Steerpike, Author at The Spectator

Thursday

19 May 2016

Pat Glass calls voter a ‘horrible racist’ while out on the EU campaign trail

In the General Election, a number of Labour supporters defected to Ukip over growing concerns that the party was no longer able to address the issue of immigration. Given that uncontrolled immigration is a big issue in the EU referendum debate, Labour's Remain-ers need to win back trust here. Alas, Pat Glass appears to have done the In camp no favours today while out on the campaign trail. The Shadow Europe Minister described a voter she met on the campaign trail in Sawley, Derbyshire, as a 'horrible racist' after they described a Polish family in the area as 'scroungers'. Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, Glass said: 'The very first person I come to was a horrible racist. I’m never coming back to wherever this is.

Steerpike

Grim up north? Only if you’re Andy Burnham, say MPs

It's tough up north. Just ask Andy Burnham. The class warrior has today kicked off his Manchester mayoral campaign with some 'home truths' about what it is like to grow up in the north. Burnham says that if you live in the north and consider becoming a doctor, people will laugh at you: 'It's hard growing up in the north: if you say you want to be a doctor, lawyer or MP you get the mickey taken out of you.' Alas this appears to be news to many... northerners. The Guardian's North of England editor Helen Pidd is among those northerners surprised by the news. https://twitter.com/helenpidd/status/733252516553625601 So, how have MPs in the north managed to survive in the face of such hardship?

Wednesday

18 May 2016

Steerpike

Lady Nugee turns the air blue in the Queen’s Speech debate

Labour's high command are not showing themselves to be the most statesman-like of figures today. After Jeremy Corbyn was caught on camera ignoring David Cameron's attempts at conversation, his shadow Defence Secretary struggled to control herself in today's Queen's Speech debate. Emily Thornberry took offence after Cameron described her as a 'shadow defence secretary who doesn’t believe in defence'. She protested to his comments by mouthing 'bollocks' from the Labour frontbench: https://vine.co/v/i0xEIb9Eg9U Mr S suspects that next time she has a point to make in the Commons, Lady Nugee ought to take a more dignified approach when it comes to airing her grievances.

Steerpike

Watch: Dennis Skinner makes his annual contribution to the Queen’s Speech – ‘hands off the BBC’

Last year the Beast of Bolsover failed to make his annual contribution to the Queen's Speech after he found himself preoccupied battling the SNP for his favourite seat. With that fight now won, Dennis Skinner was able to return to form today. As Black Rod summoned MPs in the House of Commons to hear the Queen's Speech, Skinner offered up his one-liner. 'Hands off the BBC,' the veteran Labour MP cried. Alas not everyone was so impressed by Skinner's plea for the Beeb. Perhaps disappointed that Skinner had refrained from a more witty riposte -- such as his 'royal expenses are on the way' line in 2009 -- one comrade could be heard telling him it was not one of his best.

Steerpike

Watch: Jeremy Corbyn gives Cameron the cold shoulder at the Queen’s Speech

Today's Queen's Speech was always going to be a difficult event for the Prime Minister. With the EU referendum looming, David Cameron needed to give the impression that his party remains united and focussed on the good of the country. Still, Mr S suspects he didn't bargain on the walk to hear the Queen's speech proving to be one of the most difficult parts of his day. A toe-curling segment of the BBC's coverage showed Cameron and Corbyn walking alongside one another. While Cameron appears to begin conversation with the Labour leader several times, Corbyn is having none of it. 'It rather looks like David Cameron's trying to make polite conversation and Jeremy Corbyn's looking the other way,' the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg points out as the camera focuses in on the awkward duo.

Tuesday

17 May 2016

Steerpike

Journalist caught in SNP love triangle admits she is a ‘nut magnet’

When the SNP 56 were elected to Parliament, they were heralded as a breath of fresh air in an otherwise archaic institution. The nationalists made clear that they were unhappy to be moved to Westminster, let alone indulge in its pleasures. Despite this, they appear to have grown accustomed to their surroundings over time, with reports surfacing of their taste for Parliament's many taxpayer-subsidised bars. Now it appears that other Westminster indulgences are also proving too hard to resist. The Daily Mail reports that Angus MacNeil and Stewart Hosie have both separated from their wives after enjoying the company of the same woman.

Steerpike

Tory MPs get physical over the EU referendum

Although it was already evident to many that relations in the Tory party are far from rosy thanks to the upcoming EU referendum, it seems tensions are higher than anyone first anticipated. In today's edition of The Times, Rachel Sylvester's column -- titled 'The Tories need a new breed of modernisers' -- includes a curious anecdote. Sylvester says that one Brexit-backing Tory MP attempted to trip up a minister in the members' lobby in frustration after the minister plumped for In: 'Some are almost literally coming to blows: one minister says a Brexiteer tried to trip him up in the members’ lobby of the Commons after he announced he would be backing Remain.' Let's hope Cameron gets a grip on his party before any physical casualties emerge.

Steerpike

Did The Times get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?

Oh dear. While Mr S is not himself immune to the pitfalls of journalism in the digital age, today's Times Red Box email really does take the biscuit. Although today's morning briefing promised an exclusive poll proving that Corbyn is going nowhere, a lot of subscribers received something quite different: Fear not, however. If you fell victim to today's technical glitch there is still time to try an alternative by signing up to The Spectator's Lunchtime Espresso and Evening Blend emails.

Steerpike

Oxford’s Rhodes Must Fall co-founder hits back over waitress altercation: ‘even if she’s working class, she is linked to whiteness’

Last month Oxford’s Rhodes Must Fall co-founder Ntokozo Qwabe made the news after he revelled in making a waitress shed 'white tears' at a restaurant in Cape Town. The incident occurred after his friend wrote a note to the waitress explaining they would only tip her when she ‘returned the land’. Since then, a crowdfunder has been set up to compensate the 'white waitress' for her ordeal, raising thousands of pounds. So, has Qwabe now come to regret his actions? Alas not. In his first interview since the incident, the activist for Rhodes Must Fall -- which claims to tackle institutional racism -- has explained to The Daily Vox 'why disrupting whiteness is necessary'.

Monday

16 May 2016

Steerpike

Ed Miliband drops to no.40 in Doncaster Power List

Just over a year ago, Ed Miliband had the world at his feet. The MP for Doncaster North was one of the most powerful men in the country -- hoping to lead Labour to victory in the General Election. One lost election later and a lot has changed for Red Ed. Now a backbencher, Miliband doesn't appear to hold much sway anymore -- even in his constituency. Miliband has dropped from number four to number 40 in the Doncaster 'Power List' which lists the 50 most influential movers and shakers in the area. At number 40, Miliband can at least take heart that he has been deemed more influential than Radio Sheffield's Toby Foster as well as Peter Burrows -- the Bishop of Doncaster. As for those who are now more influential than the former Labour leader?

Steerpike

Timothy Garton Ash’s concept of courage knows no bounds

In Timothy Garton Ash's new book Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World, the historian examines present challenges and threats to free speech. However, it's the book's final chapter -- titled 'Courage' -- which is of the most intrigue to Mr S. In the May issue of the Literary Review, Douglas Murray reviews the book. Murray recalls an incident that occurred ten years ago when Ayaan Hirsi Ali -- a vocal critic of misogyny in the Muslim world -- appeared alongside Garton Ash at an event -- after he had 'written a decidedly sniffy article about Hirsi Ali, dismissing her as, among other things, a "slightly simplistic Enlightenment fundamentalist"'. In the end, Garton Ash backed down and declared that he 'had not meant to compare Hirsi Ali to the Islamists'.

Steerpike

Another day, another former Mayor of London brings up Hitler

Is there something in the water at City Hall? Mr S only asks after Boris Johnson became the second former Mayor of London to bring up Hitler in the space of three weeks. The Brexit champion claimed in the Sunday Telegraph that both the Nazi leader and Napoleon had failed at unification and the EU was 'an attempt to do this by different methods': 'Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods.' While a furore has ensued -- with Hilary Benn describing the comparison as 'offensive and desperate' -- it's nothing compared to the row that followed after Ken Livingstone mentioned the 'H-word'.

Friday

13 May 2016

Steerpike

Alan Rusbridger suffers the ultimate indignity at the hands of the Guardian

Today Alan Rusbridger has announced that he will not return as chairman of the Scott Trust. The decision comes after his successor Katharine Viner let it be known that she was opposed to him returning to the role. With leading figures on the paper turning on the once invincible Rusbridger over the company's £80m losses in the past year, it seems his golden era has come to an end. Alas, he has now suffered the ultimate indignity. When his email explaining his decision was forwarded to staff, the staffer sending the email out managed to misspell his name and introduce him as 'Alan Rushbridger': While an email correcting the mistake has now been sent out, it's just another sign of Rusbridger's dwindling relevance at the Grauniad.

Steerpike

Vladimir Nabokov wades into the Brexit debate from the grave

So far in the Brexit debate, a range of figures -- from David Cameron to David Icke -- have chipped in to offer their two cents' worth. However, no-one was expecting the latest literary figure to enter the discussion. In this week's TLS, a talk by the late Vladimir Nabokov -- given in 1926 -- has been translated into English for the first time. In the talk -- titled 'On Generalities -- the Lolita novelist discusses Europe. Nabokov appears to struggle with the concept of Europe -- concluding that when people utter the word 'Europe' with 'metaphorical, generalizing intonation', he sees 'precisely nothing': 'That is how history is treated.

Thursday

12 May 2016

Steerpike

Bus battle! Row brewing over Labour’s ‘corporate’ EU bus

Throughout the EU referendum campaign, Labour figures have been somewhat underwhelmed by the efforts of their party leader to fight for Britain to remain in the EU. However, progress did appear to be made on Monday when Jeremy Corbyn launched Labour's big EU battle bus. The bright red bus will tour Britain for six weeks as they try and rally support for remain. Alas word reaches Steerpike that behind the scenes things are not so rosy. A little birdy tells Mr S that the Labour leader has raised concerns that the bus is not to his taste and is 'too corporate'. The Labour leader apparently takes issue with the sheer size of the vehicle as well as the branding. However, the jury's still out when it comes to whether he is happy with the 'vote remain' message.

Steerpike

Can Lord Finkelstein revive the reputation of Andrew ‘0.5 per cent’ Cooper?

Mr S always enjoys reading Danny Finkelstein’s column (even when he borrows jokes from Steerpike) and Wednesday's column was no exception. In the piece -- titled 'the most reliable polls are at the end of a phone' -- Finkelstein highlights the difficulties pollsters experience, arguing that contrary to popular opinion they do often get it right. But why write a column about the technicalities of polling? As far as Mr S can tell, the true purpose of the piece is to restore the reputation (and, perhaps, position) of his old flatmate Andrew Cooper — after his embarrassing general election run.

Wednesday

11 May 2016

Steerpike

Watch: David Cameron teaches Tim Farron a lesson at PMQs

Although Jeremy Corbyn did his best to press David Cameron on a range of issues at today's PMQs, perhaps the most notable aspect of his performance was what he didn't say. A number of commentators were surprised that the Labour leader did not ask Cameron to apologise for the extremism remarks he made about Sadiq Khan, who is now London's mayor. Happily, one party leader was happy to put this to the Prime Minister -- even if they weren't best placed to ask it: Tim Farron: I heard the Prime Minister on two occasions this afternoon congratulate the new Mayor of London Sadiq Khan -- and I would like to repeat that myself. He did not, however, apologise for the disgraceful racist campaign the Conservative party chose to run.

Steerpike

The Guardian gives Emma Watson’s offshore company a miss

Steerpike's revelation yesterday that Emma Watson has been named in the latest Panama Papers leak has been followed up across the world -- even inspiring a new genre of Harry Potter fan-fiction. While the Telegraph, the Independent, the Sun and the Times all followed up Mr S's story in the UK, across the pond USA Today, New York Post and Fox News have also picked up on it. However, there's one paper that doesn't appear to think the story is worth a mention. Step forward the Guardian. The paper was one of 107 media organisations to be given secret access to the 11.5 million stolen documents ahead of the initial Panama Papers leak. At the time, staff at the paper clapped when their first Panama Papers splash was published.

Tuesday

10 May 2016

Steerpike

David Cameron to the Queen: ‘the leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries will attend my anti-corruption summit!’

Oh dear. David Cameron's done it again. It seems the Prime Minister can't quite master the art of checking whether there are any cameras recording before he makes an indiscreet comment. Reuters report that Cameron has been caught on camera telling the Queen that the leaders of some 'fantastically corrupt' like Nigeria and Afghanistan will attend his anti-corruption summit. 'We had a very successful cabinet meeting this morning, talking about our anti-corruption summit,' Cameron tells the Queen. 'We have got the Nigerians - actually we have got some leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries coming to Britain.

Steerpike

Revealed: Emma Watson named in latest Panama Papers leak

Of late, Emma Watson has been taking a more active role in both UK and American politics. The Harry Potter actress recently attended the White House correspondents' dinner, and just yesterday called on London's new mayor Sadiq Khan to put a statue of a suffragette outside Parliament. However, should she wish to continue to move in political circles, Watson may face questions about her use of an offshore company. Yesterday, more details of the now infamous Panama Papers were released online in a searchable database. The database provides information regarding the many offshore companies named in the confidential documents which were first leaked earlier this year. On looking through the database, Mr S has come across Emma Watson's name.