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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Yesterday James Duddridge, the Tory backbencher, tabled a motion of no confidence in the Speaker. It comes after John Bercow took the government by surprise on Monday by declaring that President Trump was not welcome to address Parliament on his upcoming state visit. Given that Trump had expressed no desire to do so and several world leaders with
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With Labour lagging behind the Tories in the polls and the party divided over Brexit, there has been much speculation of late over Jeremy Corbyn’s future as Labour leader. While Clive Lewis is rumoured to be considering a leadership challenge, Corbyn appeared to pave the way for a more Corbyn-friendly successor yesterday when he appointed Rebecca Long-Bailey as
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There’s little love lost between the BBC and the Leader’s Office. Jeremy Corbyn’s team have regularly accused the Beeb of anti-Corbyn bias, with the BBC trust recently concluding that its political editor Laura Kuenssberg inaccurately reported the Labour leader’s views about shoot-to-kill policies in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Paris. Today, the battle took
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After the government’s Brexit Bill passed through the Commons unamended, whips, government ministers and Brexiteers were in the mood to celebrate. Alas, not everyone was on the same page. Although Diane Abbott was well enough to vote for Article 50 today, the shadow home secretary is far from happy about the government’s plans for a ‘Tory Brexit’. So, it was unfortunate timing
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This week John Bercow was accused of double standards after he announced that he would not allow President Trump to address both Houses of Parliament. Putting aside the times world leaders with questionable human rights records have (a) addressed the House, and (b) shared tea with the Speaker, Bercow said Trump’s policies meant he was unworthy of
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Another month, another declaration of extra-income from the former Chancellor of the Exchequer. According to the latest register of interests, George Osborne brought in over £90,000 last month for just five hours work. This means that Osborne managed to out earn his annual MP’s salary of £74,962 in less than a day. Mr S praises the
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On Tuesday, the Daily Politics aired a segment lifting the lid on the staff in No 10. Among the power players featured were the Prime Minister’s chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, her press secretary Lizzie Loudon and a man by the name of… Philip May. ‘One more activist seen working at CCHQ made his
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How times have changed. When Jeremy Corbyn first entered the Labour leadership race in the summer of 2015, Glenda Jackson — the former MP for Hampstead and Kilburn — wrote to him saying her only regret of not standing at the last election was that it meant she was unable to nominate him for the leadership. Has
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As the committee stage of the government’s Brexit bill rolls on, MPs have been debating a range of amendments. Signalling that she could back an amendment on parliamentary sovereignty, Claire Perry – a former transport minister defenestrated in Theresa May’s purge of the Osbornites – said that she had been left disappointed by the attitude of some
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It was a family affair at this year’s Oldie of the Year awards. The magazine’s new editor-in-chief Harry Mount — who paid tribute to his predecessor, the great Alexander Chancellor — was joined by his second cousin, David Cameron. The former prime minister told hacks at the reception how much he missed Larry, the No
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The Conservatives’ black-tie billionaire-laden black-and-white ball ain’t what it used to be. Although Nigella Lawson’s former personal assistant once complained that she would ‘rather go to jail than live in Battersea’, top Tories had to brush such qualms aside as they headed to Battersea Evolution for the annual fundraiser. Happily Mr S had a mole on the inside
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This afternoon, Theresa May appeared in the Commons to update MPs on her trip to Malta for the EU summit. One of the topics brought up in the session was the UK’s attitude to Russia — and the threat from Putin to Europe. The Prime Minister went on to explain that concerns had been raised at the
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It’s a miracle. After coming down with a migraine at the exact time of the Article 50 vote last week, Diane Abbott was accused of having a case of ‘Brexit flu’ and ‘bottling’ the vote. However, worried colleagues and supporters can today breathe a collective sigh of relief that the shadow home secretary has made
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It’s not been a great few days for Daniel Kawczynski. First the Tory MP had to cancel a controversial Commons reception featuring Putin’s Kremlin spin doctor Maria Zakharova. Now he is struggling to stay on-message when it comes to his party’s position on the economy. Over the weekend Kawczynski took to social media to warn of the
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After Diane Abbott missed the Article 50 vote thanks to ‘a migraine’, her comrade John Mann accused the shadow home secretary of ‘bottling it’ over Brexit. Since then, a #PrayForDiane email has been doing the rounds among Labour MPs. In a further sign that Abbott’s claims of suffering are not being taken entirely seriously by her party, Caroline Flint has
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Oh dear. Earlier this week, Mr S reported that Derek Hatton — the ‘socialist firebrand’ who joined Labour with the Trotskyist group Militant (before being expelled) — had turned on Jeremy Corbyn. The former Corbynite said the Labour leader’s Article 50 stance showed ‘a real lack of leadership’. In a further sign that Corbyn is losing
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As Diane Abbott continues to receive flak today for missing the Article 50 vote thanks to ‘a migraine’ (with #PrayForDiane doing the rounds among Labour MPs), the shadow home secretary is in need of some good press. Alas, with Abbott ducking questions from an ITV reporter last night, she doesn’t appear to be keen on mending press
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Oh dear. With Diane Abbott currently off work with ‘a migraine’, the shadow home secretary is facing a growing work headache. After missing the Article 50 vote due to illness, questions have been raised over Abbott’s ability to speak at a Westminster Hall debate just three hours before falling so ill she could not vote.
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On Thursday afternoon, lovers of liberty and lovers of daytime drinking came together to celebrate Boisdale Life‘s inaugural Libertarian of the Year Awards. As MPs prepared to vote for Article 50 in the Commons, those who had done their bit for individual liberties were honoured at Boisdale Belgravia. ‘I was particularly impressed to hear this chap on the radio defending smoking
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Last night, 47 Labour MPs rebelled against a three-line whip and voted against the triggering of Article 50. Embarrassingly for Jeremy Corbyn, three Labour whips — meant to enforce discipline — were among the rebels. But on the bright-side, he can still count on his comrades… right? Perhaps not. Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary,