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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Has the reason behind David Cameron’s relaxed appearance in last night’s ITV debate been uncovered? Mr S only asks after one snap happy parliamentarian sent a photo to the EyeSpyMP Twitter account of the Prime Minister chillaxing on the Commons terrace with a pint on Tuesday night: David Cameron chillaxing on the Commons Terrace last
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Now that the next President of the United States is set to be either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, many voters are trying to work out which candidate is the ‘least worst option’. Now Ruby Wax has put forward her two cents’ worth. Giving a talk on her book A Mindfulness Guide For The Frazzled,
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Nowadays it’s difficult for the BBC to air anything without facing some accusation of bias. As well as the well documented strand of right-wing bias and EU bias, there’s now anti-Corbyn bias — with the BBC’s Nick Robinson even accusing his employer of the latter. Last night things got so bad in the EU debate
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After Ken Livingstone claimed that Hitler supported Zionism, he found himself suspended from the Labour and his media presence dwindle — as he was let go from his weekly LBC show. Happily, the former Mayor of London has found a publication that still wants him. Step forward the Morning Star. Yes, the socialist paper has decided
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Yesterday John Major made a return to frontline politics as he waded into the EU debate on the Andrew Marr show. Major ensured that he attracted viewers’ attention as he launched a fierce attack on ‘court jester’ Boris Johnson. Now he is attracting attention once again today but — this time — Mr S suspects that the former Prime Minister
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Oh dear. With Remain lagging behind Leave in today’s EU referendum polls, the In camp need to turn things around fast. Alas this memo has failed to reach Tim Roache, the GMB leader. Speaking at the union’s annual congress, Roache attempted to put forward the liberal case for Remain. However, while he did praise workers’ rights
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After the recent local elections, John McDonnell put Labour’s ‘better-than-expected’ results in part down to the efforts of Momentum activists. Alas, it seems that not everyone involved with the hard-left campaign group is so in chime with the party when it comes to Labour values. Mr S understands that Momentum’s Marlene Ellis has been suspended by
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Given that Jeremy Corbyn described the BBC as ‘obsessed with trying to damage the Labour leadership’ in yesterday’s VICE News documentary, it’s little surprise that his supporters hold a low opinion of the Beeb. Today at Corbyn’s EU press conference, his fanbase let their feelings known when BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg tried to ask
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When Jeremy Corbyn conducted his first Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, the Labour leader was criticised for appointing John McDonnell as Shadow Chancellor over Angela Eagle. Given that this meant the three ‘top jobs’ went to men, Corbyn faced cries of sexism. Now in a talk on the patriarchy at the How The Light Gets In festival in Hay-on-Wye, Eagle
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Jeremy Corbyn has proved to be a divisive figure since his election as Labour leader. While the party has gained members, they have also lost the support of several high profile figures. Meanwhile many Labour staffers have been suitably rattled by Seumas Milne’s claim — in the VICE News Corbyn documentary — that staff are leaking PMQs intel to the
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When Seumas Milne wrote a letter of complaint to the BBC after Stephen Doughtly resigned from the shadow Cabinet live on Daily Politics, many in the Labour party thought it showed a lack of judgment on the part of Corbyn’s spin doctor. However, a new VICE News documentary on the Corbyn leadership — titled Jeremy Corbyn:
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This week Matt Hancock has found himself in the firing line over his social mobility drive. Following Hancock’s call for companies to ask job applicants if they attended private school at interview, the Provost of Eton College has threatened to resign from the Conservative Party. So, with Hancock — who attended the King’s School —
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Although George Osborne is currently lagging behind Boris Johnson in favourability polls, he can take heart that an intervention by an unlikely figure could hamper his rival’s leadership appeal in certain Tory circles. Caitlin Moran — the Times columnist who led a 24-hour boycott of Twitter in 2013 — has pledged to run for Parliament if BoJo ever
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Oh dear. Over the weekend, the Guardian ran an editorial on the EU referendum entitled ‘this campaign must show more respect for both facts and voters’. In the article — published on Saturday — the paper criticised the Vote Leave campaign for ‘recklessness’. They called on the Brexit camp to put an end to ‘deceptions’ such as the claim that we
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Last month Ntokozo Qwabe made the news after he wrote of his happiness at making a waitress shed ‘white tears’ when his friend refused to tip until she ‘returned the land’. Since then, a crowdfunder was set up to raise money to compensate the waitress for the incident, while Qwabe — who is a key figure
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At times in David Cameron’s EU renegotiations, it’s seemed as though the Prime Minister struggled to be in the driver’s seat. Now evidence has come to light that confirms Cameron’s power struggle with one of Europe’s main leaders. Speaking at the Hay Festival, Neil MacGregor — the former director of the British Museum — let
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Although Mark Carney has warned that a Brexit is the ‘biggest domestic risk to financial stability’, his predecessor Mervyn King takes a somewhat different approach when it comes to the impending EU referendum. The former Bank of England governor used an appearance today at the Hay Festival to hit out at the ‘wildly exagerated claims’
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Poor Ed Miliband. Since his defeat in the General Election, the former Labour leader has seen his influence fade — dropping to number 40 in this year’s Doncaster Power list. Now it seems some are struggling to even remember his name. On last night’s Question Time, Red Ed was mistaken for his brother David Miliband twice by his fellow
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Last year the Guardian‘s food police deemed HP sauce to be the condiment of ‘the establishment’, barbecues to be borderline racist and roast dinners to be tinged with ‘received memories of oppression and an enslaved work force’. Now they have a new enemy in their sights — octopus. Yes, a writer by the name of Elle
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With Steve Hilton in town to promote his book More Human, David Cameron’s former director of strategy is proving to be a thorn in the Prime Minister’s side. As well as coming out for Brexit, Hilton has claimed that Cameron is really a Brexiteer in denial. Now he has moved on to the topic of Donald
