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
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The magic grandpa is back in the headlines. Keir Starmer’s decision to move against his predecessor means an unwelcome return to the spotlight for Jeremy Corbyn, who has never been a great fan of the fourth estate. Starmer has proposed a motion to Labour’s ruling body to bar Jezza for standing for the party again,
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How touching. Several weeks after Gary Lineker’s sporting colleagues boycotted the BBC in solidarity during a row over his tweets, the Match of the Day presenter has revealed the whole affair moved him to tears. Lineker, who is, he says ‘still bewildered’ by the scandal, revealed his reaction in a cosy chat with former Labour spin doctor
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Sir Keir Starmer was determined to upset Rishi Sunak’s big speech this morning, exhibiting the cynicism which secured him the Labour leadership. Starmer announced midway through Sunak’s speech that he was submitting a motion to the party’s ruling body to confirm that Corbyn will not be the official Labour candidate in Islington North at the
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The renegade royal is back. Having spent the past few years endlessly invading the privacy of others for financial gain, Prince Harry has turned up in London to complain about newspapers, er, doing just that. The dilettante Duke of Sussex arrived at the High Court this morning as legal proceedings begin in the phone-tapping and
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To Buckingham, where a tribe of true believers met on Saturday to attend the Margaret Thatcher Freedom Festival. Suella Braverman was the star turn in the evening, with Sir Iain Duncan Smith amusing attendees with his tales of Eurocrat meetings. But it was Steve Baker – the onetime arch-rebel turned Northern Ireland minister – who
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Even out of office, she’s still causing chaos. Details of Liz Truss’s resignation honours list have been leaked to the Sun this afternoon, with the newspaper reporting that the former Tory leader is considering awarding at least four peerages to mark her 49-day premiership. The names in the frame for Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister are
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Oh dear. It seems that Emmanuel Macron has done it again. The preening French president was in the middle of a television interview last night, discussing his unpopular attempt to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, when he realised that his, er, €2,400 (£2,100) watch might be causing him difficulties. Hardly the best
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Boris Johnson was all probity and contrition on Wednesday when it came to the small matter of the Privilege Committee’s integrity. He oozed praise on the ‘distinguished’ panel of MPs and assured them, in his most sincere tones, of his believe that it isn’t a ‘kangaroo court.’ But it seems that not all of his
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Whether it was No. 10 parties or Chris Pincher’s misconduct claims, Tory MPs grew used to having defend Boris Johnson in various scrapes and scandals in office. Now though he’s gone but even six months on, some Conservatives seem unable (or unwilling) to kick the habit. A case in point is provided by Scott Benton,
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‘Too clever by half’ was the verdict of many pundits when it was revealed that Sir Keir had been tapping up Sue Gray as his chief of staff. And it seems that the Labour leader is at it again, holding a big press conference today to talk about his ‘mission’ to tackle crime – less
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It’s a good day to bury bad news. After months of stalling, No. 10 have chosen today of all days to publish Rishi Sunak’s long-awaited tax bill – slap bang in the middle of Boris Johnson’s evidence session at the Privileges Committee. The records show he paid more than £1million in UK tax over the
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The king of spin is at it again. Fresh from bailing out his boss Gary Lineker from another self-imposed Twitter mess, Alastair Campbell is now laying the mantle of ‘defender of the BBC’ to pick up another instead: Boris Johnson lockdown truther. Campbell, a former director of communications in No. 10 no less, must be
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It’s all getting a bit spicy in Westminster. Barely an hour after Boris Johnson and Liz Truss announced that they would not vote for Rishi Sunak’s Windsor Framework, out came serial rebel turned ultimate loyalist Steve Baker to savage their decision. The Northern Ireland minister launched an astonishing attack on the former Tory premiers saying
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Hell hath no fury like a mandarin scorned. What with Richard Sharp and Dominic Raab, Simon Case is still living with the legacy of Boris Johnson’s premiership. And the Cabinet Secretary – who endured a torrid two years under Johnson – clearly takes exception to his former boss’s endless claims that Covid rules and guidance
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‘Cuts’, ‘retrenchment’ and ‘savings’ are very much the buzz words over on King Charles Street. There’s lots of talk about ‘fierce and draconian’ reductions in foreign aid spending with James Cleverly warning that ‘money is tight.’ So Mr S was surprised to discover that the Foreign Office will spend at least £2.5 million on the
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Quick, nurse, they’re at it again! Boris Johnson’s evidence to the Privileges Committee today has re-started the longest running war in Westminster, after a temporary cessation of hostilities. Johnson savages his former No. 10 advisor Dominic Cummings in his submission, referencing the Vote Leave guru and his infamous Substack no fewer than ten times during
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It wasn’t so long ago that the Conservatives won a landslide on Boris Johnson’s pledge not to put up income tax, national insurance or VAT. But four years on, and after 13 years in office, it seems the Tories have lost their hard-won reputation for low taxes. Mr S has done some polling and last
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It seems to be all going to pot for the SNP. The party’s chief executive and its top spinner are heading for the exit as the ongoing shambles of a leadership race continues to claim more scalps than a Scorsese flick. And it seems the pressure is getting to some of the SNP’s grandees, judging
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In her eight and a half years at Bute House, Nicola Sturgeon has never been one to show much in the way of grace towards ministers down in London. There were the Brexit debates, where she endlessly sought to undermine those involved in negotiations with Brussels. There were the Covid crises, where she sought to
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Well, well, well. It’s been a tumultuous time for the SNP recently, and no one knows that better than their own spin doctor Murray Foote. But it all seemed to prove too much this evening as he announced his shock resignation. Standing down after four years of spinning for the party, Mr Foote issued a
