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

Thursday

Steerpike

Labour’s ‘attack dog’ turns on Laura Kuenssberg over BBC debate

From our UK edition

Last night's Newsnight Labour leadership debate proved to be a rather dull affair with all four hopefuls failing to make a strong impression. While many were quick to suggest that this was down to lacklustre leadership candidates, party members have come up with a different reason the broadcast failed to impress. Step forward Laura Kuenssberg: Labour's 'attack dog' Michael Dugher -- who is backing Andy Burnham for leader -- appeared to point the finger of blame at the Newsnight presenter for her chairing of the debate.

Wednesday

Steerpike

Backbench ‘plot’ deprives Alan Mak of his favourite spot at PMQs

From our UK edition

Unfortunate timing for ambitious new Tory MP Alan Mak to be turned over by the Times today, after he was on the order paper to ask a prominent question at PMQs. Mr S's fellow diarist at the Times wrote this morning: 'Alan Mak (Conservative, Havant) has been an MP for only a month and already his self-promotion is getting up people’s noses. Bad enough to send his maiden speech to everyone in Downing Street, he then baggsed the seat behind David Cameron for last week’s prime minister’s questions and with it a brief TV appearance.' Now Mr S hears there was a concerted effort today not to let Mak take up his new found favourite spot before PMQs. A colleague laments: 'Mak hadn't managed to to bagsy his usual seat up the PM's backside for the first time today.

Steerpike

Coffee Shots: Jeremy Clarkson is back on the BBC

From our UK edition

Last night Chris Evans was announced as Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear successor, following Clarkson's fracas with a BBC producer. However, this doesn't mean Clarkson won't be appearing on the BBC anytime soon. In fact, despite previously calling those at the corporation 'f---ing b-----ds', Clarkson has already made a star appearance on BBC2 this lunchtime as part of their tennis coverage. Clearly not too downhearted by Evans' appointment, the former Top Gear presenter decided to use his free time to take in some tennis at Queen's. This led to some scintillating commentary from the BBC tennis pundits as they tried to avoid the topic of Clarkson's untimely departure: Andrew Cotter: Big names here as well, Jeremy looks like he knows what he's talking about.

Steerpike

Liz Kendall on safe ground for Newsnight debate

From our UK edition

Tonight's Newsnight debate will see the four Labour leadership hopefuls -- Liz Kendall, Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Jeremy Corbyn -- head to Nuneaton in a bid to boost their campaigns. Given that this week, Kendall's supporters have been dubbed the 'New Labour Taliban' by a Labour source, relations are likely to be strained between the four. However, Kendall can at least take heart that she is on safe ground in Nuneaton, a seat which Labour failed to win the election. The party's candidate in the election, Vicky Fowler is backing Kendall.

Tuesday

Steerpike

Chris Evans performs U-turn over Top Gear job

From our UK edition

After Jeremy Clarkson was suspended from Top Gear following a fracas with a show producer, reports soon emerged claiming Chris Evans would be his replacement. However, the radio host was quick to 'categorically' deny these reports: https://twitter.com/achrisevans/status/575611650260254720 While Mr S had been more than happy to 'discount' his candidacy, it turns out that Evans should really never say never. The BBC have announced today that Evans is in fact Clarkson's successor. He confirmed the news in a statement: 'I’m thrilled, Top Gear is my favourite programme of all time. Created by a host of brilliant minds who love cars and understand how to make the massively complicated come across as fun, devil-may-care and effortless.

Steerpike

Richard Desmond: I made £5,000 profit from Labour donation

From our UK edition

Although Richard Desmond recently pledged his allegiance to Ukip's Nigel Farage, the media mogul previously backed Tony Blair, with the owner of the Express papers donating £100,000 to Labour in 2001. Now, in his new biography Richard Desmond: The Real Deal, Desmond claims that he made a £5,000 profit from the donation. Desmond writes that the donation came about after he attended a dinner with Lord Alli: 'Waheed said Tony really liked me. Would I make a contribution to the party? What they didn’t realise was that I had put everything I’d ever had – some £37 million – into the Express, along with £97 million that I had borrowed, my house and half my pension pot.

Steerpike

Battle of the pundits: Owen Jones vs ‘the Katie Hopkins of the Blairite right’

From our UK edition

Today the BBC invited arch-enemies Dan Hodges and Owen Jones onto Daily Politics to discuss the Labour leadership battle. What began as a civil exchanging of views over Jeremy Corbyn's inclusion on the ballot, rapidly turned into an all-out spat with Jones calling Hodges 'the Katie Hopkins of the Blairite right': DH: You've insisted he's on the ballot, he's on the ballot. Do you now want him to win? OJ: Yeah, I'll be supporting and fighting for Jeremy Corbyn DH: So you genuinely think if Jeremy Corbyn is leader of the Labour party, the British people will elect Jeremy Corbyn?

Monday

Steerpike

Lionel Richie is an unusual ‘Face in the Crowd’ on Parliament visit

From our UK edition

You might expect to see Lionel Richie pass outside your door, if you were in the Ivy last night, or in the VIP yurt of this month's Glastonbury Festival. But hello, which peer was he looking for this afternoon? The global superstar and former Commodores front man was accompanied by Lord Levy, after the two hit it off last week at an anniversary dinner for Jewish Care. Lord Levy appeared to be giving him a tour almost up there on the ceiling: https://twitter.com/ParlyApp/status/610445837563465728 https://twitter.com/BBCJLandale/status/610448057440804864 https://twitter.com/ParlyApp/status/610449582565261312 Richie was not up there all night long though, however, and was spotted heading off in the direction of the Speaker's Office.

Steerpike

David Starkey defends his comments comparing the SNP to the Nazis

From our UK edition

Over the weekend, David Starkey caused outrage in Scotland when he compared the SNP to the Nazis. While the SNP MP Kirsten Oswald was quick to dismiss Starkey as a 'serial utterer of bile and bilge', others called for an apology from the historian. So, how did Starkey feel this morning having had time to reflect on his comments? Turns out, he didn't feel all that different. Answering a question on Sky News about whether he regretted his comments, Starkey said he did not, explaining that he stood by what he had said: Starkey said the SNP were a 'virulently nationalist party' and blamed political correctness for the backlash: 'It's time we call things by their proper names. That's all I'm trying to do.

Steerpike

Lesley Garrett: Labour chose the wrong Miliband brother

From our UK edition

As a Doncaster resident, Lesley Garrett is well acquainted with her local MP Ed Miliband. However, the soprano was left disappointed by Labour's effort in the general election. In an interview ahead of her performance in Garsington Opera’s production of Così fan tutte, Garrett -- who is a loyal Labour supporter -- blamed their election defeat in part on the party choosing the wrong Miliband brother to lead the party: 'Yes. I think most people do. I think his brother had more experience, and a more authoritative voice. I think Ed was very good at what he did, and I think the two of them together would have been unstoppable.

Steerpike

Jeremy Clarkson returns to the BBC to work on Top Gear

From our UK edition

After Jeremy Clarkson was suspended by the BBC over an alleged fracas with a Top Gear producer, the presenter got on stage at a charity bash and told the audience that the BBC were ‘f—ing b—–ds’. Clarkson was later sacked and the corporation went to such lengths to erase the memory of the presenter from their channels that they pixelated his face in an episode of W1A. So Mr S was glad to hear that relations are now more amiable. The BBC have confirmed reports today that Clarkson recently undertook new work for the BBC, recording a voiceover for a final Top Gear special: 'He has done the voiceover for Top Gear. He came in to the BBC the week before last.

Saturday

Steerpike

Richard Ingrams tipped as next editor of The Lady

From our UK edition

As England’s longest-running weekly magazine for women, The Lady magazine has an illustrious roll call of former employees. However in recent years, its editors have often attracted attention for the wrong reasons. Boris Johnson's sister Rachel was appointed as editor in 2009 but departed three years later following a feud with the publisher Ben Budworth's mother Julia, who claimed that Rachel was 'sex-obsessed'. History was then made when Budworth appointed Matt Warren as her successor, making him the magazine's first male editor. Alas, he too had an undesired effect when it was revealed that he was having an affair with his secretary.

Steerpike

Bilderberg security is stepped up to protect masters of the universe from journalists

From our UK edition

This weekend the masters of the universe will gather at the annual Bilderberg conference. The secretive summit, which is being held in Austria, sees heads of banks and company CEOs mix with political heavyweights including the former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, US pollster Jim Messina, George Osborne and... Ed Balls. No notes are taken, no media are invited to cover the event, and the outcome is never revealed which has led conspiracy theorists to go into overdrive. Theories range from plans for a New World Order to world domination by lizards.

Friday

Steerpike

Vanity Fair editor calls Caitlyn Jenner ‘Bruce’

From our UK edition

After Bruce Jenner's transformation into Caitlyn Jenner was unveiled in Vanity Fair with a cover titled 'Call me Caitlyn', the Twitter mob went into overdrive with thousands rushing to tweet their congratulations. However, as Mr S's colleague Brendan O'Neill reported, not all tweets were well received. Drake Bell, a former American child star, became the subject of abuse after he tweeted ‘Sorry… still calling you Bruce’. A Twitter robot called @she_not_he has since been set up 'looking for anyone who uses the “he” pronoun in conjunction with Caitlyn Jenner’s name’. So Mr S has concerns for Vanity Fair's UK editor, Henry Porter.

Steerpike

Ed Vaizey offers the BBC a survival tip

From our UK edition

Given that John Whittingdale once described the licence fee as 'worse than the poll tax', the BBC were reported to be less than thrilled when David Cameron appointed the Tory MP as Culture Secretary ahead of the corporation's charter renewal next year. However, should the BBC be concerned about the impending decision, culture minister Ed Vaizey has at least offered an early pointer about the type of programmes the corporation ought to be commissioning. Vaizey took to Twitter to praise his old chum Andrew Roberts on his Napoleon documentary for the BBC. He says that it is 'just the kind of programme' the BBC 'should be making': https://twitter.

Steerpike

Jonathan Aitken says farewell to Alan Rusbridger

From our UK edition

Sore heads over at the Guardian this morning after yet another leaving party for Alan Rusbridger. In what Mr S makes to be Rusbridger's third leaving do, politicians and celebrities gathered at the Battlebridge Room of Kings Place to raise a glass to the departed editor. Ed Miliband chatted away to Benedict Cumberbatch over a bottle of Sol, while Chuka Umunna and Harriet Harman tucked into the prosecco. No sign of any of the Labour leadership contenders, but a smattering of Tories were in attendance, including Lord Grade and David Davis. Perhaps the most surprising appearance was from Jonathan Aitken - after all, it was Rusbridger's dogged pursuit of the disgraced former Tory MP that saw him jailed in 1999 for perjury.

Steerpike

Jemima Goldsmith: my Tinder has ‘loads of Pakistanis and people with beards’

From our UK edition

Jemima Goldsmith's love life has been well documented by the red tops in recent years, with her former loves including Imran Khan and Russell Brand. So Mr S was pleased to hear that - in the name of research - she has been adopting a new approach and experimenting with the dating app Tinder. Goldsmith took to the stage at Vanity Fair's digital summit to conduct a Q&A with the app's founder Sean Rad. Things started off politely with Jemima, who is the sister of Zac Goldsmith, quizzing Rad over why he had come up with the idea for the app, which has over 50 million active users: 'I think meeting people should be fun. The ultimate aim is to be the place you go to when you want to meet somebody new and sort of make these connections.

Thursday

Steerpike

Jacob Rees-Mogg asks Gove for a Magna Carta

From our UK edition

Jacob Rees-Mogg told the House on Thursday that his favourite activity is making speeches on Europe and 'if the House isn't sitting, I do it at home'. That's not the only place he opines on the subject. Mr S was enjoying some supper at the Savile Club on Wednesday evening, with his comrades from 'Conservatives for Liberty'. The noble sounding group is made up of your average Tory boys, with facial hair that would not have looked out of place in the Continental Army circa 1776. While the evening was meant to be a celebration of the Magna Carta, with David Davis and John Redwood in attendance, the conversation in the room kept going in one direction: Europe.

Steerpike

Revealed: the lords who haven’t paid their bar tabs

From our UK edition

Members of the House of Commons were reprimanded in the media for splashing out £11,000 in just one week in Parliament’s subsidised bars. Still, credit where credit is due, at least the politicians paid for their drinks. This is more than can be said for some members of the House of Lords. Despite the restaurants and bars in the House of Lords being so heavily subsidised that champagne is cut-price and lobster a mere £10 in the Barry Room, a Freedom of Information request shows that some members aren't paying up. As of 8 April, there was an outstanding bill of over a month for £500 worth of food and drink ordered by members of the House of Lords. Among the worst offenders were Lord Razzall, the Lib Dem peer, who owed £114.