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

Monday

Steerpike

Tory abortions, spitting and the c-word: comedians let rip at People’s Assembly event

This morning Charlotte Church apologised on behalf of the People's Assembly to a reporter who was spat at by protesters outside Tory conference in Manchester. The classical-singer-turned-activist says that she will pen an open letter explaining that this is not representative of what the People's Assembly protests are about. However, she may want to save space in the letter for an extra paragraph or two covering last night's People's Assembly comedy night, titled 'laugh them out of town'. Frankie Boyle, Sara Pascoe, Robin Ince and Francesca Martinez joined forces at the Manchester Academy for a night of 'jokes' at the expense of the Tories.

Steerpike

Laurie Penny comes to the defence of spitting protesters at Tory conference

After a Second World War memorial was vandalised during an anti-Tory protest after the election, Laurie Penny was one of the few people to defend the crime, claiming the vandalism was nothing when compared to the 'destruction of the welfare state'. Now the Guardian feminist has turned her attention to yesterday's protests outside Tory conference. Several journalists were spat at on their way into the conference centre, while other attendees were called 'scum', threatened with violence and pelted with eggs. Although many Labour MPs took to Twitter to distance themselves from the left-wing protesters, Penny apparently can't see what all the fuss is about.

Sunday

Steerpike

Hacks spat on outside Tory conference

Oh dear. With the People's Assembly organising a week of protests to coincide with the Tory conference, things have got off to a bad start today as protesters have turned their attention to the journalists covering the event. Channel 4's Michael Crick says that a protester shouted 'Tory scum' in his direction, before spitting in his hair: https://twitter.com/MichaelLCrick/status/650701534536314881 https://twitter.com/KateEMcCann/status/650663436184088577 The journalists were then led away into a corner while police tried to deal protesters: https://twitter.

Steerpike

Raheem Kassam is more influential than ever (according to website he edits)

Earlier this year Raheem Kassam stood down as Nigel Farage's senior aide after he became involved in a dispute within Ukip over his influence on the party leader following a lacklustre election result. Since then, Kassam has returned to the job he had before he joined Ukip, editing the website Breitbart London. So Mr S was surprised to learn that despite losing his job in politics, Kassam has not lost any political sway. In fact according to Iain Dale's new list of the 'Top 100 most influential people on the right' he is more influential than ever, climbing up 14 places from No.96 last year to No.82 this year: Such is Kassam's power as a blogger that -- according to Dale -- he has more influence on the right than the Head of of the No.

Friday

Steerpike

George Galloway: Sadiq Khan is a very boring man

With Zac Goldsmith today announced as the Conservative candidate for the 2015 London mayoral race, the Tory MP will now face Sadiq Khan in the race to succeed Boris Johnson as mayor. However, one man who feels he should not be forgotten as a contender is George Galloway. Galloway -- who is running as an independent candidate for mayor -- thinks that there is a gap in the market for him in the race, as Labour's Sadiq Khan is just not up to it. Speaking on the Daily Politics, Galloway said that while he was disappointed that Tessa Jowell is not Labour's candidate – given that she differs from him more politically than Khan – Khan is still no real threat to his own bid. Why?

Steerpike

Charlotte Church feels the heat on Question Time

Last night's episode of Question Time saw David Dimbleby relocate to Cardiff to join Charlotte Church, Charles Moore, Stephen Crabb, Labour's Stephen Kinnock and Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood for a Welsh debate. While questions were raised about the future of Plaid Cymru after a lacklustre election result, the first topic on the agenda touched on whether Jeremy Corbyn could still be Prime Minister now he has said that he would never, ever use a nuclear weapon. With Kinnock struggling to defend Corbyn's comments while also sticking to his own views supporting nuclear weapons as a deterrent, it fell to Corbynista Church to praise the Labour leader's comments as 'commendable': 'I think that it's commendable.

Thursday

Steerpike

Coffee Shots: Jeremy Corbyn finds his fizz

In Jeremy Corbyn's conference speech, the Labour leader claimed that it was time young people found their fizz. 'Young people and older people are fizzing with ideas. Let’s give them the space for that fizz to explode into the joy,' he said optimistically. So Mr S is glad to say that Corbyn looks like he may have found his own fizz. On his trip to Scotland today, the Labour leader was gifted a bottle of Irn Bru by Kezia Dugdale, the leader of Scottish Labour. The gift of the drink which is popular in Scotland came after Corbyn declined the offer of a can of the drink from a Buzzfeed journalist this morning.

Steerpike

Don’t kill yourself over Jeremy Corbyn – yet, Austin Mitchell tells Labour members

After Jeremy Corbyn opted to use a speech which dated back to the eighties at this year's Labour conference, commentariats and party members alike were quick to question whether the left-wing messiah was really offering the 'straight talking' politics he promised. Happily Austin Mitchell, the outspoken former Labour MP, has come to Corbyn's defence. Writing on his personal blog, Mitchell says -- with trademark tact -- that party members should not 'commit suicide or take a pick axe to Corbyn's head' when it comes to the state of the party.

Wednesday

Steerpike

Watch: Eamonn Holmes’s awkward football exchange with Jeremy Corbyn

After Jeremy Corbyn gave his conference speech yesterday, the media-shy Labour leader has undertaken a publicity blitz this morning. While his day got off to an okay start on the Today programme, things quickly went downhill with an appearance on Sky News. Eamonn Holmes began the interview by heaping praise on Corbyn, likening him to a religious figure. He then decided to focus on football -- and Corbyn's love of Arsenal: 'Every young lad has a dream of appearing in the FA cup final, and scoring the winning goal, and I was looking at you and the love there was for you in the room, and you were basking in it - was yesterday your FA cup final?' Corbyn avoided the question, answering with no reference to football. This left Holmes having to ask some questions about politics.

Steerpike

Do as I say (not as I do): a Guardian Corbynista lectures Blairites

The Fabian Society's question time event at Labour party conference made for a lively debate. Tony Blair's former staffer John McTernan joined Tim Montgomerie, Labour's Kate Green and the Guardian's Ellie Mae O'Hagan to discuss the future of the Labour party now Jeremy Corbyn is leader. With McTernan criticising Corbyn for a leader's speech which 'gave no indication' that the party had just lost an election, it fell on O'Hagan -- who works for the Centre of Labour and Social Studies -- to fight Corbyn's corner. To kick her argument off, the Guardian writer -- and Corbyn champion -- explained that after the election result she had realised that in order for Labour to win the next election they needed to discover why people had voted Tory.

Tuesday

Steerpike

John McTernan: Jeremy Corbyn’s speech gaffe shows he isn’t who he says he is

Jeremy Corbyn has come under increased scrutiny today after Mr S's colleague Alex Massie revealed that parts of his conference speech were taken from a four-year old reject speech by the writer Richard Heller. The Labour press office claim that their straight talking leader approached Heller 'because JC thought some of his material captured what he wanted to say'. However, given that Heller suggested Ed Miliband use the speech four years ago, it hardly epitomises Corbyn's so-called 'new kind of politics'. With the party playing the incident down, one Labour member is at least feeling more forthcoming.

Steerpike

Chuka his toys out of the pram? Umunna misses Corbyn’s speech

As Jeremy Corbyn made his speech to conference, Labour's new frontbench did their best to put on a united front on the front row. As for the frontbenchers of Labour's past? Well, it could hardly be described as a show of solidarity. Both Chuka Umunna and Tristram Hunt were nowhere to be seen at the speech, with ITV's Chris Ship reporting that they had already left Brighton on a train: https://twitter.com/chrisshipitv/status/648805512826503168 While Hunt did at least tweet supportive messages to Corbyn during the speech, Umunna has maintained a radio silence.

Steerpike

Jess Phillips takes on George Galloway over Brighton beach incident: ‘he does struggle with women’s voices’

Although Labour conference has so far been a rather tame affair, Jess Phillips can at least be relied upon to spice up proceedings. The outspoken Labour MP is developing a reputation for being a bit of a rebel after she made the news earlier this month for telling Diane Abbott to 'f--- off'. Now she has a new target in her sights. Phillips says that she confronted George Galloway, who was expelled from the Labour party in 2003, on the beach in Brighton yesterday. She says she decided to tell Galloway -- who was previously criticised by anti-rape campaigners for comments suggesting sexual assault charges facing Julian Assange were nothing more than 'bad sexual etiquette' -- that he was a 'rape apologist': https://twitter.

Monday

Steerpike

Date night dinner for Jeremy and John

The New Statesman holds the best party of the Labour conference - but Chuka Umunna was the guest of honour and no sign of the leader. Where was Jeremy Corbyn? Toasting his success with his new comrades? Striking a new alliance with the editor of the Daily Mirror? Mr S understands that the Labour leader shunned the more glitzy parties on offer at his first conference as leader in favour of a quiet meal with his friends at Jamie's Italian. Corbyn was joined for his Italian dinner by John McDonnell and a couple of close aides.  With no flunkies or security guards in sight, the group feasted on pizza and tap water away from the hustle and bustle of conference.

Steerpike

John McDonnell makes peace with Peter Mandelson

Yesterday Michael Meacher wrote on his personal blog that it was time to expel Lord Mandelson from Labour. His sin? Badmouthing Jeremy Corbyn. Meacher, who is one of Corbyn's key backers, claims that Mandelson should be punished for speaking ill of Corbyn. So who better to fight Meacher's corner than John McDonnell? The shadow chancellor, who previously described Mandy'possibly the most divisive figure in Labour's recent history', bumped in to Mandelson this afternoon at Tory conference. However rather than scrap, Channel 4's Michael Crick claims that McDonnell assured Mandy he would not be expelled from Labour: https://twitter.

Steerpike

Ed Miliband’s spin doctor makes a return to the Labour press office

After Labour's disastrous election result, Ed Miliband's spin doctor Tom Baldwin made a swift exit from Labour HQ. For many in the party this was a welcome move; the king of spin was blamed for a number of election gaffes, including allegedly telling the BBC's Nick Robinson that Miliband saw the HSBC scandal as 'another Milly Dowler moment’. Despite this, it appears that old habits die hard. Steerpike understands that Baldwin has been spied in the the press office at Labour party conference. Is the spinner making a return to party politics?

Steerpike

Coffee Shots: Scottish Labour go wild

The brains at Scottish Labour must have been feeling pretty optimistic when they booked their venue at Brighton's Hilton for their party conference bash. When Mr S arrived at the do last night, the party could hardly be described as packed: Still, the Scots did at least live up to stereotype; by the time Steerpike arrived a cash bar was in operation.

Steerpike

Ghosts of Labour’s past at New Statesman conference bash

As Labour conference kicked off on Sunday on Brighton pier, it was a case of the ghosts of Labour's past at the annual New Statesman party. The magazine's editor Jason Cowley told attendees who had their journeys affected by train works not to worry as 'Corbyn has a plan for the railways', before reflecting on what had happened to the party in the space of a year.  'At our party last year in Manchester Ed Miliband was standing beside me and I introduced him as our next Prime Minister,' he told partygoers at Brighton's Al Fresco restaurant. While Miliband stayed away this time, the party's new leader was also notably absent.

Sunday

Steerpike

John Prescott: how I hopped before the Queen

Given the criticism that Jeremy Corbyn received when he failed to sing God Save the Queen at a Battle of Britain memorial service, the Labour leader faces a new dilemma when he is sworn into the Privy council. Although it is custom to get on bended knee and kiss the Queen's hand, the republican politician is said to be undecided over whether to adhere to this. However, according to John Prescott he may already be spared from one part of the ceremony. Speaking on the Sunday Politics,the former deputy Prime Minister told Andrew Neil that the ceremony does not actually require any kneeling, instead it consists of a fair amount of hopping: 'When I was first asked to join the Privy Council by John Major I said I didn’t want to do it, he said why?