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
It’s been a testing few weeks for Oxford University officials. First they faced a student uprising with the ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ campaign, then the Prime Minister took a pop at the academic establishment for a lack of diversity, claiming they are ‘not doing enough to attract talent from across our country’. Happily, one college is doing
Donald Trump has suffered a serious setback in his bid to win the Republican nomination after finishing second in Iowa. Happily, the savvy billionaire businessman has wasted no time in coming up with a backup plan should his presidential dreams go down the pan. Speaking after conceding defeat to Ted Cruz in the first caucus, Trump
When Robert Peston was at the BBC, his bosses were left unimpressed when his floppy hair became the story during a live News at Ten broadcast from windy Athens. After filming Peston received an email from a BBC executive telling him that a haircut was ‘imperative’. Happily Peston’s new bosses at ITV appear to be more accepting of his
In the past week, David Cameron has held a number of last-minute talks with EU counterparts in the hope of agreeing a deal that can be put to EU leaders ahead of a summit on 18 February. This included a visit to Brussels on Friday to hold renegotiation talks with EP president Martin Schulz. Alas a flag
Although Jeremy Corbyn is facing calls from Michael Dugher to step down in 99 days unless he proves himself, the Labour leader can take heart that not everyone is against him. In fact in a Sunday Times interview, Keith Allen professed his love for the man of the moment. The comedian says Corbyn is ‘drawing
Today is deadline day for all self-assessment tax returns, with those who fail to submit their return in line for a late-fee penalty. Happily John McDonnell looks set to escape this fate — he tweeted a picture of his tax return this morning. What’s more, the shadow chancellor of the exchequer is challenging George Osborne to do
Last year Alex Salmond told Anna Soubry to ‘behave yourself, woman‘ after the pair clashed in the chamber. While it was Salmond who found himself in the firing line on that occasion for his choice of words, Soubry is now back in the spotlight over her Commons etiquette. John Bercow took the small business minister to task on Friday during
Mr S notices that the above video is circulating a lot on social media at the moment. An unfortunate choice of words, from a pro-immigration Chancellor. Perhaps George Osborne was paying homage to Rowan Atkinson’s Not the Nine O’Clock News sketch. Or perhaps the Chancellor needs to get a little better at not walking into such traps if he
Since Jess Phillips was elected as the MP for Birmingham Yardley in May, the Labour politician has become known for her outspoken views — previously telling Diane Abbott to ‘f— off’. However, her straight-talking approach reached new heights during last night’s episode of Question Time after she likened the Cologne sex attacks to a night out
Oh dear. It’s not turning out to be a great week for staff at the Treasury. After George Osborne declared that a £130m tax settlement they had reached with Google was a ‘major success’, he faced a cross-party backlash as it was pointed out that the internet giant had only paid a tax rate of three
Once the Independent‘s star columnist, Johann Hari experienced a dramatic fall from grace when he was suspended by the paper on grounds of plagiarism. It was then revealed that as well as lifting quotes from interviews and books, Hari had also found time to amend the Wikipedia pages of his rival journalists. Happily, it seems none
Although David Cameron has said he will allow ministers a free vote on the EU referendum, only a handful of cabinet ministers have so far taken the plunge and declared themselves to be ‘Outers’. While Boris Johnson had at one point been tipped to lead the Out campaign, the Mayor of London has remained rather quiet on the
While Hilary Benn has been called a lot of names in recent months by hard-left activists after he voted in favour of airstrikes in Syria, Mr S suspects that the moniker given to him on tonight’s episode of Newsnight will be a first. Introducing an interview with Benn on the war in Yemen, Newsnight‘s Evan Davis appeared to be feeling
David Cameron has today come under fire after he used the phrase ‘a bunch of migrants’ to describe the refugees Jeremy Corbyn met on a recent trip to Calais. Various politicians and columnists have since claimed Cameron’s words were ‘divisive’ and ‘dehumanising’. Alex Salmond has gone one step further and accused him of making the controversial comment
Even though Robert Peston has only been in his new job as ITV’s political editor for little more than a week, he has already managed to slip-up. On top of experiencing difficulties getting into the ITV building, the former BBC economics editor — who Marr once described as a man ‘crippled by a sense of his own lack
Oh dear. It appears that it is time for David Lammy to brush up on his history knowledge. The pro-EU Labour MP appeared on the Daily Politics today to discuss the EU referendum with Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe. During the debate the pair discussed immigration, during which Lammy made the claim that one million Indians had died in
Next week the Evening Standard will hold their British Film Awards after a three year hiatus. The exclusive do will be take place at the BBC’s old television building in White City where actors including Charlotte Rampling, Michael Fassbender and Dame Maggie Smith will compete for gongs. Happily for those whose invites have been lost in the post, the
It’s not turning out to be a great week for the In campaign. Yesterday Britain Stronger in Europe’s chairman Stuart Rose failed to remember the name of his own campaign group during a Sky News interview. Now they have been given an unfortunate new nickname by their opponents. Speaking on Today, Vote Leave’s Jon Moynihan
Last year Lord Ashcroft appeared to exact revenge on his old foe David Cameron, with a section in his unauthorised biography of the Prime Minister which suggested that Cameron had once enjoyed intimate relations with a dead pig. While Cameron soon became the subject of much ridicule, No.10 refused to comment on the claims. However, it appears
Although a number of rival groups are currently vying to be the official Out campaign, it seems that some members of the In campaign’s Britain Stronger in Europe group appear to be having a harder time remembering what to call themselves. Britain Stronger In Europe’s chairman Stuart Rose was unable to name the campaign he fronts, during an