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
When Dawn Butler sent a message of support to Extinction Rebellion protesters who had blockaded newspaper printworks, it wasn’t long before her tweet was deleted. So what happened? It was widely assumed that the order to delete the message came from the top of the Labour party and showed all too clearly that things are now
It wasn’t so long ago that Sir Keir Starmer was making headlines as shadow Brexit secretary for his role moving the Labour leadership in favour of a second referendum. However, since taking over the party, Starmer has gone rather quiet on the matter. With a global pandemic dominating the news agenda, that was understandable for a while.
It feels good, doesn’t it? Hearing Labour say something sensible for a change. Last night, eco agitators Extinction Rebellion targeted newspaper printworks hoping to disrupt the distribution of papers like the Daily Mail, the Sun and the Telegraph. How did the Corbynite backbencher Dawn Butler respond to this attack on free expression, which has so far seen
What a scandalous idea, drinking with someone you might disagree with. Rather than grilling the transport secretary over his own views, Sky’s Kay Burley instead decided to attack Grant Shapps over whether he would ‘have a drink with’ Tony Abbott because of his perceived ‘homophobia’. Which seems an odd line of questioning given the fact
When Extinction Rebellion took over the streets of London last year, even some of those who disagreed with the aims of the movement found the number of protesters an impressive sight. Thousands of people descended on the capital, blocking streets and causing chaos as they desperately tried to outfox police officers. This week, Extinction Rebellion is back.
Oh dear. It’s safe to say that Rishi Sunak is not having the best week. Although the Chancellor’s made the news every day, it’s more because Tory MPs are complaining about various Treasury tax proposals than because they have anything nice to say. While the jury’s out on tax rises, it seems that the Chancellor has at least
It’s parliament’s first day back, and the government will be hoping to restore an aura of competence, after recent U-turns from exams to face masks – but they have not had a strong start. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was spotted shaking hands with a colleague this morning, while on his way to a socially distanced cabinet
One of the reasons the Red Wall fell so decisively in favour of the Tories was that Labour failed to understand Brexit voters. That at least is a common theory put forward as to why Boris decisively trounced Corbyn last December. And it certainly seems to tally up with what some current Labour MPs make of
‘Don’t be a fatty in your 50s’, that was the advice Boris Johnson had for his colleagues following his recovery from coronavirus. It seems he’s taken that comment to heart – the PM has signed up a new PT to help him shift the pounds. The Evening Standard reports that celebrity trainer Harry Jameson has been spotted alongside the
Diversity and inclusion is, apparently, ‘mission critical’ to the Ministry of Defence. That’s right, up there with keeping our troops safe or even, believe it or not, defence of the realm. Which is why the MoD is now looking for a new director of diversity and inclusion. In fact, the role is so ‘mission critical’ that the successful candidate
James O’Brien has done it again. LBC’s eviscerator-in-chief has skewered yet another caller and their ill-thought-out opinions. No, not a moronic Brexiteer this time but a concerned parent. Wait, what? The father in question had phoned O’Brien’s mid-morning show to share his concerns about his children, suggesting they really ought to get back into the classroom for their own
What happens when a lifelong anti-monarchist meets a pair of vocal young royals? Might one expect a statement of principles from the republican, politely reminding the couple of their illegitimacy as would-be rulers? Or perhaps just a quiet detachment, civil but aversive. It seems that when Jeremy Corbyn and his wife Laura Alvarez met Harry
A prime minister better known for his charisma than his policy achievements proroguing parliament to ride out a political storm. Sound familiar? No, it is not Boris Johnson, but the quintessential liberal heartthrob Justin Trudeau. Trudeau’s party promised not to use prorogation to ‘avoid difficult political circumstances’ When Johnson suspended parliament a year ago, Nicola
Gavin Williamson has taken a lot of stick for the A-level exams debacle, but Mr Steerpike thinks we should perhaps look to Roger Taylor, the chair of Ofqual, who also happens to be head of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation. Not many people think that using an algorithm to decide exam results was
Not content with criticism from virtually all sides of the political arena, Gavin Williamson appears to have turned even his own Twitter account against him in an act of online sadomasochism. The most recent like on his account is of a tweet by the children’s author Michael Rosen, in which he argues that under the
Gavin Williamson has performed a big U-turn today and announced that pupils in England receiving A level and GCSE results this year will be awarded their teacher-assessed grades, to avoid any student being downgraded by an algorithm. In a statement this afternoon, the Education Secretary said: ‘We worked with Ofqual to construct the fairest possible model,
Was Margaret Thatcher a feminist icon? Given that the Iron Lady was Britain’s first female prime minister, you would think so. But not according to Russell Brand. The comedian and Corbyn fan has released a video in which he explains feminism. Brand then asks whether Thatcher – who defied the odds to rise to the
When Dawn Butler was stopped by police last weekend she was not in a forgiving mood: It later turned out that the vehicle Butler was travelling in was stopped after an officer made a mistake when typing in the car’s number plate. ‘As a result of an officer making a human error as he inputted the car
Nicola Sturgeon was able to indulge in a small spot of schadenfreude today, as A level results were announced in England, and UK ministers were criticised for the downgrading of some students’ results. The Scottish first minister has had a hellish week defending her own disastrous handling of exam results north of the border, which
The UK government has seemed flummoxed in recent days about how to best stop migrants and asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in inflatable dinghies – with ministers particularly concerned about the failure of the French authorities to prevent people traffickers organising journeys out of Calais. Immigration minister Chris Philp travelled to Paris this week
