Steerpike

Steerpike

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

Zac Goldsmith’s extremist attack line backfires

From our UK edition

It's not turning out to be a great week for Zac Goldsmith. While the Conservative MP continues to lag behind Labour's Sadiq Khan in the polls, he has been accused of running a racist campaign. Despite this, Goldsmith showed no signs of watering down his attacks yesterday in an interview with the Evening Standard. Goldsmith used the interview to criticise Khan for sharing platforms -- and posing for a photo -- with Suliman Gani, an Imam who says women are 'subservient' and speaks at segregated rallies. 'To share a platform nine times with Suliman Gani, one of the most repellent figures in this country, you don’t do it by accident.

Sadiq Khan’s London property pledge on shaky ground

From our UK edition

As part of Sadiq Khan's London mayoral bid, the Labour candidate has rallied against foreign investors buying up London property. In December, Khan told the Evening Standard that it was time to stop new homes going to 'overseas investors' instead of Londoners: 'Ambitious young Londoners are rightly fed up with seeing thousands of new homes each year sold off to overseas investors – many of whom will never live in them – years before they are actually built. They’re sick of not being given a chance in our broken housing market. Building new homes for Londoners must come ahead of offering investment opportunities for overseas millionaires.' So given Khan's call for action, Mr S was surprised to learn of some of the dealings of Khan's business adviser Rajesh Agrawal.

Ed Miliband is reunited with his Hacked Off pals

From our UK edition

Last night John Whittingdale's 2014 relationship with a dominatrix was made public by Newsnight in an interview with Hacked Off founder Brain Cathcart. However, Hacked Off members were soon branded 'hypocrites' for forcing a cabinet minister to admit he unknowingly had a relationship with a prostitute -- given that they claim to rally against press intrusion. While Cathcart says that the right-wing media had conspired to hide the story of Whitto's relationship for their own benefit, the Guardian’s Roy Greenslade has dismissed their claims as 'pure speculation'. So, a good time to distance oneself from Hacked Off supporters? Apparently not.

Samantha Cameron’s sister gets behind Sadiq Khan’s mayoral campaign

From our UK edition

As Zac Goldsmith continues to lag behind Sadiq Khan in the polls, even the most die-hard Tories are beginning to lose hope in their candidate. In fact, it seems Zac is falling out of fashion at a rate of knots. Samantha Cameron's sister -- and David Cameron's sister-in-law -- Emily Sheffield appears to be getting behind Khan's campaign. Sheffield, who is deputy editor of Vogue, has retweeted one of the Labour mayoral candidate's campaign pledges on Twitter. Given that Sheffield usually supports her brother-in-law's party -- ridiculing Labour's pink women van in the last election -- this is a very worrying sign indeed for Goldsmith. What's more, it seems that Khan is fast becoming the most fashionable candidate.

X MI5 SPY: Do Mr and Mrs Banks have something to tell us?

From our UK edition

Back in 2010, Arron Bank's Russian wife Katya had the ability to generate more press than the eccentric Brexit backer. Formerly known as Ekaterina Paderina, Katya made headlines when she was dragged into Mike Hancock's 'Russian spy' scandal. At the time the former Liberal Democrat MP faced questions over his Russian parliamentary aide Katia Zatuliveter -- who MI5 suspected of espionage -- it was revealed that Hancock was suspected of helping Katya remain in Britain when she experienced Visa issues. Banks later revealed that when a journalist had asked his wife if she had ever had any contact with MI5, she replied: 'I have never shopped in MFI'.

Watch: Syed Kamall’s rude gesture towards Belgian MEP caught on camera

From our UK edition

Given that Syed Kamall is backing Brexit, the Conservative MEP has made little secret of his dislike for aspects of the EU Parliament. However, today Kamall appeared to struggle to keep such feelings in check when a Belgian MEP spoke as part of a session of Council and Commission statements on Counterterrorism following the recent terrorist attacks. Clearly unimpressed by Guy Verhofstadt's words, Kamall was caught on camera expressing his displeasure: https://twitter.com/SpiegelPeter/status/719886057744023552 Mr S will leave readers to reach their own conclusion over what Kamall's gesture means.

Spice Girls get cold feet about Brexit

From our UK edition

When Simon Sebag Montefiore interviewed the Spice Girls for The Spectator, the five pop starlets surprised a lot of fans when they revealed their views on UK politics, the monarchy and Europe. Posh Spice, now known better as Victoria Beckham, emphasised the importance of the single currency: 'The Euro- bureaucrats are destroying every bit of national identity and individuality. Let me give you an example — those new passports are revolting, an insult to our kingdom, our independence. We must keep our national individuality.' Meanwhile Ginger Spice, also known as Geri Halliwell, declared that the Spice Girls as a collective were Eurosceptic: 'All those countries look the same. Only England looks different.

Jeremy Corbyn to give ‘Corbyn the Musical’ a miss

From our UK edition

Tonight marks the first preview performance of the much-anticipated Corbyn the Musical: the Motorcycle Diaries. The 'no-holds barred political satire' musical -- written by Rupert Myers and Bobby Friedman -- imagines Jeremy Corbyn facing a nuclear crisis. It will also offers a take on what may have gone on when Corbyn and Diane Abbott are said to have gone on a motorcycle holiday in the 1970s. Alas Mr S hears that the Labour leader is less than amused with the idea; he is yet to respond to an invitation to attend. So, to give Corbyn -- and those who failed to get tickets in time -- a taste for the musical, here are the lyrics to the show's opening number 'You needed a hero': They said I couldn't do it, they said I couldn't win. There'd never be a P.M.

Ed Miliband makes a comeback on The Agenda

From our UK edition

One of Ed Miliband's most embarrassing television moments from his time as Labour leader came when he appeared on The Agenda in 2014. Red Ed was lost for words when former pop star Myleene Klass turned on him on the ITV show as she berated him over Labour's proposed mansion tax. The former Hear-Say star criticised Miliband's approach to tax: 'Ed’s getting isolated because no one thinks it is going to work. You may as well just tax me on this glass of water. You can’t just point at things and tax them.' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu4Gfaqe_Zk&nohtml5=False So it was a bold move for Miliband to return to the scene of the crime last night and appear on the show once again. Happily it turns out that life as a Labour backbencher appears to suit him.

Watch: Dennis Skinner ejected from Commons over ‘dodgy Dave’ insult

From our UK edition

This afternoon David Cameron has had to face the music in the Commons over his shares in his father's offshore fund. While he received a lukewarm response from his own party, the most hostile response came from the Beast of Bolsover. After Cameron gave an address on his tax affairs, Dennis Skinner angrily responded by calling the Prime Minister 'dodgy Dave': 'At the time when he was dividing the nation between striders and scroungers, I asked him a very important question about the windfall he received when he wrote off the mortgage of the premises in Notting Hill, and I said he didn't write off the mortgage of the one the taxpayers were helping to pay for at Oxford. I didn't receive a proper answer then. Maybe dodgy Dave will answer it now.

Has Jeremy Corbyn lost his tax return?

From our UK edition

Oh dear. Although Jeremy Corbyn spent the best part of last week calling on David Cameron to publish his tax return, the Labour leader appears to be struggling to follow his own advice. Despite Corbyn promising to publish his tax return last Tuesday, the document is yet to see the light of day. Rather than a tax evasion conspiracy, it's thought that Corbyn simply can't find it; with some outlets reporting that he has had to ask HMRC to send him a copy.  However, the Leader's Office dispute this -- they insist that it will be published soon.

Liz Kendall hits out at ‘old-fashioned misogyny’ on the hard left

From our UK edition

Although Liz Kendall insists that she gets on well with her former Labour leadership rival Jeremy Corbyn on a personal level, she is less fond of some of his supporters. While it's well known that Kendall is on the opposite end of the spectrum to Corbyn when it comes to their political views within Labour, the Blairite says that it is the  'old-fashioned misogyny' of the hard left that she takes issue with. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Kendall says that many members of the hard left targeted her with misogynistic abuse just because she held opposing political views: 'There's a lot of old-fashioned misogyny on the hard left; you've only got to look at the comments about me during the leadership campaign.

Polly Toynbee forgets to check her privilege on Marr

From our UK edition

With the Sunday papers filled with the details of David Cameron's past tax returns, the subject of his family's wealth remains high on the news agenda. Happily Guardian heavyweight Polly Toynbee was on hand to offer her take on the row during the Andrew Marr show paper review. Toynbee argued that the real story was not any supposed wrongdoing on Cameron's part when it comes to paying tax, but instead his personal wealth is the problem.

Lily Allen in a spin over David Cameron’s offshore trust stake

From our UK edition

Oh dear. David Cameron's bad day just got worse. After he admitted to previously owning shares in his father's offshore fund, he has faced calls to resign. Now Lily Allen has promised to pay him a visit. The Smile singer says she will be heading to No.10  tomorrow to take part in a protest calling for Cameron to resign. The news will no doubt come as a blow to the Prime Minister given that he previously claimed Allen's music was unsuitable listening material for his children. Making clear her opposition to Cameron, Allen claimed on Twitter that he has been 'stealing' from the public and needs to resign: https://twitter.com/lilyallen/status/718349311692709889 Alas Allen has failed to offer up any evidence to back up her claim.

Labour’s war on the media rumbles on: Corbyn tells off hacks outside his home

From our UK edition

As David Cameron finds himself in hot water over his admission that he once owned shares in an offshore fund, today ought to be a walk in the park for Labour. In fact, all Jeremy Corbyn need do is give the press a few soundbites on the Tories' troubles and then sit back and relax. Alas this is Corbyn we're talking about so things were never going to be that simple. Instead the Labour leader has managed to become the story after he was filmed scolding an LBC journalist outside his home after she attempted to ask for his thoughts on Cameron's admission. Rather than answer, Corbyn told her that he would never give an interview outside his house, before physically pushing her dictaphone away from him: 'Good morning everybody. Thank you for coming here.

Irvine Welsh has a taxing time on Question Time

From our UK edition

Last night's Question Time saw David Dimbleby joined by Anna Soubry, Chris Bryant, Douglas Carswell, economist Ruth Lea and Irvine Welsh. As Soubry, Bryant and Carswell all bickered about the government's use of £9m of taxpayers' money for EU leaflets, Welsh -- who lives in Chicago -- said that even if he had a vote, he probably wouldn't use it. While the Trainspotting author leans towards Brexit, he says the choice is a 'spurious' one as either way the economic system will not work to the advantage of the masses: 'It's a spurious choice, life goes on very much in the same way and we've seen how the world economy operates. How the global economy operates and how it operates to the advantage of very few people and the disadvantage of many people.

David Cameron claims he watches Glastonbury at home by a warm fire… in June

From our UK edition

Today David Cameron is trying to win the youth vote in the upcoming EU referendum. To do this, he has given a speech to students at Exeter University -- claiming that young people will be be hit hardest in the event of Brexit. Taking questions from the audience after his speech, one student pointed out that it may be difficult for many youngsters to vote given that the referendum clashes with Glastonbury. Answering the question, Cameron attempted to get the crowd on side by confessing that he too loves the music festival. However, rather than attend the lively festivities, he makes sure he watches it 'at home in front of a warm fire'. However, Mr S is slightly suspicious of Cameron's claim. After all, Glastonbury takes place in the summer.

Labour secures the full fruits of Clause IV

From our UK edition

During the Labour leadership election, Jeremy Corbyn found himself in hot water after he appeared to claim in an interview with the Independent on Sunday that he wanted to reinstate clause IV of the Labour party constitution. The clause -- which Tony Blair scrapped -- commits the party to nationalising industry: 'To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service.

Boris Johnson blasts government’s £9m EU leaflets: ‘it’s a complete waste of money’

From our UK edition

The news today that the government are to spend over £9m of taxpayers' money on leaflets for the pro-EU campaign has gone down like a lead balloon in the Brexit camp. In an interview with ITV News, Boris Johnson has blasted the leaflets as 'a complete waste of money': 'I think it's a complete waste of money. It's crazy to use quite so much taxpayers' money on stuff that is basically intended to scare people and to stampede people in one direction.' https://twitter.com/itvnews/status/717786775523954688 Another nail in the coffin when it comes to Johnson's relationship with the Prime Minister.

Green Party MEP accuses BBC of bias over party broadcast

From our UK edition

These days the BBC can't seem to get anything right. On top of regularly riling Brexit-ers with 'EU bias', the corporation has been accused by some -- including former BBC pol ed Nick Robinson -- of showing anti-Corbyn bias. Now they can add a new one to their list; anti-Green Party bias. Yes, Green Party MEP Molly Scott Cato has made the peculiar claim after the BBC failed to publish an article on her party's new video broadcast: The video features young children pretending to be today's politicians -- arguing that while other parties are childish, the Green Party are not. As amusing as the video may be, Cato appears to barking up the wrong tree.