Steerpike, Author at The Spectator

Friday

January 9, 2015

BBC to revise its restrictions on depicting Mohammed

From our UK edition

Last night's Question Time saw David Dimbleby chair a debate on freedom of expression following the Charlie Hebdo shootings. During the programme, Dimbleby stated that the BBC’s policy with regards to representations of Mohammed was to not depict the Prophet in any shape or form. This policy was met with criticism from panel and audience members alike. @bbcquestiontime that is utterly disgraceful bbc. #shamefulbbc — IAN REA (@ianrea7) January 8, 2015 Here is the part of the BBC Editorial Guidelines that Dimbleby read out on #bbcqt http://t.co/qFOxuMVws2 pic.twitter.com/nRc6Y43zKk — BBC Free Speech (@BBCFreeSpeech) January 8, 2015 So, Mr S was curious to learn that the website page detailing its guidelines is now down.

Thursday

January 8, 2015

Steerpike

Baroness Brady won’t confirm a return to The Apprentice

From our UK edition

After Nick Hewer announced last month that he will not return for the eleventh series of The Apprentice, Lord Sugar ought to take care that he doesn't end up having to recruit two new sidekicks. When Steerpike last caught up with Karren Brady, the recently appointed Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge would not confirm her return for the next series. Instead, she suggested that her seat in the House of Lords would factor into her decision. ‘Ah well, I just have to check my availability and my schedule. I’ve now joined the House of Lords,’ Brady told Mr S. The 45-year-old businesswoman took her seat in the House of Lords in November when she was introduced to the House by Lord Sugar, the Labour peer.

Wednesday

January 7, 2015

Steerpike

It’s rich of Cameron to joke about press conferences

From our UK edition

There were very few smiles at Downing Street this afternoon as a mustard clad Angela Merkel spoke of a 'moving moment'. Yet that steely resolve had to crack eventually and with the final question at her joint press conference with David Cameron, the German Chancellor's perma-frown turned into an impish grin for just a split second. Scolding ITV's Tom Bradby, Mrs Merkel announced that she 'never answered speculative questions' and she certainly would not be starting today, danke very much. 'I think the policy of not answering speculative questions will make all press conferences much shorter in the future', piped up David Cameron, seeing a chance to wrap things up. 'Another excellent German invention'.

Steerpike

Why Cabinet Exec won’t ‘poo in the pool’

From our UK edition

If you hear any government officials talking about blue rivers in the coming days, it’s down to Google. Steve Vaughan, the head of media monitoring at the Home Office, has just spent a week with Google to develop his digital skills. The reason we know this, is that he has written a government blog about it. In it, Vaughan reveals the 17 things he has learned from the experience. While Steerpike dares not bore you with all the details, Vaughan does urge civil servants to refrain from being a ‘poo in the pool’ and instead try 'jumping into the pool of creativity,' as well as urging staff to ‘greenhouse your ideas’.

Steerpike

Lost in translation: How Iain Duncan Smith shocked Angela Merkel

From our UK edition

Angela Merkel is in London officially to talk about the G7 and unofficially to discuss David Cameron’s hopes for a reformed European Union that Britain can stay in. But while she’s here, she might want to ask after one of Cameron’s colleagues, Iain Duncan Smith. Duncan Smith likes to tell Tory constituency parties the tale of the time the pair attended a summit on benefits. Mostly the summit was attended by EU leaders, but Cameron sent IDS in his place. After sitting through a very long and dull speech from one of the delegates, Duncan Smith finally got his opportunity to speak. He began by saying how grateful he was it was his turn, and that he had almost lost the will to live by this point.

Steerpike

Guardian hosts champagne tasting for champagne socialists

From our UK edition

As Mr S revealed yesterday, The Guardian has vetoed brown sauce for their palatable readers, confining it to be fit only for lowly members of the establishment. Champagne, on the other hand, is still okay. The paper are running a bubbly tasting session tonight which will allow their readers to ‘break down the barriers of this exclusive domain’ and give them the skills to ‘be able to talk about champagne with confidence’. With ticket prices listed at £99, only the paper’s finest champagne socialists need consider attending.

Steerpike

Sir John Major steps down as president of the Bow Group

From our UK edition

As one of the oldest Conservative think tanks, the Bow Group has a prestigious roll call of former chairmen who include Michael Howard, Norman Lamont and Peter Lilley. Now, Mr S hears that times are a-changing at the organisation, with the group’s president Sir John Major stepping down. His departure comes after an eventful few years for the think tank and its colourful chairman Ben Harris-Quinney since Major joined two years ago. Harris-Quinney became embroiled in a spat with Iain Dale after the broadcaster claimed in a post on ConservativeHome that Harris-Quinney was a ‘self-publicist’ whose work at the organisation was leaving many former Bow-Groupers ‘horrified’.

Tuesday

January 6, 2015

Steerpike

Guardian journalists fail to protect their sauces

From our UK edition

Mr S is inclined to believe this is a piss-take, lest it be clear the Guardian completely disappeared up its own bottom. Apparently enjoying HP Sauce basically makes you some sort of quasi-racist, Ukip-voting, little-England philistine: 'Created in the late 1800s, brown sauce reads, tastes and smells like the idle creation of some Phileas Fogg-type, just back and hugely, over-excited about his adventures in the British empire. Dates! Molasses! Tamarind! Cloves! Cayenne pepper! It is not so much a recipe as chauvinistic flag-waving, a smug, muscle-flexing case of: “Look at the size of our spice cupboard.” Said exotic ingredients were combined, moreover, with all the sensitivity of the period.

Steerpike

Ukip MPs infiltrate Conservative HQ’s Twitter feed

From our UK edition

If social media is going to play a deciding role in the general election, the brains at Conservative HQ ought to take a closer look at who they promote on their Twitter account. The official Conservative Twitter feed has a Tweetminster list of Tory MPs on it which allows their 131,000 followers to catch up with the ramblings of all of their MPs at once. However, a quick inspection of the Tweetsminster list shows that Ukip defectors Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless remain on it despite abandoning the party: This means the Tory Twitter account is letting Ukip reach their audience, as these tweets show... If the Conservatives plan to unsubscribe from the list, they may want to reconsider this image while they're at it.

Steerpike

Claws out in Rochester: Mark Reckless not worried by Tory candidate

From our UK edition

Things are getting heated in Rochester after Conservative HQ announced that the lacklustre Kelly Tolhurst will return as their candidate for the general election. The businesswoman put on a dismal display when she represented the Tories in the recent by-election against Mark Reckless. Reckless won then, and judging by his recent retweets, the Ukip MP is confident he can retain the seat come what May: #Rochester & Strood Tories to help @MarkReckless retain seat for @UKIP by re-selecting @KellyTolhurst as candidate http://t.co/RfvdYudgFB — A Jockertarian Rebel (@A_Liberty_Rebel) January 6, 2015 @marwilk @MarkReckless @BBCPolitics @UKIP True. The Tory's kitchen sink was full of vote losing Kelly and her mind numbing rhetoric.

Steerpike

The Laws according to David

From our UK edition

As Westminster clatters back to life after the Christmas break, so the steady stream of invitations land on Steerpike's mat. Don't all rush at once, but David Laws will be giving a speech this month at the Institute of Government on 'effective government in 2015 and beyond'. While this will no doubt be riveting feast of wonkery, it is a bold move by the senior Liberal Democrat minister. The speech is to launch the the Institute's 'Programme for Effective Government' report which 'outlines a series of practical measures for parties to adopt in making sure they honour their party manifestos'. Is this really something that a leading light of Nick Clegg's party is really qualified to lecture on?

Steerpike

Lily Cole won’t join Russell’s revolution

From our UK edition

As an environmentally-minded model who's not shy of a student protest, Lily Cole would appear to be an ideal recruit for Russell Brand’s revolution. Alas, Cole, who has a double first from Cambridge, has taken issue with the ‘pound-shop Ben Elton’s’ choice of wording. ‘He scares me when he uses the word revolution. I’m not a big fan of the word revolution,’ Cole says in an interview with the Radio Times. ‘I prefer evolution. If you look at history, revolution has always been… usually not very good.’ Cole does have something in common with the comedian, she has also been accused of promoting idealism while having great personal wealth, something she denies.

Steerpike

David Miliband: I might be back

From our UK edition

David Miliband has refused to rule out a return to British politics in an interview with Vogue. Ed's departed brother has not had much of an impact in New York, and is coy about his future: 'I don't know, is the answer.' Intriguingly he also refuses to praise his brother's performance as Labour leader: 'I can't say anything, because anything I say plays into the whole narrative. And I made an absolute commitment to myself not to play into the story ... It's not good for him and it's not good for me for this to become a story.' That would be true if David said something negative. Mr S is sure a compliment wouldn't do any harm, however...

Monday

January 5, 2015

Steerpike

Exclusive: Prince Andrew will not host government reception in Switzerland

From our UK edition

How will Prince Andrew proceed with his official duties, given that he is named in court papers in which he is accused of abusing an under-age 'sex slave'? The Daily Mail reports today that the Duke of York is expected to host a reception on behalf of the British government for foreign ministers at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland later this month. However, Mr S can reveal that Prince Andrew will not represent the government in any such way. While a final announcement is yet to be made regarding his attendance at the event, word reaches Steerpike that any reception will be hosted in a personal manner, and not on behalf of No.10. A Palace spokesman states that there was never was to be a government reception.

Steerpike

Another day, another departure at Newsnight

From our UK edition

Since Ian Katz took over as editor of Newsnight, an illustrious roll call of staff have left the flagging current affairs show, including presenters Jeremy Paxman and Gavin Esler. Now, one of Katz’s newest recruits has jumped ship. Mr S hears that Newsnight deputy editor Rob Burley has handed in his notice. Burley is leaving the show to succeed Barney Jones as editor of The Andrew Marr Show. The news will come as a blow to the former deputy editor of The Guardian given that Burley started work on Newsnight at the same time as him. One of Burley's former Newsnight colleagues certainly thinks his departure is a one-sided loss. @RobBurl I reckon we'll miss you more than you miss us. I'm going to be sending you abusive tweets throughout your programme, obvs.

Steerpike

Do Cameron and Miliband secretly feel the same way about the EU?

From our UK edition

At last, an actual dividing line. Ed has used his first proper speech of the 2015 campaign to declare that his party would never, ever leave the EU: 'We must demand reform from Europe—a European Union that works better for Britain. But make no mistake: exit from the EU would be a dramatic mistake for our country and our economy. So, whatever the politics, I will not join those who cynically offer exit as a realistic plan for our future or the future of Britain’s working families.' That should really help Labour shore up their northern heartlands against increasing working-class Euroscepticism and the rise of Ukip. Mr S suspects the Labour leader's position is closer to Cameron's than either would care to admit this side of May.

Friday

January 2, 2015

Steerpike

Osborne targets Vince Cable in opening election salvo

From our UK edition

As the General Election limbers up, today saw the first day of proper campaigning with the Tories unveiling their first election poster and George Osborne hitting the road. The Chancellor did not have far to travel though, popping up to Twickenham, some 11 miles from the Treasury. His Twitter feed was in overdrive: https://twitter.com/LGCGroup https://twitter.com/tania_mathias It says something about relations at the top of the coalition when the Chancellor chooses to launch the election campaign in his own Business Secretary's seat. Mr S wonders whether Osborne followed Commons protocol and alerted Vince Cable to the fact that he would be swinging by his constituency?

Steerpike

Nick Clegg: I have a great fanbase

From our UK edition

According to a recent YouGov poll, Nick Clegg has an overall rating of minus 54, making him more popular than the hapless Ed Miliband by just one point. While that wouldn't appear to be much to celebrate, the Deputy Prime Minister seems to actually be in denial about his own standing amongst the British public. In the first ever joint interview he has given with his wife Miriam, Clegg is asked whether his wife’s ‘huge fanbase’ ever causes an issue given that his own reputation has ‘taken a kicking over the past four years’. ‘I also have a great fanbase,’ Clegg replies, looking rather hurt.

Wednesday

December 17, 2014

Steerpike

Chelsea fan Brocket dampens Arsenal’s Christmas

From our UK edition

It could be a bleak Christmas party for Arsenal Football Club on the 22 December, as Steerpike hears their planned festive bash booked in at Brocket Hall in Berkshire may be a little austere thanks to a lack of the hall's usual furniture. Since Lord Brocket’s spell at Her Majesty’s Pleasure, the artistic accountant has been forced to rent out the 500 acre family pile and he’s fallen out in spectacular fashion with current tenant Dieter Klostermann, the German leisure entrepreneur whose company is reportedly burdened by debt of £16.5m.

Steerpike

Nigel Farage: Bigger Than Jesus

From our UK edition

Ukip's commonwealth spokesperson Winston McKenzie - he of Carnival of Colour fame - is never far from controversy. It was only a matter of time before a devout Ukipper compared their hero Nigel Farage to a deity and we should have all guessed it would be Winston: ‘Jesus was one man. We are his army. Nigel Farage is one man and we are his army and that’s what it’s all about’ Happy Faragemas, everybody.