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

SNP minister faces scrutiny over football expenses

From our UK edition

Back to Scotland, where SNP health secretary Neil Gray is in the spotlight over some rather curious expense claims. The nationalist minister has come under fire after it emerged that he had been using ministerial cars to take him to sports matches – and now further questions are being raised about just how justified these

Ex-Tory MPs gear up for Commons return

From our UK edition

The new year is three weeks’ old – but some Tories are determined to stick to their resolutions. An impressive number of ex-MPs are keen to make a quick comeback to parliament and have already signalled their intention to stand again in 2029. Leading the charge is Grant Shapps, the former Defence Secretary rejected by

Axel Rudakubana pleads guilty to Southport murders

From our UK edition

To Liverpool and the case of the Southport murders. Today, 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty to murdering three young girls in a knife attack last year on the first day of his trial. Rudakubana appeared at Liverpool Crown Court this morning over the horrific events of last year, which saw nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar,

The sad decline of the Westminster lunch

From our UK edition

‘Lunch?’ growled Gordon Gekko in Wall Street. ‘Lunch is for wimps.’ Yet for half of Westminster the noble art of lunching is as much a part of political life as PMQs. For generations, hacks, flacks and MPs of all sides have wined and dined in various London establishments. Whether it is the pubs of SW1

Will MAGA push out Mandelson?

From our UK edition

They do say you shouldn’t take anything for granted and it seems Peter Mandelson is beginning to realise that too. He may have thought that his new appointment as UK ambassador to the US was set in stone – but it has emerged that the president-elect is considering, um, rejecting Sir Keir Starmer’s nominee. Ouch. 

Humza Yousaf takes aim at media in Grazia photoshoot interview

From our UK edition

Hapless Humza Yousaf has a lot more time on his hands after he was forced to quit as Scotland’s First Minister last year. Now it transpires that the former FM has enjoyed a sit down – and photoshoot – with Grazia Pakistan’s Beauty Editor to recount his brief stint in the top job. After his

Alastair Campbell finally admits what Tony Blair got wrong

From our UK edition

No one expected this day to come – but here we are. Alastair Campbell, former Labour spinner and full-time Tony Blair fanboy, has – possibly for the first time ever – admitted his ex-boss and forever idol did actually get something wrong. Talk about a curveball! Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast with

Nandy denies Labour ‘governs by social media’ over grooming gang review

From our UK edition

Well, well, well. Britain’s grooming gangs scandal is still dominating the headlines and pressure is piling on the Labour government to conduct a probe into matter. The Tories and Reform UK are adamant there should be a national government-led inquiry, while Twitter CEO Elon Musk has persistently taken aim online at Starmer’s army over the

Badenoch shuts down idea of Reform-Tory merger

From our UK edition

In her first big speech of the year, Kemi Badenoch has taken a pop at Chancellor Rachel Reeves, reiterated her calls for a national inquiry into the grooming gang scandal and hit out at Britain’s immigration figures. Mr S was rather interested, however, in what the Tory leader said about Reform UK. Speaking in London

Blue Labour founder jets off to Trump inauguration

From our UK edition

Well, well, well. President-elect Donald Trump may have snubbed Sir Keir Starmer and missed off the new US ambassador Peter Mandelson when he was sending out his inauguration invites but there is one Labour figure who has been deemed privileged enough to make the cut. Steerpike can reveal that Lord Maurice Glasman is currently making

Suspended Labour MP pleads guilty to assault

From our UK edition

To the curious case of Mike Amesbury, the former Labour MP who was caught on camera in some rather shocking footage last year. The politician was charged in November and has now pleaded guilty to assault during his appearance in Chester Magistrates Court this morning – after he punched a man in Frodsham last year.

Scottish Tory council leader defects to Reform

From our UK edition

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay has barely been in the job four months and already his party is facing defections. Mr S can reveal today that Glasgow councillor – and the Scottish Conservative’s leader on Glasgow City Council – Thomas Kerr has jumped ship to Nigel Farage’s party to represent Reform UK on Glasgow City

Watch: Attorney General refuses to comment on Gerry Adams links

From our UK edition

The Labour government is generating its fair share of negative headlines these days – and now the focus is on the new Attorney General, Lord Hermer. As Mr S pointed out in summer, Sir Keir Starmer’s appointee has held some rather, er, interesting roles in the past – including representing ex-Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams

New York Times: Dry January is racist

From our UK edition

For a moment, it almost seemed like there was an outbreak of sense at the New York Times, with a column entitled ‘Dry January Is Driving Me to Drink’ .  The piece, by Tressie McMillan Cottom, an NYT columnist for the past three years, ‘known for her incisive essays on social problems’,  begins by insisting that she is

Scottish Labour face an uphill battle, poll suggests

From our UK edition

All is not well in the Labour party. While Sir Keir Starmer’s government fends off questions about the state of the economy and its worsening poll performance, things aren’t looking much better north of the border. New Scottish voting data has dropped this morning – and Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour lot have much to be

Tories overtake Labour despite Badenoch’s ratings falling fast

From our UK edition

Uh oh. Labour’s first six months in government haven’t gone quite as swimmingly as Sir Keir Starmer might have hoped and poll after poll has reflected the growing dissatisfaction with the incumbent government. The latest data dump– by pollsters More in Common – now reveals that the Conservatives are leading Labour by a point, with

Reform overtake Tories on Spectator poll tracker

From our UK edition

The new year is off to a bad start for Kemi Badenoch’s Tories. The latest update to The Spectator data hub’s poll tracker shows that – on average – Reform have just overtaken the Conservatives to become the second-placed party in British politics. As Steerpike reported this morning, YouGov’s first Westminster voting intention poll since

Full timeline: the events that led to Tulip Siddiq’s resignation

From our UK edition

And now we have it: Tulip Siddiq has resigned from her government post as City minister after pressure piled on the Labour MP over her links to her aunt and former authoritarian premier of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. After a tumultuous few weeks, the government’s ethics adviser issued his conclusion about Siddiq’s conduct – leading the

No. 10 blocks beaver plans over ‘Tory legacy’ fears

From our UK edition

Sir Keir Starmer’s army were adamant that theirs would be a ‘serious’ government of ‘grown ups’ – and yet it seems petty politics is back in vogue. It now transpires that No. 10 has blocked plans to bring the beaver back to Britain because officials view it as an, er, ‘Tory legacy’. Talk about wild

Fact check: The Rest Is Politics’ grooming gang claims

From our UK edition

For a little while now there have been questions as to whether the commentary of Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart on their podcast The Rest Is Politics is in tune with reality. Ahead of the US election, Stewart – the former Tory politician – claimed with certainty that Kamala Harris would win only to be