Steerpike, Author at The Spectator

Tuesday

3 July 2018

Watch: Siri interrupts Gavin Williamson in the Chamber

It's safe to say that Gavin Williamson has had a difficult few weeks. After the Mail on Sunday splashed on the Defence Secretary's supposed threat to bring down Theresa May over a funding row, Williamson has been on the receiving end from his colleagues. So, is Williamson close to handing over the reins to someone else? Mr S only asks after he appeared to leave it to his phone to do the talking today in the Chamber. Williamson's Siri staged an intervention while he was at the despatch box: https://twitter.com/BBCParliament/status/1014136145989513218 Siri: I've found something of the web for Syrian democratic forces supported by... JB: What a very rum business that is GW: I'm not sure I'd call that an intervention.

Steerpike

Tory Brexit wars: Ed Vaizey vs Owen Paterson

The big Brexit crunch meeting at Chequers isn't until Friday but already Tory civil war is breaking out into the open. The divisions in the Conservative party on Brexit had previously been confined to a couple of spats on Twitter. Not any longer if today's Daily Politics bust-up between Ed Vaizey and Owen Paterson is anything to go on. While Tory MPs who appear alongside each other on TV can usually be relied on to back each up, it seems that when it comes to Brexit, these rules don't apply: https://twitter.com/edvaizey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Paterson: “You cannot dismiss the election and neither can the Labour party. Theresa May, forget the seats, she got the second largest number of votes since John Major.

Steerpike

DexEU chief: staff should try 10 minutes of ‘chairobics’ a day

As the Cabinet's Brexit crunch meeting draws closer, there's heightened speculation that it's Olly Robbins – the Prime Minister's Europe Adviser and former DexEU Permanent Secretary – who is calling the shots rather than Brexit Secretary David Davis. On Monday, Davis met with Theresa May but it's not clear he was even updated on the 'third way' customs plan in the works. Rumours are circulating that the official Brexit department is being forced to take a back seat in the big Brexit decisions. So, Mr S was curious to note the message sent out by the Permanent Secretary, Philip Rycroft, for the Department for Exiting the European Union to kick off Civil Service Active Wellbeing Week.

Monday

2 July 2018

Steerpike

Watch: Kit Malthouse wrong-foots his boss

Oh dear. Esther McVey has rather a lot on her plate right now with the faltering universal credit roll out. Today, however, her problems became physical while answering work and pensions questions in the Chamber. Only it wasn't the Opposition causing the issue. Junior minister Kit Malthouse lost his balance as he stepped away from the despatch box – causing the muscular Tory to almost sit down on a petite McVey. See if you can spot it.

Steerpike

No more BBC Mairs for Boris Johnson

The news that Eddie Mair is departing the BBC for LBC has been met with disappointment by his former comrades. However, Mr S suspects that there is one man who will today be breathing a sigh of relief. Step forward Boris Johnson. It’s no secret that the foreign secretary has a frosty relationship with the broadcaster - in fact, the majority of Boris’s broadcast gaffes have been when Mair was the one asking the questions: Mair to Boris – 'you're a nasty piece of work' In the first interview in 2013, Mair branded Boris a 'nasty piece of work'. He was referring to Mr. Johnson’s integrity, which came under scrutiny in Michael Cockerell’s contemporary documentary. The allegations had been made before, and indeed partially faced by Boris in a memorable HIGNFY.

Steerpike

Sajid Javid takes the lead

According to weekend reports there are now 20 Tory MPs preparing leadership bids should Theresa May fall. However, one minister tells Coffee House that's not right – it's actually more like 40. So, with ambitious politicians plotting their next move, who is the frontrunner? Mr S was curious to note that Sajid Javid – the newly installed Home Secretary – has taken the lead for the first time. Javid has topped ConHome's leadership poll – this is notable given that since the site revived their Next Tory Leader question after the snap election, it has been topped either by a candidate by the name of 'other' or by Jacob Rees-Mogg. id Watch this space.

Steerpike

Confirmed: Cameron did ask Obama to say Brexit Britain would be ‘back of the queue’

When Barack Obama warned Brits on a visit to the UK ahead of the EU referendum that a vote for Leave would see Britain put to the ‘back of the queue’, on trade deals there was much anger – and also bemusement. As Brexiteers were quick to point out, Americans rarely use the word 'queue' – leading some to ask: did No 10 ask the US president to intervene? At the time, Cameron's allies strongly denied this suggestion. However, it seems that the truth is quite different. Speaking on the Today programme, former White House staffer Ben Rhodes claimed that Cameron's aides did ask their side for Obama to say Brexit would put the UK 'at the back of the queue'.

Friday

29 June 2018

Steerpike

US ambassador’s Independence Day party: special relationship ‘alive and well’

To the American ambassador's (early) independence day party. Despite the ambassador now possessing a shiny new embassy in south London – an off-location according to one @realDonaldTrump – guests were invited to Woody Johnson's personal residence Winfield House, north west London. Gavin Williamson and Liz Truss were both in attendance though Mr S understands that the tricky topic of the government spending review did not come up as party chat. Other politicians there included Greg Clark, Tobias Elwood and Thérèse Coffey. In his speech to guests – who munched on hot dogs and Krispy Kreme doughnuts – Johnson said the special relationship was 'alive and well'.

Steerpike

Osborne at a loss over Evening Standard

Evening Standard editor, Kissinger Fellow, Honorary Economics Professor, Blackrock Advisor and Stanford Visiting fellow George Osborne is a skilled man at many things – namely job applications. However, as Chancellor Osborne struggled with deficit reduction, repeatedly missing his targets. He seems to now be experiencing economic turbulence in one of his new jobs, as editor of the London Evening Standard. BBC Media Editor Amol Rajan reports that in the space of a year the Standard has gone from a two million pound profit to a ten million pound loss. The paper will post a loss of £10m for the year ending in September 2017. Osborne started at the paper as editor in May 2017. What ever could be the problem?

Thursday

28 June 2018

Steerpike

Danny Dyer on Brexit and Cameron: ‘where is the geezer?’

England may have lost their World Cup match to Belgium but happily some Thursday night entertainment was found in ITV's Good Evening Britain. Danny Dyer – the EastEnders actor – hit out at David Cameron, also known as 't--–', over Brexit: 'This whole Brexit thing when you're judging them. Who knows what Brexit is. You watch Question Time and it's comedy. No-one knows what it is it's like this mad riddle. What's happened to that t--- David Cameron that called this on. How come he can scuttle off? He called all this on. Where is he? He's in Europe, in Nice, with his trotters up. Where is the geezer? He should be held to account for it.' https://twitter.

Steerpike

Breaking: FT backs Brussels

In a way, tonight's England vs Belgium football match ought to be win-win. If England beats Belgium there will be mass celebrations – but even if they lose they're still though and a bad performance could take them into an easier route to the final. Yet Mr S suspects that this isn't the reason a number of non-Belgiums will be cheering on the other team. Jeremy Corbyn’s man in Brussels Richard Corbett and Leo Varadkar have said they will be cheering on Belgium. Now the Financial Times's Peter Spiegel has been revealed to be cheering the other side – he even has the scarf to prove it: https://twitter.com/lionelbarber/status/1012352911987404810 Well, at least you can't call the American a citizen of nowhere...

Steerpike

Matt Hancock’s World Cup struggle

Ahead of England’s crunch World Cup game against Belgium tonight, you might expect that support for the Three Lions is reaching fever pitch in the cabinet. Not so, Mr S is sad to report. Theresa May is more of a cricket fan, while Boris has been busy talking down England’s chances. It seems that culture secretary, Matt Hancock, is also failing to get excited about the football. At a party organised by the department for culture, media and sport for England’s opening game against Tunisia, Hancock seemed more interested in fiddling with a virtual reality set than paying attention to the game, Steerpike hears. “He’s more of a cricket man” a source close to Hancock said, when asked about his ambivalence towards the beautiful game.

Steerpike

Brexit football chant competition: ‘He’s here, he’s there! He’s a citizen of nowhere: Barnier, Barnier!’

Congratulations to Radio 4’s Today programme for the amusing item on Brexit football chants. Very good. Radio 4 being Radio 4, however, there was a slight Remain bias to their chants. Also they lacked something of the sweet nihilism that all the best football chants have. So here, in the interests of balance and free speech, are a few we came up with in The Spectator office yesterday. We just about resisted the natural urge to rhyme with Jean-Claude Juncker, and now we dare to dream that one of them will be sung at the Kaliningrad stadium tonight for England’s match against Belgium. Please send your own chants (preferably with audio file) to editor@spectator.co.uk and put Brexit Football Chant Competition in the subject field.

Steerpike

Two years on: six of the worst Brexit predictions

It’s just over two years since the UK voted to leave the European Union in what proved to be a shock result that caught both politicians and commentators off guard. Unlike Lord Ashdown’s hat-eating, or Matthew Goodwin’s book eating after the two most recent General Elections, many didn’t get held accountable to their off the mark Brexit predictions. Happily, Mr S is on hand to correct that. Steerpike has compiled a list of some of the Brexit predictions that failed to come true: 1. JP Morgan: Scotland will leave the UK and get a new currency Days after the EU referendum, investment company JP Morgan announced in an email to clients that they expected Scotland to leave the union and change currency. (As did Andrew Marr in the immediate aftermath of the vote.

Wednesday

27 June 2018

Steerpike

Love Island fever sweeps the Labour backbenches

Recess is fast approaching and many MPs are looking for a hobby to occupy them over the long summer break. Happily, a group of Labour MPs have hit upon the perfect thing to keep them busy: Love Island. Mr S hears that Lucy Powell, Jess Phillips and Stella Creasy have even set up a WhatsApp group to discuss the ITV2 show. A Labour source said: "It’s well known that Lucy, Jess and Stella have a Love Island WhatsApp group to debrief on each episode and to coordinate voting, with Lucy usually whipping. Their overwhelmingly favourite couple this year is Jack and Dani, and they are in total agreement that Adam is a rat.” It seems the trio aren’t the only ones on the Labour benches with a fondness for Love Island.

Steerpike

Liz Truss and the last straw

Oh dear. Although free-thinking Cabinet members are not hard to come by nowadays, Liz Truss still managed to cause a stir with her speech to the London School of Economics. Only it was notable not just for her defence of free markets and fiscal restraint but for what she didn't say. In the pre-released speech on the government website, Truss took a swipe at her Cabinet colleague Michael Gove over his plan to save turtles and ban plastic straws: Only – despite the speech being pre-published – Truss appears to have decided it was a straw too far and taken the line out at the last minute. Happily, she was still okay criticising Gove's department as a whole: 'There’s enough hot air and smoke at the Environment Department already.

Tuesday

26 June 2018

Steerpike

David Miliband takes in the refugee crisis… from Aspen

Oh David Miliband – never change. Labour's prince across the water continues to surprise. Although friends of Ed Miliband's brother have reported that David is 'still attracted' to Britain, as of yet the former Labour politician has not been tempted enough by Blighty to quit his £425,000 a year job as the chair of the refugee charity International Rescue. It looks like that isn't about to change any time soon. Today Miliband has shared his working day – and it's a 'beautiful day to discuss refugees and political crisis of our times'. And where is the perfect spot to do this? Aspen, natch – the millionaires' playground. It seems £425,000 a year can't buy you tact...

Steerpike

John McDonnell fails to put on a united front

Is Len McCluskey a signed up member of a 'corporate cartel'? That's what his close ally John McDonnell appeared to suggest in the Chamber as Tory MPs voted en masse to back plans for a third runway at Heathrow. With the shadow chancellor representing a constituency in the flight path of the proposed runway, McDonnell was quick to attack all those behind it and the 'corporate cartels' pushing for it: 'Does this House stand up for people and communities, especially working class communities or does it stand up for the interests of a corporate cartel that's ripped us off for decades?' Only McDonnell seems to have forgotten who his friends are. Labour's key union financier Unite is pro-Heathrow and seen to be the motivating factor in Jeremy Corbyn allowing his MPs a free vote on the issue.

Steerpike

Tom Watson’s gambling hypocrisy

When it was announced that the crackdown on fixed-odds betting machines could be delayed for up to two years, Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson made his feelings loud and clear: ‘The state of this government. It’s pathetic,’ he tweeted. That outburst wasn’t the only time Watson has called for action against the bookmakers. Here he is describing gambling as Britain’s ‘hidden epidemic’ and urging football clubs to cut their ties with the bookies: 'Kids more than ever are exposed to gambling adverts, and it’s no surprise to me then...that gambling addiction has gone up by an estimated third in recent years.

Monday

25 June 2018

Steerpike

Two years on: six of the worst Brexit predictions | 25 June 2018

It’s just over two years since the UK voted to leave the European Union in what proved to be a shock result that caught both politicians and commentators off guard. Unlike Lord Ashdown’s hat-eating, or Matthew Goodwin’s book eating after the two most recent General Elections, many didn’t get held accountable to their off the mark Brexit predictions. Happily, Mr S is on hand to correct that. Steerpike has compiled a list of some of the Brexit predictions that failed to come true: 1. JP Morgan: Scotland will leave the UK and get a new currency Days after the EU referendum, investment company JP Morgan announced in an email to clients that they expected Scotland to leave the union and change currency. (As did Andrew Marr in the immediate aftermath of the vote.