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

Thursday

Steerpike

Police drop probe into Allison Pearson

At last, an outbreak of common sense from Essex Police. After a mounting backlash – with Boris Johnson, Elon Musk and Nigel Farage expressing their dismay – the boys in blue have decided to drop their investigation into Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson. The Crown Prosecution Service advised that no charges should be brought against Pearson after reviewing the case, with Essex Police concluding that no further action would thus be taken. At last... The announcement today comes ten days after two police officers called at Pearson's home at 9.40am on Remembrance Sunday to tell her she was under investigation and invited her to a voluntary interview. She was told, however, that the officers were not allowed to disclose the specific focus of the inquiry.

Steerpike

Starmer’s spinner squirms on Netanyahu arrest

It's a day ending in 'y' – so it's more bad news for the government. This afternoon the men and women of HM Loyal Press Gallery trooped over to No. 10 for their lobby briefing with Starmer's superannuated spinners. Unfortunately, it seems, no-one in the ever-expanding comms team had actually worked out a line on the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu. Whoops! A spokesman for the Prime Minister insisted that the government 'respects' the 'independence' of the ICC but that it is now a 'domestic legal process'. So, what exactly does said process entail? It turns out that, er, no-one is exactly sure. The hapless spokesman declined to give any details about what the 'domestic legal process' entailed and insisted that No.

Steerpike

Watch: Six of the best Prezza moments

RIP John Prescott. The Labour heavyweight kept much of Fleet Street in business throughout the noughties, indulging in various antics that inspired endless tabloid headlines. 'Two Jags', 'two jabs', 'two shags' and even 'two lavs' were some of the nicknames bestowed upon him – with the latter being a reference to the multiple toilet seats he claimed on parliamentary expenses. A true working class socialist, caught in an age of 24/7 media, Prezza delighted the cameras throughout his time in office. Below are six of John Prescott's best moments, caught on camera for all to enjoy... Punching a protester We start with the most famous moment of all: the political equivalent to Sonny Liston on the canvas.

Wednesday

Steerpike

Jon Sopel’s Twitter U-turn

Dear oh dear. The left-wing Twitter scourge hasn't gone quite as well as users may have hoped. Following Donald Trump's victory at the start of the month and the resultant appointment of Twitter CEO Elon Musk as co-leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, a number of 'right on' tweeters decided to jump ship to new social media platform Bluesky. Yet it hasn't gone quite as smoothly as they'd hoped… Prominent Twitter commentators including Owen Jones, James O'Brien and Jess Phillips MP have all declared their intention to start using the alternative Bluesky platform in favour of Musk's machine. It's not been quite as easy a transition for some as it has for others, however.

Steerpike

Why is the BBC staying silent on Reeves’s CV claims?

Rachel Reeves remains in the spotlight after weeks of scrutiny over her rather curious CV claims. Mr S documented the full timeline of events on Tuesday and it is really quite something – with the Chancellor's former role at Halifax Bank of Scotland first coming under scrutiny before attention was drawn to previous assertions she'd made about how long she spent at the Bank of England. The whole matter has caused such a stir that shadow paymaster general Richard Holden has now written to Reeves with a warning that ‘the allegations that your CV might not be accurate…would raise significant concerns about your ability to be honest with the British public.’ Indeed.

Tuesday

Steerpike

Watch: Clarkson blasts BBC in farmers’ protest interview

Thousands of farmers descended on Westminster this morning to protest the Labour government's new inheritance tax plans. As protesters brandished placards and called for the Chancellor to row back on her proposals, some rather famous faces were seen in the crowds – with former Top Gear presenter and now Clarkson's Farm host Jeremy Clarkson amongst those spotted. The BBC was quick to grab the TV icon for an interview on the issue – but the broadcaster may have got a little more than it bargained for… Refusing to play ball with the Beeb, Clarkson was fast to blast Victoria Derbyshire over her line of questioning.

Steerpike

Watch: Mandelson urges PM to end ‘feud’ with Musk

Well, well, well. Picking a fight with Elon Musk is hardly the wisest decision Sir Keir Starmer's Labour lot have made so far, especially given the new job the Twitter CEO has been awarded by Donald Trump. With Musk set to become co-leader of the president-elect's Department of Government Efficiency, the UK Prime Minister might want to start figuring out how to repair relations with the US tech billionaire – and now even some on his own side are urging Starmer to make amends… Speaking on Times Radio's How to win an election podcast today, Peter Mandelson has today urged the PM to 'engage' with Musk – 'rapidly, directly, personally'.

Steerpike

Full timeline: Rachel Reeves’s CV claims

Dear oh dear. Rachel Reeves has ended up in something of a pickle over her employment history, with the Chancellor under fire over whether she has been straight with the public about her economist background. Certainly after that Budget, Mr S is hardly surprised eyebrows are being raised… Pressure has been piling on Reeves for weeks, with questions arising around exactly how long she worked at various institutions, exactly what she worked as and whether she has been playing fast and loose with the truth of the matter. As the curious case of the Labour MP’s CV rumbles on, Steerpike has pulled together a list of exactly which of her claims have been challenged when.

Steerpike

Scottish Labour leader pushes back on winter fuel payment cut

While farmers gather in Westminster today to protest Labour's Budget, it appears that north of the border Scottish Labour also have doubts about aspects of Rachel Reeves's fiscal statement. Party leader Anas Sarwar has now vowed he will bring back the universal winter fuel payment for pensioners in a pushback against a cut brought about by, er, his own party in government. How very interesting… Speaking to the Daily Record, Sarwar today insisted: 'A Scottish Labour government will reinstate the winter fuel payment for pensioners in Scotland.

Monday

Steerpike

SNP in new civil war over double jobs

Ding ding ding! All is not well in the SNP as the Nats are back to fighting among themselves over the issue of double jobs. Last week Westminster leader Stephen Flynn announced that he will stand in the 2026 Holyrood election – and, if successful, he will also continue on in his existing MP role. But the move has sparked outrage among previous and current nationalist politicians alike, with anonymous briefings and social media attacks throwing the party into yet another civil war. Oh dear… Flynn's plan to stand for the Aberdeen South and North Kincardine seat has not been universally welcomed – not least given the incumbent SNP MSP Audrey Nicoll is also hoping to stand again.

Steerpike

British Sikhs blast Starmer’s ‘incompetence’

Another day, another Downing Street drama. This time No. 10 is in trouble with the British Sikh community after it transpired its social media accounts failed to acknowledge the religious festival of Gurpurb last week. Now over 300 Sikh groups have addressed a scathing letter to the Prime Minister, blasting Sir Keir Starmer's blunder as 'indefensible'. Oh dear… While the social media accounts of world leaders and political organisations – including the Labour party itself – marked the 555th birthday of the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak, from Downing Street there was nothing but deafening silence.

Friday

Steerpike

Amy Lamé embarrasses herself – again

After eight years of poorly serving the capital, there was relief from London taxpayers last month when Amy Lamé announced she was standing down as Sadiq Khan's 'Night Czar'. On her watch, dozens of clubs, pubs and bars closed down, all the while she continued to enjoy inflation-busting pay rises. It was Mr S who broke the news last year that Khan had handed her a 40 per cent wage increase, with her final salary being eventually more than £132,000 a year. So much for performance relayed pay eh? Lamé is no longer claiming a taxpayer salary – but she still continues to embarrass herself. This afternoon it was announced that the popular London nightclub Heaven has been closed on public safety grounds. Why, you ask?

Steerpike

SNP health secretary embroiled in expenses debacle

To Scotland, where the Nats are once again under scrutiny over expenses claims. It now transpires that not only had SNP health secretary Neil Gray been using ministerial cars to take him to sports matches, he took relatives in the vehicle with him too. The last time Mr S checked, acting 'in line with government duties' did not involve bringing family along on the job… Gray came under fire after the Sunday Mail revealed the Aberdeen FC fan had been chauffeured to a number of his team's games between November 2023 and May 2024. After pressure on Gray ramped up, the cabinet minister opted on Thursday to make a statement on his use of the public purse in Holyrood. Lamenting the optics of the situation, the separatist admitted to parliamentarians: It is a matter of regret to me.

Steerpike

Failed ex-FM claims Musk ‘scours’ his messages

Hapless Humza Yousaf certainly picks his battles – and this week the former first minister has taken aim at Elon Musk. On a Tortoise media podcast, Yousaf rather pompously claimed that the tech billionaire was part of a campaign to 'besmirch' his reputation and insisted he was 'certain' the Twitter CEO had access to his private messages on the social media app. Er, right. Talk about delusions of grandeur, eh? When quizzed on whether he believed the Twitter owner had private message access, Yousaf was adamant to listeners: I’m certain he absolutely does and I’m certain he scours the private messages of those that he sees as a threat.

Steerpike

Chagos latest: Mauritian ex-PM banned from leaving country

The circumstances of David Lammy’s Chagos deal get murkier and murkier. This week, the incumbent Mauritian government went to the polls – and got roundly thrashed. Pravind Jugnauth’s MSM party won just two of the 62 seats in parliament, with the Labour party taking the other 60. Now, five days after losing office, the Mauritian press is reporting allegations that Jugnauth is banned from leaving the country. It is the latest extraordinary claim in an alleged wire-tapping scandal that could derail the UK-Mauritian agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands. It follows the revelations of Sherry Singh, the former CEO of Mauritius Telecom, which highlighted Jugnauth’s alleged involvement in the acquisition and installation of illegal listening devices.

Steerpike

Led by Donkeys gets it wrong (again)

Good old Remainiacs: where would be without them? It is eight years now since the UK voted to quit the EU and nearly five since we actually left – but a small band of Hiroo Onoda-impressionists are still refusing to accept those basic facts. Chief among them is 'Led by Donkeys', the self-identifying 'satirists' who claim to bravely be speaking truth to power. Now it hasn't escaped Steerpike's attention that the group is extremely selective in who it judges to be the powerful. The group tends to pick Tories as its targets, such as ex-MP Liz Truss, rather than, er, the actual Labour government who run this country today. Still, at least they could get the 'truth' part right eh? Sadly not, it seems. For the latest Led by Donkeys campaign takes aim at the monarchy.

Steerpike

Downing Street finally apologises for Diwali debacle

Oh dear. It is more than a week since Steerpike broke the news of Downing Street's Diwali debacle. Many Hindu attendees at the No. 10 reception were horrified to be served alcohol and meat at the event, which aimed to improve the links between Labour and the British Indian community. When Mr S first Downing Street on this story there was no apology, despite multiple requests for comment. But now the government line belatedly has changed. Eight days after the story broke, No. 10 has now issued a grovelling statement admitting its error: A mistake was made in the organisation of the event. We understand the strength of feeling on this issue and so would apologise to the community and assure them it will not happen again.

Thursday

Steerpike

Parliament shells out £900k on cobblestones

Whether it's falling masonry or rats, staff in the Houses of Parliament have to put up with a lot in their workplace. Since 2020 they have to endure the daily delight of navigating New Palace Yard in various states of repair. Parly bosses boast that this is to 'deliver better and more inclusive accessibility, enhanced security, improved vehicular access as well as optimising and preserving the heritage of this historical part of the Palace of Westminster.' Fair enough – but are they really getting bang for their buck? Mr S has done some digging to try to unearth the cost of four years of work.

Steerpike

Watch: Haka protest disrupts New Zealand’s parliament

To New Zealand, where parliamentary proceedings have become rather, er, heated during discussions on the Treaty Principles Bill. During a debate about the relationship between Māori and the crown tabled by the libertarian Act party – in which the minority coalition partner is seeking to remove principles from the treaty of Waitangi that protect Māori rights – parliament was suspended after Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke led a haka in opposition to the bill. It's certainly one way to protest… Here's a better angle that shows the @Maori_Party performing the haka right up in David Seymour's face.He looks shit scared. https://t.co/VM0Qx76P34 pic.twitter.

Steerpike

Clifton Suspension Bridge quits Musk’s Twitter

First they came for the Guardian, and then they came for the Clifton Suspension Bridge. In a move that will surely come as a blow to tech billionaire Elon Musk's global social media platform, the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Museum has announced that it too will boycott the online messaging site over a 'rise in appropriate content'. Announcing the move on, er, Twitter, the organisation lamented: X (formerly known as Twitter) has been a wonderful place to engage with our audience over the past 15 years. But the changes made to the platform in recent times have caused us to reconsider our use of it. With the rise in inappropriate content and decrease in meaningful engagement with our followers, we have chosen to no longer post to this account. Golly.