Steerpike, Author at The Spectator

Thursday

12 December 2024

Scotland caves to UK puberty blocker ban

Well, well, well. It now transpires that the Scottish government will follow Westminster's lead on the UK puberty blocker ban – after Health Secretary Wes Streeting told parliament that he would be extending the policy following the findings from Baroness Cass's review. How very interesting… On Wednesday, the Health Secretary told MPs that the way the medications had been used was a 'scandal', adding he would continue on the medication block introduced by the Tories in May, noting: I know it won’t feel like it based on the decisions I’m taking today, but I really do care about this and so does this government. I am determined to improve the quality of care and access to healthcare for all trans people.

Wednesday

11 December 2024

Steerpike

Full list: the MPs scrutinising the Assisted Dying Bill

At the end of November, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults Bill passed its second reading with a majority of 55 in favour. Now, the MPs who have been selected to sit on the bill committee have been revealed. Find the full list – including each parliamentarian's party and how they voted on the issue – below.

Steerpike

Could Reform and the Tories form an electoral pact?

As if 2024 hadn't been packed full of elections, eyes are already moving to next year's local polls – and it seems some quite interesting conversations are taking place. According to Bloomberg, it transpires that Tory and Reform party branches in parts of the country have held discussions about working together in next year's council elections to push out Sir Keir Starmer's Labour lot. And so the plotting recommences… According to reports, talks have included the idea that Conservative associations could stand down candidates in certain areas where Reform might be better placed to defeat Labour – while Nigel Farage's lot would return the favour where the Tories stand a better chance.

Steerpike

Watch: Farming chief weeps at Labour’s tax raid

The public outrage at Labour's family farm tax isn't going away any time soon. Today farmers from across the country have driven their tractors to Westminster in yet another protest at Rachel Reeves's inheritance tax on agricultural assets, as countrymen fear for the future of family-owned farms. Sir Keir Starmer's Labour lot insist the majority of farms will be unaffected but their pleas for calm have landed on deaf ears as the Starmtroopers continue to lose rural supporters over the matter. As frustrated farmers gathered outside of parliament today, the issue was also being discussed inside the walls of Westminster.

Steerpike

Is Humza Yousaf picking a fight with GB News?

Back to Scotland, where it appears hapless Humza Yousaf is still trying to stay relevant by going after, er, GB News. The failed former first minister of Scotland is said to be considering his options against the channel after a new report into GB News suggested Yousaf would have a 'very strong case' if he reported the broadcaster to media watchdog Ofcom over its treatment of the ex-FM. Good heavens… The document, released by the Muslim Council of Britain's Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM), has slammed the channel over an 'excessive' focus on Muslims bordering on an 'obsession [that] regularly demonises their beliefs' – noting that almost 50 per cent of mentions on GB News related to Islam and the Muslim community.

Tuesday

10 December 2024

Steerpike

Watch: Independent MP opposes first cousin marriage ban

To the Commons, where this afternoon a rather odd intervention took place. The Westminster rumour mill was in overdrive today as word spread that a Member of Parliament was planning to speak against a bill calling for a ban on marriages between first cousins. Not long after speculation began, it was confirmed that a new parliamentarian did indeed want to make his opposition known: one Iqbal Mohamed, Independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley and a member of Jeremy Corbyn's pro-Gaza group. Good heavens… Speaking to fellow parliamentarians today, Mohamed first accepted: 'There are documented health risks with first cousin marriage and I agree this is an issue.

Steerpike

Liz Truss tells Starmer how to beat ‘the blob’

Poor old Keir Starmer. He has scarcely been in power for four months and yet is already wailing about 'many people in Whitehall' being 'comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline'. So as he, Morgan McSweeney and various other Keirleaders all prepare to take on Sir Humphrey, who better to get advice from then a predecessor who tried to fight that battle once before? For the Wall Street Journal has today released a theatrical offering that will either be an early Christmas thriller – or a belated Halloween horror story, depending on your taste. The 35-minute documentary is called 'The Prime Minister vs The Blob' and is intended to be a 'timely warning about the dangers of power being exercised by unelected and unaccountable individuals and bodies.

Steerpike

Ex-Tory donor becomes Reform’s chief fundraiser

As the government's fortunes continue to worsen, Reform UK only seems to be on the up. It now transpires that former Conservative donor and luxury property developer Nick Candy has defected from the party to join Nigel Farage's start-up – to become Reform's new chief fundraiser. Another Tory bites the dust… Speaking to the Sun, the millionaire donor insisted: 'I will raise Reform more money than any political party in the UK has every raised. Nigel is going to be PM.' He went on: I have resigned my membership of the Conservative party after many years of active support and substantial donations to the party. I am sorry to say there have been too many broken promises and a complete breach of trust with the wealth creators in our country.

Steerpike

David Lammy’s geography gaffe

It’s a gaffe a day with Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot – and this time David Lammy is in the spotlight. Addressing parliament on Monday over the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the Foreign Secretary seemed to be a little confused on the detail – specifically the, er, geography of the Middle East. At least it's not relevant to his job or anything, eh? During a debate on Syria on Monday afternoon, Lammy insisted to fellow parliamentarians that Libya was ‘next door’ to Syria, noting: Having just come back from the region, I am sure that she will have heard Gulf allies raise the issue of Captagon and illegal drugs that also propped up Assad’s regime and flooded into Gulf countries. We continue to monitor that.

Monday

9 December 2024

Steerpike

Mandarins shell out £130k for Starmer army’s offices

With a change of government, you might have thought 4 July would see a lot of new brooms in Whitehall. Yet, for some mandarins, the dissolution of the last parliament seems to have been the cue to get all the paint brushes and toolkits out. Since the end of May, more than £130,000 was spent by eleven departments across Whitehall as officials rushed to refurbish their new ministers' offices. A series of written questions by new boy Ashley Fox show that two high-spending departments seemed to welcome Labour's arrival with particular gusto. The Department of Energy Security greeted Ed Miliband's return by blowing more than £42,000 – excluding VAT – on a refurbishment including nearly £30,000 worth of new furniture and fittings.

Steerpike

Revealed: the 53 peers silent for five years

The wind of change is sweeping through the Upper House. What with Labour's plans to expel the last hereditaries and Gavin Williamson's effort to boot the bishops too, soon the House of Lords will be devoid of any colour. How will the sketch writers cope eh? Today brings more bad news for traditionalist lovers of the lords and ladies in ermine. For Politico reports that there are growing calls to exclude members of the House of Lords who rarely attend or take part in debates. The convenor of the crossbenchers Lord Kinnoull has suggested that expelling those who attend 10 percent or less of sitting days could cut the size of the Lords by 100 peers.

Steerpike

Suella Braverman’s husband joins Reform

Well, well, well. In a rather curious turn of events, it now transpires that Rael Braverman – husband of former Home Secretary Suella Braverman – has started campaigning for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. How very interesting… Farage took to Twitter to announce that Braverman had not only been canvassing for the party on the streets of Hertfordshire on Sunday, but had actually become a member of the right wing group, noting: He has received a great reception after joining the fastest growing movement in British politics. Good heavens. It’s certainly a good time to be in Farage’s group after a FindOutNow voting intention survey put Reform in second place, ahead of Sir Keir’s lefty lot and just two percentage points behind Kemi Badenoch’s boys in blue.

Friday

6 December 2024

Steerpike

Justin Welby apologises after causing ‘hurt’ in farewell speech

Justin Welby can’t seem to get anything right these days – not even his own leaving speech. Now the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury has been forced to apologise for the gag-filled monologue he delivered to the House of Lords on Thursday after causing a rather lot of offence with his choice of language. Dear oh dear… The Archbishop today announced he 'would like to apologise wholeheartedly for the hurt' he caused after his quite controversial remarks – including a reference to an historic beheading – went down badly with both abuse survivors and fellow bishops.

Steerpike

Why is Sadiq Khan in line for a knighthood?

Welcome to Labour's Britain, where failure is lauded and incompetence rewarded. According to reports in the Financial Times, it appears that Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, has ended up on the draft list for the New Years honours. Also thought to be receiving a gong is Labour lefty Emily Thornberry, chair of the foreign affairs committee while rumours abound that Sir Keir's former chief of staff Sue Gray – who was demoted from the top job just months into Starmer's premiership – may have also made the cut. Quite the motley crew, eh? Mr S is rather perplexed about reports that the London mayor may be set to receive a knighthood – not least because of his rather disastrous reign over the city.

Thursday

5 December 2024

Steerpike

40% of Keir’s No. 10 staff appointed uncontested

It's not been a good week for Sir Keir's lefty lot. In the last few days alone, Starmer's army has been hit with the revelation that over half of all Brits feel disappointed by Labour’s achievements in government so far – while just hours ago, a new survey by FindOutNow saw Nigel Farage's Reform party surge to second place, overtaking the current government of the day. And now the beast that is Labour's cronyism row threatens to rear its head once more. Steerpike would remind readers that back in 2020, every Permanent Secretary co-signed the grandly-named ‘Declaration of Government Reform’ in June 2020, promising to usher in a new era of transparency, meritocracy and excellence in the palaces of Whitehall.

Steerpike

MoJ fail to stop theft on their own doorstep

'More bobbies on the beat', cried Keir Starmer in his definitely-not-a-reset speech earlier today. But even when there are coppers out on patrol, are they doing enough to strike fear into lawless criminals? Just a stone's throw away from The Spectator offices in Westminster is the Brutalist monstrosity of the Ministry of Justice's headquarters. Known as Lubyanka – after the KGB headquarters – the address of 102 Petty France street is notorious for ruining the views of not one, but two nearby London parks. Yet while aesthetics may not be the MoJ's thing, you would hope that law and order actually is.

Steerpike

How much will the Chagos deal cost?

It's a simple question: how much is the Chagos Islands' handover going to cost British taxpayers? Yet for weeks now, Labour ministers have been stonewalling and squirming in their efforts to avoid giving a clear straight answer. Shortly after the deal was announced on 3 October, Foreign Secretary David Lammy told MPs that 'the agreement will be underpinned by a financial settlement that is acceptable to both sides.' Lammy promised on 7 October that 'at the time of publishing the treaty, there will be a discussion of the costs' before adding 'but no basing agreements ever discuss costs.' In response to a question by Caroline Dineage on 'how much will the UK have to pay for the privilege of ceding our sovereignty?

Steerpike

Reform polls ahead of Labour for first time

When it rains for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot, it pours. In the same week an Ipsos poll revealed that over half of all Brits feel disappointed by Labour’s achievements so far, now another poll brings more bad news for Starmer’s army. The FindOutNow voting intention poll has demoted Sir Keir’s crowd to third place – overtaken by none other than Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Talk about a turnaround, eh? The survey, using data collected on 4 December, shows the Tories in first place with 26 per cent backing Kemi Badenoch’s boys in blue. Next, for the first time, Farage’s lot have beaten Labour.

Steerpike

Prevent data reveals ‘Islamist’ referrals on the rise

While all eyes were on the Prime Minister's big 'plan for change' announcement today, the government also chose this morning to release some new data to the public. One of the reports published today includes the latest Prevent stats – and they paint a rather interesting picture. Between March 2023 and 2024, there were a staggering 6,922 referrals to the programme which when broken down reveal an uptick in cases being referred due to 'Islamist concerns', a rise of over 130 from the previous year. How very interesting… The gap between referrals for extreme right wing behaviour and Islamist concerns has narrowed notably in the year ending March 2024, with the number of extreme right wing referrals remaining fairly similar to those recorded in previous reports.

Steerpike

Are we in for a ‘Nigel’ revival?

Once the popularity of politicians was judged by how many babies they were asked to kiss – now it’s by how many kids are named after them. The Office for National Statistics has today revealed the most popular baby names for last year, with Olivia remaining the top girls’ name and Muhammad overtaking Noah to take the top spot. Celebrity names such as Billie, Lana, Reign and Saint were on the rise too. ‘Rishi’ kept his place at the political names top spot, going from 36 babies last year to 37 thus year. ‘Boris’, perhaps surprisingly, held strong too, keeping level at 28. ‘Keir’ languished around the count of three, where ONS statisticians suppress the results if less than three babies are given that particular name.