Steerpike

Steerpike

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

Jeremy Corbyn: the EU must be defeated

Oh dear. Jeremy Corbyn was caught out last week after a video emerged of him claiming that the European Union was creating a ‘military Frankenstein’. It now seems as if that criticism of EU wasn’t a one off. Here is Corbyn making a speech at a rally in 2010 in which he says the EU

Revealed: Quentin Letts’ successor at the Mail

When veteran parliamentary sketch writer, Quentin Letts, announced that he was leaving the Daily Mail to write for the Times, Sunday Times and the Sun last November, talk immediately turned to who would fill his shoes. The move was considered to be quite a loss for the Mail: Letts has been skewering politicians on behalf of the paper

Chris Grayling’s shipless shipping contract sinks

Last year, there was much mirth when it was revealed that transport minister, Chris Grayling, had awarded a £14m contract for extra ferries between Ramsgate and Ostend in the case of no deal to ‘Seaborne Freight’ – a company which had no ships, and no record of chartering them. Suspicions that Seaborne might not be

John Bercow splashes the cash on canapés

Whether it’s free tickets for Wimbledon fixtures, taxpayer-funded flights to Nova Scotia, or simply expensive drinks receptions, it’s fair to say that the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has not been afraid to enjoy the luxuries of his position. But now it appears that the Speaker has recently developed even more expensive

The mission to get the health minister to eat unhealthily

Today, the think tank Resolution Foundation hosted an event which asked, after Brexit ‘Where are the Conservatives heading?’ Inevitably, the debate quickly turned to a vital issue which has become a battle for the heart and soul of the Party: whether the state should be telling people how much food they eat, and how big their

Watch: Leo Varadkar caught out making Brexit gag

Oh dear. Donald Tusk has been causing trouble this morning with his comments about some Brexiteers deserving a special place in hell. But it seems that the Irish Taoiseach is determined to go one better. At the end of a press conference in Brussels, Leo Varadkar was caught out on microphone making a gag with Tusk

Watch: Jon Snow calls out Chris Williamson on Venezuela

Venezuela is in ruins and its people are suffering greatly as a result of Nicolas Maduro’s failed socialist experiment. So who is to blame? Many would say the buck stops with Maduro himself. As a result, Britain and other countries have joined forces in recognising Juan Guaidó as the country’s interim leader in an attempt to

Jeremy Corbyn’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stunt backfires

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the left’s rising political star. The 29-year-old is the youngest women ever to serve in the US Congress and her fan base is growing quickly online, so it’s no surprise that Jeremy Corbyn wants to team up. But the Labour leader’s cosy phone call with the Democrat has somewhat backfired. Corbyn said yesterday

Watch: Andrew Marr calls out EU leaders over TV no-shows

When was the last time an EU leader gave an interview to British TV to talk about Brexit? If you’re scratching your head to remember, you’re not the only one. Andrew Marr raised just this point on his programme this morning, calling out the likes of Donald Tusk, Michel Barnier and Jean-Claude Juncker for their

Watch: Ken Livingstone’s nightmare Venezuela interview

As Venezuela continues its descent into economic ruin and poverty, it’s becoming harder and harder for left-wing supporters of the embattled president Nicolas Maduro to continue defending his socialist regime. That hasn’t stopped some from trying though. Last night, the former mayor of London Ken Livingstone was on the BBC’s late night show to do

Watch: Whitto’s awkward turn on Channel 4

Oh dear. It’s been a rollercoaster for the European Research Group of late. Once heralded as the Machiavellis of Brexit, the group of backbench Eurosceptics have lately become the subject of some mockery thanks to their botched attempts to oust Theresa May as Prime Minister. However, things appeared to turn in their favour again this week

Labour’s double standards over fast-track university courses 

This week, after regulations passed through the House of Lords, parliament approved legislation which will allow universities to offer fast-track degrees which are only two years long – allowing students to graduate earlier and save twenty per cent on tuition fees if they opt for shorter courses. The news, you might expect, would have been

Watch: Jess Phillips’ speech on parliament’s high earners

With all the dramatic votes this week, it could easily have been missed that an important debate about immigration also took place in the chamber on Monday, on the government’s new proposals to limit immigration after Britain leaves the EU. Pulling no punches was the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, Jess Phillips, who used a speech

Watch: Nick Boles caught napping in the Chamber

After another long day discussing Brexit in the House of Commons, it was the job of the Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, to finally close the debate with a rousing speech ahead of the votes on several amendments to the Prime Minister’s motion. Barclay has not exactly, to put it mildly, made a huge impact since he

Remainer wars: Anna Soubry heckles Nicky Morgan

When details emerged late last night that a small group of Conservative MPs had been secretly planning a Brexit compromise (named after Kit Malthouse who helped broker the deal) it was surprising for many to see both Remainers and Leavers within the Tory party working together on it. On one side of the aisle you

Watch: Jeremy Corbyn’s miserable Monday morning

Did Jeremy Corbyn get out of the wrong side of bed this morning? Mr S. only asks because the Labour leader was somewhat short of words when he was asked whether his party would or wouldn’t be backing Yvette Cooper’s key Brexit amendment in the Commons tomorrow. Here’s how he greeted a BBC journalist who