ effort by its opponents, though its chairman David Campbell-Bannerman insists that it is nothing of the sort. ‘We are not enemies of Central Office’ he
Oh dear. It seems that the king of spin’s onetime winning touch has deserted him. The omnipresent Alastair Campbell popped up again on Newsnight to continue his latest ‘forever war’ – this time the never-ending crusade against Brexit. Campbell was up against Alex Phillips, the former MEP, and managed in the space of just seven
Prince Harry is no stranger to demanding that everyone, everywhere should mind their own business and give him privacy – unless they’re reading his autobiography or watching his Netflix show, that is. However, if the Duke of Sussex’s latest awkward run in at the High Court is anything to go by, he might have to
Justin Welby is a busy man: the Archbishop of Canterbury took centre stage at the King’s coronation on Saturday. Then, on Wednesday, he was holding forth in the Lords on Suella Braverman’s boats bill. But does Welby’s busy diary mean he sometimes forgets to slow down? Mr Steerpike only asks because the Archbishop is back
Ding, ding, ding! In the blue corner, it’s Kemi Badenoch, the Trade Secretary and much-fancied leadership contender. And, er, also in the blue corner, is the combined forces of the European Research Group. A war of words has broken out between Badenoch and the Brexiteers over the government’s decision not to repeal all retained EU
Well, that was eventful. Fresh from being found guilty of sexual abuse, Donald Trump rocked up last night at a 70-minute long town hall with CNN in which the former president clashed repeatedly with moderator Kaitlan Collins. In his first appearance on the network since 2016, Trump refused to say whether he wanted Ukraine to
Four months after losing the Tory whip, Andrew Bridgen finally has a new party. The maverick member for North West Leicestershire has today joined Laurence Fox’s Reclaim party as their first MP. In a Westminster press conference – held in the same room in which Douglas Carswell defected to Ukip – Bridgen hailed his new
If it wasn’t for bad luck, Humza Yousaf would have no luck. After hobbling over the line in a brutal SNP leadership election, his tenure was instantly plunged into chaos by a police probe into the party’s finances. Raids on Nicola Sturgeon’s home and SNP HQ were followed by the arrests of Peter Murrell, Sturgeon’s
‘Men wanted for hazardous journey… Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.’ Ernest Shackleton’s supposed plea for explorers on his Antarctic expedition would nicely double up as the job advert for the Tory London mayoral candidate. CCHQ formally opened applications yesterday but there seems to be a lack of early frontrunners. Indeed,
Oh dear. It seems that James O’Brien has slipped up again in his ceaseless quest for truth. The hard-of-thinking LBC star is always able to spot a winner and now, having so spectacularly lost the arguments on Brexit and Covid classroom closures, he has turned his attentions to Labour, riding high in the polls after
Humza Yousaf has already stoked a right royal row with his party’s hardliners by ditching a pro-independence rally to attend the coronation. And now he’s really gone and done it by leading the Scottish Parliament in a celebration of the event. The SNP leader tabled a motion showering praise on the King and Queen: That the Parliament
What do you do when you’re opinionated, loquacious and somewhat under-employed? Start your own self-concentred podcast of course. So Mr S is delighted to welcome the garrulous Guto Harri to the world of political broadcasting, with the onetime Downing Street director of communications now launching ‘a brand-new political memoir podcast series Unprecedented‘ with Global. Fresh from
Prince Harry kept a dignified silence at his father’s coronation – even if he opted to make a hasty exit back to Los Angeles when the service at Westminster Abbey finished. But the Duke of Sussex’s ghostwriter J.R. Moehringer has chosen this week to talk about the ins and outs of writing Spare. Moehringer reveals
After the Coronation festivities, there are a fair few hangovers in London today. But there was no sign of that over in Notting Hill, where fitness fanatics were up early for Soul Cycle. And Mr S understands that among the more high-profile attendees at the 9:30 a.m class this morning were none other than Akshata
