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
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It is sometimes claimed that Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones’ Diary series is based on Keir Starmer. One is an upright, priggish human rights lawyer: the other is a character played by Colin Firth. The book and then the film were set in the 1990s, when ‘Cool Britannia’ was at its peak and New
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To govern is to choose. So what have Labour’s ministers chosen to hung on their walls? Raiding the Government Art Collection for the pick of the portraits is one of the perks of being a minister, along with a red box, car and driver. Mr S has done some digging and via a Freedom of
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As the new Labour government continues to struggle with voters, support for Reform UK only seems to be growing. New survey results released today by pollsters Find Out Now sees Nigel Farage’s party top the charts – beating both its Tory and Labour rivals. Talk about moving into pole position, eh? The new data –
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The Church of England has received a rather lot of bad press, to put it mildly, after the Archbishop of Canterbury was forced to resign over the handling of a child abuse scandal. Now, rather than let salvation take its course, the Bishop of Dover has decided to wade into the conversation with some rather
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As Donald Trump starts clamping down on diversity, equality and inclusion practices, it’s a shame that the same can’t be said on our side of the pond. In the same week that the new president ordered all of the US government’s DEI staff to go on paid leave ‘immediately’, Mr S has spotted a rather, er, odd
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This afternoon, the Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in jail – for the murder of three young girls and the attempted murder of ten other people at a dance class last summer. The 18-year-old murderer also admitted to producing ricin and being in possession of terrorist material
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Well, well, well. The former footballer and pundit Gary Neville has been spotted on the streets of Davos during the 2025 conference of the World Economic Forum. The ex-BBC presenter is not known to keep quiet about his views, with the former sports star keen to highlight his Labour membership and speaking up on British
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Growth, growth, growth is back on Rachel Reeves’ agenda – having been conspicuously absent in her first Budget last October. Still, no matter, the Chancellor now insists she is storming ahead with pro-business plans. Speaking at Davos – where else? – Reeves heavily hinted this morning that she will next week back a third runway
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Sadiq Khan may have collected a knighthood – but he is still missing a czar. It is now three months since Amy Lamé announced she was standing down as the Mayor’s ‘Night Czar’ and a successor is yet to be found. Lamé role was to champion London’s nightlife – so it is a shame then
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Well, well, well. It seems that Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government is looking to row back on its non-dom rules after Britain suffered an exodus of millionaires after the introduction of the policy. Talk about a quick turnaround… Speaking at a fringe event in Davos with the editor of the Wall Street Journal, Rachel Reeves
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Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has had a rather good few months, with a number of opinion polls showing the Clacton MP’s party topping the Tories – and, occasionally, even Labour – among Brits. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has rubbished the idea of a Reform merger – but it would appear her backbench colleague Suella Braverman
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Today’s PMQs won’t go down in history as Sir Keir Starmer’s finest half hour, with the PM losing marks over his performance on education. It seems the Labour politician has reverted to his old ways, with yet another Starmer U-turn making an appearance at today’s session. Quelle surprise… Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch went in hard
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Back in November, MPs waved through Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill by 330 votes to 275. Some of those who backed it at second reading claimed they were not yet convinced about the merits of the measure, suggesting they would need more time to scrutinise the legislation. Supporters oozed assurances: there would be ample scope
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Uh oh. The Beeb’s back in the spotlight – and this time it’s over some rather interesting reporting on the inauguration of Donald Trump. A new row over BBC bias has broken out after part of its coverage suggested the Republican’s election victory was built on ‘fear’. Er, right. The corporation’s senior North America correspondent
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Well, well, well. Just when the Scottish government thought it had steadied the SNP ship after two rather tumultuous years, another scandal has hit the party. Health Secretary Neil Gray is in the spotlight after it transpired that he had been using taxpayer-funded ministerial cars to take him to sports matches in the latest ‘Limogate’
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To the US, where President Trump is busy making the most of his return to the top job. At his inauguration on Monday, the Republican president was keen to hammer home just how much he wants to change during his time in office – even signing a number of executive orders during the event, to
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It wasn’t so long ago that political commentators and Tory MPs alike were confidently predicting that Rishi Sunak would leave No. 10 and head straight for California to start a new life. In his final appearance at the despatch box for Prime Minister’s Questions, Sunak made light of the rumours as he teased MPs that
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To London, where the Institute for Government’s 2025 conference is in full flow. This afternoon the think tank hosted a wide-ranging conversation with Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart. The Tory MP discussed everything from the role of the civil service to the glamorous life of an opposition politician. ‘In the Cabinet
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It’s a day ending in ‘y’ – so of course Keir Starmer is spinning like a top. Donald Trump’s inauguration this week has sparked a raft of speculation (again) about a long-awaited US-UK trade deal. The Telegraph reports that the Prime Minister is taking this push seriously: so seriously in fact that he has now
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Another day, another set of poor poll results for Labour. At the start of its 2025 conference, the Institute for Government think tank has unveiled some rather revealing analysis by Deltapoll of 1,500 adults between the 17th and 20th January. It transpires that just 22 per cent of people believe Sir Keir Starmer’s government is