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
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When Alex Salmond stepped down as First Minister, he famously unveiled a commemorative stone engraved with the message ‘The rocks will melt with the sun before I allow tuition fees to be imposed on Scottish students.’ If he wants to see melting, he should go to the UCAS website and look at the courses up
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This week, a Sky News video has been doing the rounds on Twitter in which an exasperated Jeremy Corbyn supporter cast doubt on the row over the ongoing wreath-laying controversy by declaring that the Labour leader is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. End of. https://twitter.com/Jamin2g/status/1029448470028013570 Just in case readers are in any doubt,
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Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown is at the Edinburgh International Book Festival today to give a talk called ‘First Among Equals.’ Audience members will be charged £12 to hear Brown’s ‘painfully honest account’ of the ‘highs and lows’ of his political career. Alas, Mr S has reasons to believe though that Brown may be offering
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Oh dear. As many politicians have discovered, trial by Twitter rarely ends well. And neither does poll by Twitter. Where in a normal poll, factors such as sample size and demographic can be controlled, these thing are taken out of control when you ask the Twitterati to decide. Despite this, many campaigners see this set-up
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Poor old Chris Williamson. Jeremy Corbyn’s changing story over whether he did or didn’t lay a wreath on the graves of the Munich terrorists must make keeping up difficult for his loyal and faithful follower. Which perhaps explains why Williamson was somewhat lost for words when he was challenged on the subject on Newsnight last
From our UK edition
Jeremy Corbyn is facing mounting criticism over whether he did or didn’t lay a wreath at the grave of one of the Munich terrorists, but helpfully his acolytes are staying faithful. Still, while the loyalty of the likes of Chris Williamson isn’t in question, Mr S isn’t so sure that their support is actually all
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Did he or didn’t he? The question, of course, is whether Jeremy Corbyn laid a wreath or not for one of the Munich terrorists. Given the Labour leader’s shifting position on the subject it’s somewhat difficult to keep track. But Corbyn, it seems, has run out of patience with those confused about his wreath-laying antics.
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Corbyn cheerleader-in-chief Owen Jones frequently rallies against what he calls ‘whataboutery.’ For those not familiar with the word, it is a technique used to distract people from talking about injustices on your own side by bringing up atrocities elsewhere. Or, in his own words: Given whataboutery is used to deflect responsibility for misdemeanours and crimes committed
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Today, Jeremy Corbyn confirmed that he had been at a ceremony which commemorated the deaths of several terrorists linked to the 1972 Munich massacre. But it seems that Jeremy has had trouble recollecting what actually happened while he was there. So, to help jog Jeremy’s memory and to let our readers make up their own
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Poor Jeremy Corbyn, always ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time. After revelations in the Daily Mail that he had laid a wreath near the graves of those involved in the 1972 Munich terrorist attack, he finally clarified what happened. Asked by Sky News if he was involved in the tributes, he answered:
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Boris Johnson has been in hot water for the past week over his Telegraph column which compared women in burqas to letter boxes, so it made sense for him to use the restorative powers of a hot drink to try and remove himself from trouble. The beleaguered MP has been on holiday in Italy for
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It’s been all out civil war in the Tory party since the disastrous snap election which saw Theresa May lose the Conservative majority. Now it looks as though the party, tired of all the infighting, might finally be turning their attention to Labour. A job advert on the site w4mp went up over the weekend
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When Ed Miliband was elected Labour leader in 2010, he must have imagined himself headlining Labour conferences for years to come. He would stand on stage delivering the defining political speeches and bold policy moves that would propel him to victory in a general election. Alas, many bacon sandwiches, conference gaffes, and an EdStone later,
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In a strongly worded editorial on Tuesday, the Guardian newspaper did not hide its contempt for what it called Boris Johnson’s ‘tasteless newspaper column joke’ which compared women in burqas to letterboxes. ‘Baroness Warsi was absolutely correct to call Mr Johnson out on this on Tuesday when she called the remarks “dog-whistle Islamophobia”‘, it thundered.
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Oh dear. Of all the figures to come out against Boris Johnson over his comments comparing women wearing the full face veil to ‘letterboxes’, Ken Livingstone is perhaps the most audacious. Despite his penchant for talking about Hitler and zionism at every broadcast opportunity, Red Ken has today declared that Johnson has gone too far
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In case you were wondering where the Boris burqa row had left to go, Cressida Dick, the head of the Metropolitan Police, has waded into the debate. Despite no one actually coming forward to report a crime, Cressida decided to ask her ‘very experienced officers’ if Boris Johnson’s comparing of women in burqas to ‘letter
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As the Boris burqa row continues to dominate the news agenda for the fourth day on the trot, the former Foreign Sec’s enemies are still queuing round the block for the chance to stick the boot in. It’s hard to say though if many are actually offended by Johnson’s comments, or simply using the opportunity
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Boris Johnson appears to be getting it from all sides today as the row over his burka comments hits day four – and he graces the front page of six newspapers. So, perhaps some light relief could be found on Channel 4 news. In a discussion on right wing populism and Johnson’s comments, Labour’s Rupa
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As Cabinet ministers and Tory MPs line up to attack Boris Johnson over his burka comments, some are wondering if another politician would merit such a backlash. Right on cue, Johnson’s former PPS Conor Burns has popped up to take a pop at his colleagues. Burns says some of his colleagues don’t even seem to
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Boris Johnson graces the front pages of not one but seven newspapers this morning as the row over his burka comments rumbles on. It’s not gone unnoticed in eurosceptic circles that Remain Tory MPs have been the quickest to pile in on the former foreign secretary over his letterbox comparison. This has led to suspicion