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 winds of change are blowing through the corridors of 4 Matthew Parker Street. Having turfed team Truss out of No. 10, it seems that the Sunak ascendancy has now coincided with a clear out in CCHQ. The past fortnight has seen a number of high-profile departures including chief executive Darren Mott, political director Ross
The new series of I’m a Celebrity airs on Sunday and the producers have done a decent job of making sure all of Westminster will be watching. Some contestants bring laughter to the jungle; others have star power. Matt Hancock though will be bringing his humility, judgement and expertise in national humiliation when he appears
Oh dear. It seems that another hard-of-thinking Corbynista has shown themselves up again. Labour has been enjoying the chance to make political capital out of Suella Braverman’s current woes, with the Home Secretary on the ropes amid an avalanche of questions about her judgement and competence. But never doubt the ability of Sir Keir’s barmy
Tory MPs often like to talk a tough game on China – but is it Labour who are now making the running? While the Conservatives are often at pains to wrap themselves in the flag and bang the drum for King and country, Mr S can’t help but notice in recent weeks how frequently members
Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So what are we to glean from Matt Hancock’s latest comeback initiative under a third successive Tory premier? According to The Sun, the Casanova of the Commons has signed up to appear on the upcoming series of I’m A
It’s not just Suella Braverman and Dominic Raab who have got their old jobs back. Following the Truss interregnum, normal service has been restored in Whitehall, with Michael Gove being handed another post in his fourth Conservative administration. The erudite Aberdonian has returned to the Department of Levelling Up – the ministry he left just
Dogs bark, cows moo and the Home Office leaks like a sieve. Unfortunately, this time the finger of suspicion has fallen on Suella Braverman, the Secretary of State for the most malfunctioning ministry in all of Whitehall. Braverman has reportedly been dubbed ‘leaky Sue’ after repeatedly sending official documents to her personal email – the
The revolving door in No/ 10 seems to turn even faster these days, given the news that Downing Street will shortly be greeting its fourth director of communications in eight months. Amber de Botton will be next to sip from what has become widely regarded as a poisoned chalice, following the departure of Adam Jones,
He’s had his money worries in the past, but life seems to be pretty sweet for Nigel Farage right now. Less than eighteen months after announcing his retirement from frontline politics – claiming there was ‘no money’ in it – Farage’s fortunes seem to be on the up. Newly published accounts for his company, Thorn
Fire up the engine, the clickbait machine has gone into overdrive. Mr S doesn’t spend much of his time watching America’s Daily Show for obvious reasons: life is short and sermons are best delivered on a Sunday. Yet, stumbling across Monday’s episode of the late-night satirical programme, Steerpike couldn’t help but reflect on the sheer
What a first day. Just 24 hours after walking up Downing Street to enter that famous black door, Rishi Sunak was taking to the despatch box for his debut at Prime Ministers’ Questions. In an entertaining and highly-energetic exchange, the new leader signalled his willingness to make a break with the past, telling the Commons
The chorus of execration that met the appointment of Rishi Sunak as PM has been music to Steerpike’s ears. There are few things more delicious than the right-on indulging in yet another collective meltdown at the sheer audacity of a non-white politician who doesn’t conform to their views. After years of tedious games about identity politics,
Joe Biden, the man whose diet seems to consist of ice cream and gaffes, has done it again. Having managed to irritate both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss with his European interventions, ‘sleepy Joe’ seems determined to make it a hattrick of Tory premiers. The septuagenarian president was addressing a Washington event on Monday evening to
Does Nadhim Zahawi have the worst judgement in Tory politics? As recently as last year, the man could do no wrong: the boosterish vaccines minister who impressed at education, winning fans with his back story and media savvy. Yet since then, the millionaire pollster’s winning touch seems to have deserted him. Indeed, Zahawi has been
So much has happened over the last few months, that perhaps Nadhim Zahawi should be forgiven for a slight lapse in memory. The Tory MP, and former chancellor, has this morning come out to back Boris Johnson to become leader of the Conservative party and prime minister again. Zahawi wrote on Twitter: That’s strange. Has
Action stations! It’s go go go this weekend as the old campaign vehicles crank into life once more. Are you (still) ready for Rishi? A Boris backer? Or a Mordaunt man? As the three candidates scramble around to tot up their tallies of parliamentary supporters, a rather different madcap muddle is happening in associations across
What a year it’s been for Steve Baker. Fresh from leading rebellions over Brexit and Covid, the Wycombe MP joined the revolt against Boris Johnson, briefly mulled a bid to replace him before getting on board the Truss train, becoming a Northern Ireland minister and issuing an apology for the UK’s behaviour in Brexit. Now,
It was all going so well for Rishi. With a hundred MPs in the bag, Sunak looks to be the only candidate who will cruise through to the final round on Monday unlike his struggling rivals. But has Tobias Ellwood managed to pull defeat from the jaws of victory once again? The chairman of the
Does Boris have the numbers? That’s the question all Westminster is asking today. There’s been much excitement about an anonymous briefing that seems to have gone out to half the parliamentary press gallery. BBC Pol Ed Chris Mason quotes a source close to Boris Johnson as claiming that he has ‘now has more than 100
Is this the start of a new Xi Jinping purge? Earlier today, the former Chinese president Hu Jintao was manhandled and led out of the closing ceremony of the Communist party congress – watched on by delegates and the media. The 79-year-old is Xi Jinping’s immediate predecessor and was seated to his immediate left. A