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
Theresa May’s ‘strong and stable’ election campaign was nothing short of a disaster for the Tories. But it isn’t all doom and gloom for everyone concerned. Step forward Sir Lynton Crosby. Crosby’s firm CTF Partners helped to mastermind the Conservative campaign. Although that didn’t play out exactly as intended, the company has just reported a
This afternoon Jeremy Corbyn received the news that Israel’s Labour party are to suspend relations with him – accusing the Labour leader of sanctioning anti-Semitism. However, Corbyn can at least end the day even – having won a surprise endorsement. Former BNP leader Nick Griffin has taken to social media to say that he plans to
Oh dear. Barry Gardiner’s bad day has gone from bad to worse. After a recording emerged of the shadow international trade secretary describing the Good Friday Agreement as ‘a shibboleth’ in the Brexit negotiations, Gardiner issued an apology. Now it seems as though he may be required to apologise for the second time in the space
Morrissey caused a stir last month when he used a blog post to lambast the Indy for an article – aka ‘an extreme Hate Piece so loaded with vile bile that it almost choked on its own endless capacity to be appalled’ – daring to criticise him. Happily, the former Smiths frontman’s latest entry is more
As shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott has earned a reputation for getting her numbers in a muddle. Now it seems that there is also an issue on the government side. Appearing on LBC, Victoria Atkins came up short when asked how many police offices are in the country. The Home Office minister responded by telling
The UN Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss a suspected chemical attack in Syria on the rebel-held town of Douma. With dozens of people killed, today there has been widespread outrage, with President Trump one of many to criticise Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Russia and Iran – saying there will be a ‘big
Here we go again. Although John McDonnell advised his Labour comrades to boycott Russia Today following the Salisbury poisoning, not everyone is willing to take heed of his advice. On Thursday, Chris Williamson – a key Corbyn ally – took to the airwaves of the Kremlin-funded broadcaster to cast doubt on the government’s handling of the
David Lammy has just popped up on BBC News to complain about the lack of police on Britain’s streets. Unfortunately for the Labour MP, as he was doing so Mr S couldn’t help but notice who was standing behind him: a police officer. Lammy told the BBC: ‘We haven’t seen a police while I’ve been
In this week’s issue of The Spectator, Will Heaven reports that the beleaguered Tories in London mooted formally breaking away from the national party and become a separate entity with their own brand and leader, like the Scottish Tories under Ruth Davidson, in a bid to avoid electoral catastrophe in the upcoming local elections. Although the
Oh dear. On Bank Holiday Monday, Stella Creasy took to the airwaves to promote the #PayMeToo campaign launched to close the gender pay gap. The campaign claims to give working women advice on how to tackle the gender pay where they work. Alas, the Labour MP appeared to be taken by surprise to find the Institute
There are some things in life that are inevitable: the sun rising in the east, the bus always being late and Labour centrists suggesting David Miliband is the saviour of British politics. Today Rachel Sylvester has delivered on the latter. Writing in the Times, Sylvester suggests that the answer to the lack of centre in British
Oh dear. The Labour party is once again divided thanks to the unfolding row over allegations of anti-Semitism. Although Jeremy Corbyn has insisted there is no place in the party for anti-Semitic views, the Labour leader has antagonised many of his MPs further with his decision to attend a Jewdas – ‘radical Jewish diaspora group’
One of the most important ingredients for success in politics, journalism, campaigns and advertising is to have a clear message. So, spare a thought for Carole Cadwalladr’s Observer investigation which appears to have failed this test over the weekend. Over the past few months Cadwalladr has launched an investigation into alleged collusion and data misuse
A Times/YouGov poll at the weekend found that nearly eight out of ten Labour members believe that accusations of anti-Semitism within the Labour party in the last fortnight are being exaggerated to damage Jeremy Corbyn and prevent criticism of Israel. So, it seems an opportune time to share Andrew Neil’s helpful explainer on what anti-Semitism
This week, Jeremy Corbyn said he was ‘sincerely sorry’ for the pain that had been caused to the Jewish community by anti-Semitism in ‘pockets’ within the Labour Party. Alas, his apology wasn’t enough to stop protesters – including some of his party colleagues – gathering in Parliament Square on Monday to voice their concerns. Nor were
On Wednesday evening, David Davis left his sick bucket at home and made his way to the Emmanuel Centre in Westminster for an hour long grilling courtesy of Andrew Neil. At the Spectator event, the Brexit Secretary spoke of his supreme confidence that the final deal would be voted through – and that the makings
Over the past few weeks, Mr S has detected the faint whiff of May-mania on the horizon. The Prime Minister’s handling of the poisoning of a former Russian double agent on British soil has seen her popularity rise again. What’s more, she learnt a new trick – recently fist-bumping a Salisbury resident. Now she can
John Bercow has been keeping a somewhat low profile of late, since bullying allegations were levelled against him. But now the Speaker has chucked himself firmly back into the spotlight with a spot of virtue-signalling in the Commons – by calling Boris Johnson ‘sexist’. Bercow took Boris to task after he referred to the shadow
Oh dear. It’s no great secret that the Parliamentary Labour Party has struggled to get to grips with Jeremy Corbyn’s response to Russia over the poisoning of a former Russian double agent on British soil. However, up until now they had refrained from criticising him directly in the Chamber. Today John Woodcock decided to go
Although Jeremy Corbyn today wrote to the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council to say ‘sorry’ for the ‘pain which has been caused’ by his party’s handling of cases of anti-Semitism, this acknowledgement appears not to extend to all of his supporters. This evening around 500 members of the Jewish community gathered in Parliament