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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Labour’s John Woodcock is being teased mercilessly by his colleagues. A recent fundraising event which he organised was secretly recorded – and embarrassing quotes from fellow Labour MPs and candidates, who thought they were speaking behind closed doors, leaked out. Woodcock should know about the sort of dirty-tricks that the parties play on each other.
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Husbands and wives across London gathered last night to hear Tim Dowling’s informed advice on How to be a Husband. At last night’s launch of his book of that title, Dowling told Mr S that marriage isn’t dissimilar from flying in a police helicopter – a task he’d confronted earlier in the day. ‘You get
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Nadine Dorries’s novel, Four Streets, may have been unilaterally panned by the critics, with the Telegraph’s Christopher Howse labelling it the ‘the worst novel I’ve read in 10 years’, but Nadine’s first official journey into fiction has been a runaway success. It spent the last 43 days in the top 100 Kindle books on Amazon,
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‘There are three stages to any coalition,’ House of Cards creator Michael Dobbs told me at Tuesday’s annual Macmillan Lords vs Commons tug-of-war in the grounds of Westminster School. ‘First there is the seduction, tearing off each other’s bodices over five days of negotiations. Then came the consummation in the Rose Garden, followed later by
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Word reaches Mr S of the plight of Mr Alexander Sucenko, organiser of next Saturday’s annual Russian Summer Ball. The ball is said to be in jeopardy because nobody wants to come. It seems that many regular attendees of this staple of the Russian expat social calendar have cried off this year because of the actions
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After a tricky few weeks, Nick Clegg and Vince Cable have decided to thrash things out over a pint of ale. At 11am. The pair are hanging out in a pub (having locked the media outside in the rain, which is possibly one of the cruellest things you can do to a journalist) to promote
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Despite trying to fend off Ukip in the Newark by-election, the Tories have thought it a good idea to put neighbouring MP, and devout Europhile, Ken Clarke on their candidate’s literature. The Tories seem desperate to feature him in their campaign, even though it’s rumoured that Clarke may soon be shuffled out of the Cabinet. However,
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What do Foreign Office ministers think about the possibility that Andrew Lansley could be the next European Commissioner? David Lidington was clearly intrigued by Isabel’s column in the Telegraph this morning which says that Tory backbenchers are not fans at all. The Europe Minister, who would have to work closely with Lansley, retweeted the article
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If you are a lobbyist looking to access a government minister but want to circumvent the tedious checks enforced by civil servants, then Newark-on-Trent is the town for you. This corner of Nottinghamshire is packed with reshuffle hopefuls and Tory big-wigs ‘doing their bit’ for the by-election bid. Education minister Liz Truss had taken her
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Mr S found himself at the British Museum, for the launch of the new exhibition ‘Mummy: The Inside Story’. The Museum’s esteemed director Neil MacGregor was on hand to give an introductory talk about the development of tools throughout history. From ancient ones – ‘a beautiful hand axe’ – to the pinnacle of modern ones –
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Ukip types, already with a spring in their step this week, are further buoyed by the fact that they will be going into the Newark by-election with data up their sleeves. The Tory machine is in full swing on the ground, but the playing field has been levelled. Whereas in previous by-elections Farage turned up
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Alex Salmond is a deft political player, but perhaps he’s best kept on the political pitch, rather than one involving footballs. Here’s what happened when he came into contact with the latter today:
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The self-styled anti-establishment ‘People’s Army’ chose the most expensive hotel in Westminster to announce the professionalisation of their party machine. Nigel Farage’s post-European election press conference was completely stage managed — from the security on the door to the lack of questions from the floor, right down to the moment he was whisked away from
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Even before Ukip’s troops stormed last night’s EU elections, they were already planning their victory party. Where a few months ago it would have been held in a pub, with Nigel Farage posing for his customary pint n’fag shot, this time they were already planning on a much bigger scale. The City of London Distillery, keeping
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Mini-cab firm Addison Lee exacted cold revenge on ITN last night at about the worst possible time. Slap bang in the middle of the election coverage, they cancelled the news provider’s taxi account. ITN had recently announced that they would be moving the company account to a rival firm, and Addison Lee did not take
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Picture the scene. BBC executives convene in a glass think pod in Salford to consider the latest expensive external report commissioned by Director of News James Harding. The report states that Auntie, despite its vast budget and massive staff, is ‘punching well below its weight in the digital world.’ That was what Sir Howard Stringer’s
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Boris and Dave have been enjoying each other’s company on the campaign trail in Newark today. Just look how cosy they are at the station: But is that Boris sneaking a longing glance at the red box that the Prime Minister carries with him as a trapping of office? Anyway, the two men got along
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Tory whips have been haranguing backbenchers and ministers to campaign ahead of the European Elections and the Newark by-election. They have been keeping extensive lists of who is pulling their weight. Ever helpful, Mr S thought he would draw up a little list of his own. These Tory MPs were sipping champagne with Thatcher’s PR
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Are we finally seeing the effect of Ed Miliband’s expensive investment in David Axelrod? As the New Republic pointed out in 2010: ‘Food mishaps are central to the Axelrod mystique. He was famous during the campaign for having disabled a BlackBerry with a stray piece of donut glaze. He once convened a meeting with a
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Mr S started the morning with Susannah Reid and Charlotte Hawkins of Good Morning Britain. All was pootling along quietly until Ed Miliband turned up on screen. The Leader of the Opposition was doing his routine about the ‘cost of living crisis’ when Hawkins decided to put his professed empathy for humble people to the
