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
Oh dear. Less than a month into his tenure as transport secretary, and Chris Grayling already has a crisis on his hands. As commuters on Southern Rail face a week of rail chaos across London and the South East thanks to strikes, there is a growing anger that Grayling is yet to take charge of the situation -- despite describing it as his 'top priority'.
As David Cameron gets use to life on the backbenches, he is making the most of his reduced workload by enjoying a lavish break with his wife Samantha to Corsica. However, when he returns to the bubble he will need to get used to a life without some of the luxuries previously awarded to him as Prime Minister. As well as having to now sort his own transport, Cameron had best not plan to hit the golf course anytime soon. The latest register of interests shows that Cameron has had his membership to the Ellesborough Golf Club -- which began in 2011 -- revoked. The golf club -- which lies near Chequers -- traditionally waives the annual £1,165 membership to offer current Prime Ministers free membership.
Since Theresa May succeeded David Cameron as Prime Minister, she has wasted no time in putting distance between herself and many of Cameron's flagship policies. As well as putting the brakes on Hinkley Point, May has hinted that she will take a fresh approach to the Northern Powerhouse and grammar schools. Now Mr S understands that another aspect of the Cameron and Osborne premiership is facing the axe. During Cameron's time in government, both he and Osborne became known for their penchant for hard-hats and high-vis jackets. In fact, Osborne wore the items for so many industrial visits that he even became known as the 'hard-hat chancellor'.
Now that Michael Gove has returned to the backbenches, the former Justice Secretary can take heart that his new role will at least save him some awkward meetings, say for example, with the Queen. In an upcoming BBC documentary on Brexit, Nick Clegg blames Gove for the Sun's 'the Queen backs Brexit' splash. Published in March, the paper reported that the Queen clashed with Nick Clegg -- then Deputy Prime Minister -- over Europe at a lunch in 2011 at which Her Majesty declared the EU was ‘heading in the wrong direction’. Although Gove has previously denied being behind the story -- which the palace complained to Ipso about -- Clegg would care to disagree.
As David Cameron continues to receive flak over his resignation honours list, yesterday his old pal Steve Hilton stuck his head above the parapet to make his criticism be known. Not content with going against his old boss on the EU, Hilton -- who is Cameron's former director of strategy -- says the honours system is 'corrupt'. Alas it turns out not everyone on the Tory benches is so happy about Hilton sharing his views from across the pond. Richard Benyon, the former environment minister, took to Twitter to call Hilton a 'pompous arse': https://twitter.com/RichardBenyonMP/status/761118214386364416 It turns out that Hugo Swire -- who coincidentally received a knighthood in the aforementioned resignation honours -- agrees with Benyon.
Although Jeremy Corbyn has previously suggested that he is against the creation of new peers, the Labour leader appears to take a different approach when it comes to the chair of his anti-Semitism inquiry. After weeks of speculation that Corbyn was poised to give Shami Chakrabarti -- who recently found that the party was not overrun with anti-Semitism -- a peerage, today the news has been confirmed in the official resignation honours list: In a statement on the decision, Labour say they are 'delighted' to confirm Chakrabarti's appointment to the House of Lords. They refrain, however, from addressing concerns that this suggests a conflict of interest.
With Scottish Labour now the third biggest party in Scotland following disastrous election results in May, it's safe to say that its members have seen better times. However, there does appear to be one positive to the beleaguered party's lagging popularity: it's never been easier to get involved. Today Scottish Labour have sent out an email to their full distribution list -- including members of the press -- asking recipients to stand in the local elections: Alas it turns out the party have now got cold feet about asking members of the media to stand.
Yesterday the Home Office won its appeal against a landmark ruling that allowed four Syrian refugees living in the main camp in Calais to come to the UK. While the refugees will be allowed to stay, the appeal means that it will be difficult for more refugees to come to Britain this way in the future. Following the decision Yvette Cooper labelled Theresa May 'a disgrace'. The Labour politician says she is appalled that May pursued this appeal and called on her to do more to help Syrian refugees. However, Mr S couldn't help but think back to Cooper's own promises when it comes to refugees.
It's not a good time to be a member of the MSM, aka mainstream media. A quick look at alternative news outlets like the Corbynista Canary will tell you that reports from the MSM are frequently inaccurate. What's more, the Guardian now appear to have joined the cause. On Monday, the paper published an article by Piers Robinson suggesting Russia Today, al-Jazeera and Press TV should not be off-limits as while they may be biased so is much western media. So, what are the alternatives? Mr S was intrigued last month when Paul Mason -- the former Channel 4 economics editor turned revolutionary -- announced to much fanfare that he would be launching a public service 'Brexit Bulletin'.
While Ukip won't announce its leadership shortlist until Wednesday, Bill Etheridge is expected to be one of the names that makes it onto the ballot. Thanks to his hardline policies -- which range from a referendum on the death penalty to a ban on halal meat -- Etheridge is likely to get plenty of press attention without having to campaign too hard. Perhaps that's for the best given that his campaign for finances doesn't appear to have got off to a flying start. The Ukip MEP set up a crowdfunding campaign two weeks ago to try and rally donations for 'Billieve in Bill'. However, so far there has only been one donation and Etheridge has raised a mere £8 of his £5,000 goal.
It's only Tuesday and Steven Woolfe must already be wishing this week was over. After missing the nomination deadline on Sunday, Woolfe will learn today whether his leadership application will be accepted. If that weren't enough, he is also in the firing line over his lapsed Ukip membership and the Huffington Post's revelation that Woolfe broke electoral rules in 2012 by failing to reveal a drink-drive conviction when he stood to be a Police and Crime Commissioner. Still, should Woolfe's leadership hopes live to survive another day, Mr S understands that he will have to dig deep in order to win round party bean counters.
Oh dear. After weeks of bubbling tensions, things have come to a head between Theresa May's resident cat Larry and Palmerston, the Foreign Office's chief mouser. The feuding duo -- who have been engaged in a turf war for some weeks -- got into such a scrap this morning that fur flew and the felines had to be physically separated. [caption id="attachment_9573752" align="aligncenter" width="520"] (Credit: @PoliticalPics)[/caption] With the fight just one of many this month, Mr S hears a rumour that Battersea Dogs and Cats Home -- who provided the animals -- have now been called in to try and mend the cats' relationship. If they fail, it may well be time for Cameron to put his money where his mouth is and welcome his old pet into his new home.
Although the Tories have recently undergone a leadership election and Labour are in the midst of one, it's Ukip's leadership contest that is shaping up to be the most shambolic. While Suzanne Evans was ruled ineligible to stand for leader, the frontrunner in the race -- Steven Woolfe -- has been dogged by reports that he too is ineligible after he failed to renew his party membership when it expired. However, this snag may now be the least of Woolfe's problems. The leadership favourite has managed to miss the deadline for submitting his nomination. Although applications were due in by noon on Sunday, Woolfe's application did not successfully go through until 12.17pm. Woolfe's spokesman insists that he attempted to submit the application at 11.
This week relations between Britain and China were placed under strain after the government delayed approval for the Hinkley Point nuclear plant. Under David Cameron and George Osborne, Britain’s first new nuclear power station -- of which China General Nuclear has a one-third stake -- had been expected to get the green light this month. However now Theresa May is in charge, the government appear to have got cold feet. Announcing that no decision will be made until autumn, Greg Clark -- the business, energy and industrial strategy secretary -- said the government will now 'consider carefully all the component parts of this project'.
During Steve Hilton's time in 10 Downing Street, David Cameron's former director of strategy's reputation for 'modernising' the Conservative party inspired the creation of PR guru Stewart Pearson in The Thick of It. However, while Brits may now be used to Hilton's penchant for casual-wear and 'blue sky thinking', across the pond it's a different story. Word reaches Steerpike that Americans at last week's Republican Convention were left puzzled over a bedraggled attendee who strolled the vicinity shoeless. Republicans at the Cleveland meet were overheard asking: 'who is that dude?'. Happily Mr S's Brit-in-the-know was on hand to assist. On turning round to see what all the fuss was about, they saw Cameron's old pal walking around in socks.
It's been a tumultuous month for Her Majesty's Government -- and that's just regarding their pets. As well as an ongoing turf war between No 10's cat Larry and the Foreign Office's chief mouser Palmerston, there is now a third feline on the scene. The Treasury have today announced that they have fostered their own cat, by the name of Gladstone. However just in case that wasn't enough animal mayhem for Westminster hacks to take, Mr S understands that a new top dog may be about to enter the frame. Philip Hammond is considering moving his pet Welsh Terrier Rex to No.11.
Although George Osborne is now on the backbench, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer is keen to make sure that he remains a busy bee. As well as jetting off to New York this week to attend Tina Brown's Brexit bash, the MP for Tatton is now considering putting pen to paper for a book. However, readers hoping for a salacious account of his time in No.11 are likely to be left disappointed.
Oh dear. Owen Smith's decision to go off piste in his leadership speech today has not worked out all that well. While discussing the need for a stronger opposition than the one currently provided under Jeremy Corbyn, Smith said Labour could not allow Theresa May to claim Labour's centre ground. Alas he used a rather unfortunate phrase to make his point. Discussing PMQs, he said that when May had lectured Labour on social injustice, he had wanted to 'smash her back on her heels': 'It pained me that we didn't have the strength and the power and the vitality to smash her back on her heels.' Although Smith has previously spoken about the need to 'smash' austerity, Mr S advises Smith to stick to avoid using the term in relation to women and their heels in future.
It's a difficult business being Prime Minister. On top of running the country, they are regularly open to criticism from those they admire. Mention a band and there's every chance the lead singer will blast you for austerity policies in the next day's paper. Today Theresa May has felt the heat from one of her favourite designers. When May launched her leadership bid she did so in her favourite Vivienne Westwood tartan suit, which retails at £1,190. Alas in an interview on the Today show, Dame Vivienne Westwood was less than cheery when asked how she felt about May as a politician: 'Do I mind if Theresa May wears my clothes? No, but I certainly don't admire her for anything. I think she's awful.
It's less than a month since Andrea Leadsom bowed out of the Conservative leadership contest, leading to Theresa May's appointment as Prime Minister. Now Leadsom's campaign manager Tim Loughton had given an interview to the Times in which he conducts a post-mortem on the failed bid. While the Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham is adamant that the negative headlines regarding Leadsom's CV and motherhood comments were simply down to the 'get Andrea campaign', he does concede there were some things he could have done better. Take for example, Leadsom's march of the zombies. The stunt saw a handful of supporters including Loughton take to Westminster in their suits and pearls chanting 'what do we want? Leadsom for leader!'.
