Steerpike, Author at The Spectator

Thursday

7 November 2024

Guardian staff get therapy for Trump triumph

While Republicans across the US celebrate Donald Trump's victory and eagerly await his return to the White House, those that backed the wrong horse appear to be struggling to come to terms with it. Mr S is still waiting to hear whether certain lefty celebrities are going to follow through with their plans to leave the country over the result, and a number of pundits are still recovering from their fantastically inaccurate predictions about the race. But we should also spare a thought for some of those hit hardest by the announcement: Guardian journalists. It now transpires that the newspaper has reached out to its employees to offer, er, Trump therapy. In a company-wide email, editor Katharine Viner sympathised with staffers saddened by the outcome of the 'dramatic night'.

Steerpike

Did 100 Labour activists scare off 400k Democrat voters?

Was it Labour wot lost it? It was less than a month ago, as Kamala Harris appeared to be riding high, that dozens of bright-eyed British Starmtroopers began descending on America. In a now-infamous LinkedIn post, Sofia Patel, Labour’s head of operations, urged others to join them in North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia. ‘I have nearly 100 Labour party staff (current and former) going to the US in the next few weeks,’ she boasted. ‘Let’s show the Democrats how to win elections!’ Fast forward three weeks and we know what happened next. The Trump campaign reacted in its usually understated way, threatening lawsuits, firing off bombastic threats and channelling the revolutionary spirit of Yorktown.

Steerpike

Mike Amesbury due in court as Reform eyes seat

It's never too long before Labour's woes are back in the news. Now suspended MP Mike Amesbury has been summonsed to court to face an assault charge – after some rather shocking CCTV footage emerged a fortnight ago. The video appears to show the then-Labour politician speaking to a man at the side of a road, before throwing a punch at his victim. It was later reported that the bust-up had been the culmination of an ongoing dispute over the temporary closure of the Sutton Weaver swing bridge, and that frustration over cuts to the winter fuel payment also came up before the alleged assault took place. Talk about fighting for what you believe in, eh?

Steerpike

Will these celebs really leave the US over Trump?

Despite receiving the backing of a whole host of A-listers, including Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris still managed to lose the 2024 US election. Donald Trump will soon return to the White House – but he may not be the only one preparing a big move. Over the course of the campaign, a number of top celebs claimed they would up and leave the States if Trump emerged victorious, while film star George Clooney even affirmed he would 'get out of politics and go back to television' if The Donald got in. So who might be considering a change of scene, and will they go through with it now the reds have won?

Steerpike

Downing Street’s Diwali debacle

Twelve months ago, it was Rishi Sunak who was lighting a candle outside No. 10. So with a new regime installed in office, Mr S wondered how Keir Starmer would go about marking the Hindu festival. Sadly it seems that Starmer's reverse Midas touch has struck again. For Steerpike hears that last week's big bash in Downing Street proved something of a disappointment, with attendees complaining of menu choices not quite befitting Diwali's normal traditions... Mr S would remind readers that strict observers of Diwali – the Hindu ‘festival of lights’ – do not consume alcohol during the occasion, while the majority of Hindu communities will only eat vegetarian food. Yet, in a rather odd move, it has emerged that No. 10 staff served, er, alcohol and meat at their Diwali shindig.

Steerpike

Labour minister refuses to deny Trump has ‘Nazi sympathies’

The US election has been and gone and Donald Trump emerged victorious, with the former president set to re-enter the White House. The government sent Pat McFadden onto the airwaves today to field questions about the new president-elect – but the Labour MP became rather curiously tongue-tied on the matter of Trump’s politics… Quizzed by LBC’s Nick Ferrari this morning, McFadden was asked whether he believes Trump has ‘KKK sympathies or Nazi sympathies’. PM: I think the relationship between Britain and America is really important and I’m confident… NF: That wasn’t the question though was it, Pat? PM: No I know. I don’t want to get into… NF: So you think he might? PM: Look, what I think is important is the friendship between these two countries.

Wednesday

6 November 2024

Steerpike

Full list: the Cabinet members who blasted Trump

Donald Trump has won the US election, and will become the 47th president of the United States. But while the Republicans celebrate, the Labour lot may not be quite as happy. Starmer's army has a history of being less than cordial about the president-elect, as new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch noted today at PMQs. Did Foreign Secretary David Lammy apologise for his comments about the US leader? Would Sir Keir Starmer apologise on his behalf? Er, not quite. And no wonder – there are more than a few comments to apologise for. To jog readers' memories, Mr S has assembled a list of the things Cabinet members have said about the new President. Talk about ageing badly... Keir Starmer, Prime Minister, 19 June 2018: ‘Humanity and dignity. Two words not understood by President Trump.

Steerpike

SNP members slam Swinney’s support of Kamala

It's not been First Minister John Swinney's year. Not only did his Westminster group fail fantastically at the July poll to cling onto their seats, now the SNP leader has found out he backed the wrong horse at the US election. Talk about a bad bet! Last month, Swinney lent his support to Kamala, telling Scottish voters: People in the United States of America should vote for Kamala Harris, and I have not come to that conclusion only because Donald Trump is opposed to Scottish independence. And with today's result comes criticism of the First Minister's decision to wade into the matter at all.

Steerpike

Six Brits who had a bad election night

So Donald Trump is heading for the White House once again. It's a result that has stunned much of the British commentariat, many of whom fawned over Kamala Harris when she was unveiled as Joe Biden's successor. Yet, just like in 2016, Harris could not live up to her cheerleaders' hype. With both Keir Starmer and David Lammy now forced to issue statements expressing their delight at working with 'the Donald', Mr S rounds up the usual suspects who had a particularly bad election night... Carol Vorderman Once the nation's sweetheart as the beloved star of Countdown, poor old Vorders seems to have gone off the deep end in recent years.

Steerpike

Watch: Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell baffled by Trump’s victory

Donald Trump is on course to win the US election – and it's safe to say that Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell aren't thrilled about the news. On a livestream of their Rest is Politics podcast, Stewart – who earlier this week said he hadn't 'changed my mind on Kamala Harris winning comfortably' – struggled to process the news that the US election was far closer than he may have hoped. Stewart suggested that Trump's success in winning the two key swing states of North Carolina and Georgia was difficult to comprehend given how good the Democrats' ground game was during the campaign: 'When a result happens, you rewrite history. If she (Kamala Harris) was currently winning, you'd have a very good answer for why she was winning. Abortion would be number one.

Steerpike

New York Times ‘Needle’ leans Trump

Over the past half hour, the famous New York Times ‘Needle’ has moved out of the ‘toss-up’ range, and into the ‘Trump range’. As of 2.47 a.m. UK time, the Grey Lady gives Donald Trump a 69 per cent chance of returning to the White House. The model estimates Trump will get 286 Electoral College votes (he needs 270), whereas Harris will get 252. The ‘Needle’, according to the NYT, is the product of ‘nearly 100 Times journalists, engineers, statisticians, data experts and researchers’. The paper says: ‘As more votes come in, the Needle becomes more “confident” in the final outcome.’ It’s still pretty early, as results go. Counting in Pennsylvania, perhaps the key swing state, could go on and on.

Tuesday

5 November 2024

Steerpike

Who do Spectator readers think will win the US election?

With polls open across the United States a new President is about to be elected. But who is it going to be? Steerpike has already taken a look at the betting markets who have Trump down as the winner. But do Spectator readers agree? For the past fortnight Mr S has been asking new subscribers to guess who will win the US election and the results are in! The winning guessers receive a cash prize so there was added incentive to tell Steerpike who they really think will win and not just who they'd like to win. It was a tight run thing with Speccie voters breaking neck and neck until the final day of the poll. But with voting closing Trump has taken a slight lead and wins by 55 per cent to Kamala's 45. Not long to go until we find out if Spectator readers will be proved right.

Steerpike

Brits predict a Kamala win as Americans go to the polls

In a few hours, US election results will start to roll in, and while Britons this side of the pond have no say on the outcome they've been keen to give their opinions to prowling pollsters. New YouGov polling of 6,520 UK adults has revealed that almost four in ten Brits expect Kamala Harris to emerge victorious in this year's election – regardless of who they would personally prefer to win. The survey shows that 38 per cent of participants are predicting a Harris victory while just under a third of Brits (31 per cent) think Donald Trump will be elected president a second time. Not that the gamblers quite agree – as Steerpike's friends in the Speccies' data dungeon pointed out earlier, with money pouring in behind The Donald.

Steerpike

Five of Labour’s worst Trump attacks

The countdown is on, with just days left until the result of the US presidential election is announced. With pollsters across the world undecided about the likely outcome, Sir Keir's Starmer's government is trying to hedge its bets. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has insisted on the airwaves today that 'there will be a really good working relationship' between the Labour lot and Donald Trump if the former president emerges victorious – despite hordes of Labour volunteers travelling stateside to canvas for Kamala. But is there too much water under the bridge to repair relations?

Steerpike

Farage: Reform membership has surged since Badenoch win

At long last, the Tory leadership race concluded at the weekend after Kemi Badenoch was crowned victor on Saturday. But while the Conservatives finally have some semblance of stability with their newly-appointed leader and shadow cabinet, it's not all good news for the blues. Nigel Farage has now claimed that since Badenoch's weekend win, his party have seen a surge in membership figures. How very curious... Quizzed on LBC today about whether Reform has seen a boost in sign-ups, Farage insisted: Seeing it already. We’ve gone through 95,000 members this morning. So we’ve gone up 1,500 in the last three or four days. And these are Conservatives who are hanging on to see whether the party could change direction. For us as a party, it’s very good news.

Steerpike

Gamblers are putting their money on a Trump triumph

It’s polling day across the pond and Steerpike is keen to have a flutter. Opinion polling in the US election suggests the safe money is on Kamala Harris, but his fellow gamblers seem to be telling a different story. Data analysed by Mr S’s friends in the Speccies’ data dungeon shows money is pouring in behind The Donald. Trump has a nearly two thirds chance of returning to the White House in January, according to an analysis of implied probabilities. Do the punters know something the pundits don’t?

Monday

4 November 2024

Steerpike

Scots revealed to be biggest Trump fans in western Europe

In a rather surprising development, it transpires that Scottish people are Donald Trump's biggest fans in Europe. A Norstat poll for the Times has revealed that support for the US presidential candidate is higher north of the border than in the rest of the UK – and indeed western Europe. Who'd have thought it, eh? According to the survey, a quarter of Scottish adults back the former president for the win this week – while, of the rest of the country, just 16 per cent would throw their weight behind the ex-businessman. Italy is closest behind the Scots in terms of Trump hype, with 24 per cent of Italians hoping the Republican candidate sees victory.

Steerpike

Labour’s tuition fee U-turn

Dear oh dear. It now transpires that Starmer's army will increase university fees in line with inflation from September next year, as announced by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson in the Commons today. It's the first hike to tuition fees in eight years after university payments have remained frozen at £9,250 a year since 2017 – and accompanies growing concern about the financial state of the country's higher education institutions. The move, which Phillipson says is the 'first step' to reform of the sector, comes after Russell Group universities complained that the tuition fee cap means that they make a £4,000 loss per UK student – and will be accompanied by a slight increase in maintenance loans to help students with living costs.

Steerpike

Guardian removes Israeli whisky reference

Well, well, well. It seems that the Guardian, the self-proclaimed bastion of 'clarity and imagination', has been acting rather censoriously of late. It transpires that, in a column navigating the world's great whiskies by wine critic Henry Jeffreys, a reference to an Israeli single malt whisky was first removed from the print copy – before subsequently being deleted from the online version. How very curious. Taking to Twitter to point out the baffling omission, Jeffreys posted a screenshot showing which clearly showed his reference to Israel's M&H beverage. 'Even so, world whisky isn't going away any time soon,' the wine critic had written. 'The best offer something unique: Israel's M&H, for example, ages its whisky in old pomegranate wine casks in the heat of the Dead Sea.

Steerpike

Watch: Home Secretary flounders over small boats

Sir Keir Starmer's Labour lot are desperate to get the press and public talking about anything but the Budget this week – and so the issue of Channel crossings is where the Prime Minister is focusing his attention today. Yvette Cooper was quizzed on the airwaves this morning ahead of the PM's speech to Interpol's general assembly in Glasgow over Labour's small boat plans – but the Home Secretary seemed a little uncomfortable on the specifics... Grilled on BBC Breakfast, Cooper was asked when Labour expects to see a drop in the number of migrants crossing the Channel. 'We obviously want to make progress as far and as fast as possible,' the Home Secretary started, adding: 'We know of course it does take time to get the investigators in place.