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
Another day, another drama over at the Beeb. The BBC has apologised to ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe and his Rape Gang Inquiry, acknowledging that it should have given the parliamentarian more time to respond to reports that he was being probed for not registering donations in time. Lowe was cleared of breaching MP rules In
All is not well in the Green party. Adrian Ramsay is standing for re-election in the party’s leadership contest this summer – against the party’s deputy leader Zack Polanski. The rivalry appears to be more than professional though, as demonstrated during yesterday’s leadership debate on Iain Dale’s LBC show. As the election looms, the pair
Uh oh. Protests have broken out outside an empty Canary Wharf hotel after claims began to circulate that migrants were being relocated to the venue from Epping. In response to the rumours spread by controversial figures like Tommy Robinson, protestors have over the last 24 hours turned up to the hotel in the centre of
Kemi Badenoch might have reached an agreement with James Cleverly about his new role in the shadow cabinet, but it appears the pair remain at odds over the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). On Tuesday afternoon, the Westminster rumour mill ramped up as speculation that Cleverly – a onetime Tory leadership contender – was
Parliament may have risen for recess but that doesn’t mean that Sir Keir Starmer is getting much of a break. It transpires that the Prime Minister is facing growing calls to immediately recognise Palestine as a state with a number of Cabinet minister understood to be piling pressure on the PM alongside dozens of his
Well, well, well. It would appear the former Unite the Union boss Len McCluskey is not immune to the temptation of free gifts. An internal report has revealed that the trade unionist enjoyed private jets and freebie football tickets arranged by a company in charge of building a multi-million pound hotel for the organisation. Alright
The ability of Britain’s quangos to sugarcoat their rather unflattering performance figures will never fail to amaze Mr S. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Authority (DVSA) is just the latest example. The organisation’s chair and chief executive have both issued glowing reports of the company’s ‘progress’ thus far, using an exciting range of buzzwords to
Reform UK has dominated headlines this morning, as the party kick off their six-week campaign on crime. During a central London presser this morning, Nigel Farage told journalists that his party will halve crime in Britain if it gets into government – insisting that all foreign criminals will be deported and serial offenders would have
Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is preparing to be grilled by the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee this afternoon – and Mr S has a question for the lefty Cabinet minister too. While the veteran politician has expended a lot of his own energy on taking a pop at net-zero sceptics for ‘talking their
The big guns of parliament were out in force this morning. The annual cross-party Commons v Lords shooting match has long been a fixture in the annual political calendar. After last year’s contest was dominated by the shadow of the general election, this year was a much more relaxed affair. Peers and MPs descended on
Never mind uniting the right, there’s more talk of fighting the right today as the feud between Tory MP Robert Jenrick and Reform’s Zia Yusuf ramps up. Yusuf has spent this week pointing blame at Jenrick over the Ministry of Defence leak – but now Reform’s head of DOGE is under fire after being caught
To the Ministry of Defence leak, which has created a flurry of news this week after journalists were eventually allowed to report on the scandal following the lifting of a super-injunction on Tuesday. A number of politicians have found themselves in the firing line over the issue, with former defence secretary Grant Shapps the latest
The 2024 election was something of a disaster for the Tories. Two in every three MPs departed the Commons last July, with many cut down while only in their thirties and forties. Consequently, a disproportionate number are keen to return to parliament next time. But, it seems that their hopes have been dashed, according to
All is not well in Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party. Last night, seven MPs were punished for voting against the government – with four suspended from the party. Today, Diane Abbott is in the firing line after the left-winger was accused of ‘doubling down’ on previous claims that Jewish people experience racism differently from black
Oh dear. After the government announced that 16- and 17-year-olds will be allowed to vote in time for the next general election – in a move Reform’s Nigel Farage has slammed as ‘an attempt to rig the political system’ – the Deputy Prime Minister penned an op-ed for the Times to praise the policy. But
Well, well, well. It transpires that a number of left-wing MPs enjoyed some time away from their constituencies at this year’s Glastonbury festival, soaking up the sun, music and, of course, the pleasure of being there for free. Former Labour MP Zarah Sultana – who may or may not have patched things up with Jeremy
The Sandie Peggie case against NHS Fife is only getting stranger. The tribunal resumed on Wednesday morning, after first being heard in February after nurse Peggie lodged a complaint of harassment related to a protected belief under the 2010 Equality Act after being suspended for complaining about sharing a changing room with a transgender doctor.
Well, well, well. It was only a fortnight ago that the government was forced to gut its own welfare reform in the face of a full-blown backbench rebellion, leaving Rachel Reeves with a £5bn black hole to cover up. And now, fresh from their self-inflicted bloody nose, the Department for Work and Pensions revealed on
A day is a long time in politics. Just 24 hours ago, the husband of former Tory Home Secretary Suella Braverman was a signed-up member of Reform UK. This morning, however, Rael Braverman announced that he has left Nigel Farage’s party – ‘effective immediately’. Life comes at you fast, eh? It comes after the party
To Scotland, where the nurse at the centre of a trans tribunal against NHS Fife has been cleared of all gross misconduct allegations. On Tuesday night, Sandie Peggie’s lawyer said that the health board had cleared the nurse of four gross misconduct allegations – following Peggie’s suspension in January 2024 after complaining about sharing a