Steerpike, Author at The Spectator

Wednesday

July 27, 2022

Liz Truss’s failed Lib Dem bid revealed

From our UK edition

She is the current favourite to be our next Prime Minister but Liz Truss hasn't always been such a staunch Tory. Throughout the current Conservative leadership race, the Foreign Secretary has faced numerous reminders of her student past, back when was a card-carrying Liberal Democrat. There was the footage of a fresh-faced Truss calling for the abolition of the monarchy at the 1994 party conference in front of a watching David Steel. There was the Newsnight package which showed her canvassing Brighton locals that same year. And there have been images of the-then Oxford University Lib Dem president protesting Michael Howard's Criminal Justice Bill to clamp down on raves that same year. Now, Mr S has uncovered fresh evidence of the Trusette's youthful zeal.

Steerpike

Allison Bailey wins case against her chambers

From our UK edition

Away from the Truss/Sunak ding-dong, another long-running drama has come to an end. Barrister Allison Bailey, a friend of JK Rowling, has today won her discrimination case against Garden Court Chambers. An employment tribunal unanimously found that Bailey, a barrister, lesbian, prominent gender critical campaigner and founding member of LGB Alliance, was discriminated against and victimised by her barristers’ chambers on the basis of her gender critical beliefs. Over 30 witnesses were cross examined in a trial conducted entirely over video live-link that attracted hundreds of online observers and many thousands more followed the live tweeting of the case.

Steerpike

Remainers tool up for Boris’s departure

From our UK edition

Boris Johnson's imminent departure has been greeted with enthusiasm by all the usual suspects: millionaire celebs, Labour MPs, Tory wets and of course Dominic Cummings. But for one group of sworn Boris-bashers, the departure of their mortal foe offers a useful call to arms: unrepentant Remainers. Perusing the popular 'Work 4 MP' jobs site this morning, Mr S was struck by an advert for Best for Britain, the former stop Brexit crusade now rebranded as a 'civil society campaign.' Chaired by Kim Darroch, the continuity Remain outfit spent much of 2021 railing against Boris Johnson, pumping out graphics describing the PM as 'an international stain on our reputation' and trying to make a Brexit culture war out of Covid.

Steerpike

Will Starmer now sack Rayner’s ally?

From our UK edition

Labour might be keen to portray themselves as a government-in-waiting but today's rail strikes show the problems that still remain. Sir Keir Starmer told his party's MPs that they should not join the industrial action by the RMT yet his shadow transport spokesman Sam Tarry has directly defied his orders to do a round of media interviews from the picketline, in support of the union. He told ITV's Good Morning Britain today: 'If we don't make a stand today, people's lives could be lost. Some of the lowest-paid workers are on strike today in the rail industry, safety critical workers, workers who make sure our railways get people to work and do so safely.

Tuesday

July 26, 2022

Steerpike

HSBC’s virtue-signalling hypocrisy

From our UK edition

Ah, HSBC. The Asian banking giant has raised some eyebrows in recent years with their endless antics to appear oh so right-on. Back in 2019, they ran a series of adverts proclaiming that 'we are not an island', ignoring the fact that, er, we very much are. More recently they've rushed to associate themselves with Halifax's pronouns stunt and this week unveiled their latest progressive wheeze: offering 'gender-neutral banking'. This means the bank will 'stop collecting data on the gender of its customers across some products' in order to provide 'more inclusive services for non-binary and trans people.' There's a rich irony in HSBC now refusing to collect data on its customers, given its involvement in abetting the Chinese government's crackdown on Hong Kong.

Steerpike

Why should anyone trust Keir Starmer?

From our UK edition

The last few months have been a godsend for the Labour party. Ten points ahead in the polls, with the Tories mired in the sleaze, its members now get to watch Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss slug it out all summer. Not for nothing then has Sir Keir Starmer sought to grasp the mantle of change and portray his party as the sensible, sober party of government, which will restore integrity to British politics. But is that really fair? Just this morning on Radio 4's Today programme, Starmer was asked by Nick Robinson about the 'ten pledges' on which he ran to be Labour leader in April 2020.

Steerpike

Did Meghan Markle terrorise a three-year-old?

From our UK edition

When it comes to bullying allegations, Meghan Markle is well versed. But in Tom Bower’s latest book, Revenge, the claims are so damning that even Steerpike was gobsmacked. Reducing a royal aide to tears is one thing, but investigative journalist Bower now claims that Markle’s wrath knows no limits. Meghan reportedly picked on Princess Charlotte, who was then aged three, causing her mother Kate Middleton to burst into tears at Meghan’s bridesmaid fitting. It’s long been rumored that Meghan made Kate cry over the unacceptable length of the bridesmaid dress that Princess Charlotte was told to wear during Meghan’s wedding to Prince Harry, which was not in line with royal protocol.

Monday

July 25, 2022

Steerpike

Will Nadine now delete her TikTok account?

From our UK edition

Well, that was fun. For an hour tonight Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss danced across a smorgasbord of political issues while the BBC's Chris Mason and Sophie Raworth demanded to know about a Boris Johnson comeback and, er, Claire's Accessories. There was, as usual, more heat than light but Truss's praise for Sunak's alma mater Winchester College as a 'very, very good school' probably cost her Jacob Rees-Mogg's vote. One key exchange came on China, when the Foreign Secretary was asked if she would support a crackdown on popular viral video app TikTok. The ties between its parent company ByteDance and Beijing have been much criticised in recent years. Truss replied that: 'We absolutely should be cracking down on those types of companies'.

Steerpike

Boris ‘wants to carry on’ as PM

From our UK edition

Faced with the choice of Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss, some Tories are experiencing something close to sellers' remorse. Was Boris so bad, they wonder, as they compare the blonde bombshell's proven qualities to his untested would-be replacements? Now some have taken that a step further and demanded that a secondary question be added to membership ballots in next month's vote. Under this initiative, the Tory grassroots would vote on whether to confirm the decison of MPs to force Johnson's resignation. It's being spearheaded by Lord Cruddas, former MEP Campbell-Bannerman and, er, no one else in Westminster it seems, other than the Telegraph's politics team.

Steerpike

Home Office splash out on migrant measures

From our UK edition

Migration was the dominant theme of the weekend as the two Tory leadership contenders set out how they will resolve the small boats crisis. Both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have pledged to retain Boris Johnson's Rwanda scheme, even though Kigali claims to, er, only have a capacity for a maximum of 200 migrants from the UK. There's no doubt the issue is of concern to Tory MPs and activists and it's not hard to see why: perusing newly published accounts by the Home Office, Mr S found that in May of this year some £5.6 million was spent on contracting out services to charity Migrant Help. It was part of more than £17 million spent in the first five months of 2022 alone.

Steerpike

Will Liz Truss dare to face Andrew Neil?

From our UK edition

It's six weeks to go until voting closes for the Tory leadership and polls suggest that Liz Truss is the firm favourite of the party grassroots - on a two-to-one ratio. Rishi Sunak has to do all he can to make up lost ground, something that has likely motivated the former Chancellor to accept a challenge from one of Britain's most formidable interviewers. For it has today been announced that Andrew Neil, the longtime bête noire of politicians across the land, will grill Sunak this Friday night on prime-time Channel 4. The move is of course a gamble by Sunak: Neil gave him one of his tougher interviews last year back when he was still riding high.

Steerpike

Nadine Dorries goes for Sunak (again)

From our UK edition

It's getting a bit dirty in the Tory leadership race now. Over the weekend, briefings heated up between the Sunak and Truss camps. Both accused each other of being 'soft' on China; the former's introduction of free ports has been attacked by the latter while Sunak's schooling has also come under fire from allies of the Foreign Secretary. Good luck to whoever has to unite this party after 5 September... In these troubled times, it would take a master diplomat to try to hold the fraying Tory ties together. So cometh the hour, cometh the Culture Secretary, to pour oil on troubled waters. Nadine Dorries has been something of a one-woman attack dog these past few months, turning her fury on those viewed as disloyal to Boris Johnson.

Steerpike

Will Boris be back?

From our UK edition

'Hasta la vista, baby' Boris Johnson told the Commons at his final PMQs. But could the fallen leader be seeking inspiration from another Schwarzenegger quote: 'I'll be back'? There's been much excited talk in recent days about whether Johnson could ever make a comeback, with some supporters fearing that the Privileges Committee investigation is an attempt to force him to resign his Uxbridge seat and prevent this from ever happening. And now a few of Johnson's allies have announced they are not going to accept his defenestration lightly. Lord Cruddas, ennobled by the Prime Minister, and David Campbell-Bannerman, a former Conservative MEP, are trying to organise a grassroots revolt.

Friday

July 22, 2022

Steerpike

Priti and Truss back MPs over Beijing’s threats

From our UK edition

Most Tories are focusing on the leadership race but for some there are other concerns. Take the five MPs who last year were sanctioned by the Chinese state. Tom Tugendhat, Neil O’Brien, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Nusrat Ghani and Tim Loughton were among a group of nine UK citizens to face sanctions in March for raising awareness of China’s human rights abuses against Ughur Muslim. Having banned this group from entering China, there are fears that Beijing will now try to seek revenge on them through other means too. One possible mechanism is by the exploitation of Interpol, the global police agency now feared to be acting in Chinese state interests.

Steerpike

Guardian editor gets £150k pay bump

From our UK edition

It's a tough time for struggling families across the country. Inflation, price increases, a cost-of-living crisis and taxes going up. But one place where belts are remaining decidedly un-tightened is the editor's office at the Guardian, where champagne corks have been popping at the latest company accounts. For Katharine Viner– the editor-in-chief of the progressive periodical – has seen her pay rise by 42 per cent (or £150,000) to a whopping £509,000 in the year to April. It came after the newspaper's parent company, Guardian Media Group (GMG), hailed its best results since 2008. Good news all round then surely? Most in the media would accept that if the Guardian had a very successful year then why shouldn't they reward its leaders?

Thursday

July 21, 2022

Steerpike

Labour candidate’s political journey

From our UK edition

With two years to go until the next election, constituency battles are well underway across the country. Labour candidates are scrapping it out with one another for selection in winnable seats, with one such case being Chingford and Woodford Green. This London seat was just 1,263 votes off going red last time, with the added bonus of a prized scalp of in Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the sitting MP and former Tory party leader. Faiza Shaheen, who fought the seat for Labour last time, is desperate once again to get selected in this area. But Mr S hears talk that some local members are unhappy about her lack of presence in north London – something of particular concern in an era when hyper-local candidates are favoured.

Steerpike

Tom Tugendhat gets roasted

From our UK edition

The One Nation brigade were out in force last night and Tom Tugendhat was the talk of the town. He may not have not made it into the final two but the former leadership contender received a hero's welcome at summer receptions for both the Tory Reform Group and Conservatives in Communications. Flanked by a phalanx of fans, Tugendhat was all smiles at the latter event, telling Mr S about the ‘huge' after party his team threw following his defeat on Monday: 'it went on until 4 a.m.’ But it was another Tory politician who stole the show at Tugendhat's event, delivering a witty, self-deprecating speech that made some (well-received) barbs at the Tonbridge MP's expense.

Steerpike

British Museum keeps the Chinese golden era alive

From our UK edition

It's been a bit of a bad week for the British Museum. High temperatures forced staff to close the site early on Monday and Tuesday, damaging revenue flow and prompting renewed criticism of its BP sponsorship deal. Then today Sadiq Khan – the museum's own local mayor – called on the government to find a way of sharing the highly-prized Elgin Marbles with Greece. In such circumstances, the British Museum needs all the friends it can get. So it was no surprise therefore that two new names have been appointed as directors of the British Museum Friends, which serve as trustees of its collection. One of them is private equity chief Weijian Shan, who joins the star-studded board alongside the likes of Grayson Perry, Mary Beard and, er, chairman George Osborne.

Steerpike

Penny hits back at her critics

From our UK edition

It's been a bruising week for Penny Mordaunt. Six days ago she was the favourite to be Prime Minister; now she's out of the running after a series of searing criticisms from colleagues and the press. A repeated line of attack she faced was the suggestion that she wasn't entirely across her brief, with Lord Frost claiming he had to request Mordaunt be transferred off the Brexit negotiation One of those making such a criticism was Anne Marie Trevelyan, the Secretary of State for International Trade. She said of Mordaunt, her departmental junior, that: 'there have been a number of times when she hasn’t been available, which would have been useful, and other ministers have picked up the pieces, yes.

Steerpike

Biden in ‘I have cancer’ gaffe

From our UK edition

You're the American president on a visit to former coal plant in Massachusetts. You're ostensibly there to deliver remarks about climate change. You're facing criticisms for being out-of-touch, rambling and gaffe-prone. So what do you decide to do? Start suggesting you've got cancer in front of the world's press! An implausible-sounding scenario perhaps but that's exactly what bumbling old Biden did yesterday. In a speech delivered yesterday, America's septuagenarian president mistakenly referred to Glasgow as part of England and appeared to suggest he currently has cancer. Whoops! In a long-winded address on global warming, Biden began to describe the harmful impact of emissions from oil refineries near his childhood home.