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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It’s the first day back in parliament after recess and already Labour splits are starting to emerge. Now it transpires that the party’s MP for Poole, Neil Duncan-Jordan, has tabled an early day motion to delay the changes to the winter fuel allowance – which his government controversially plans to means test. In order to
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Political artwork has rather dominated the headlines of late. After Sir Keir’s peculiar opposition to the ‘unsettling’ painting of his predecessor Margaret Thatcher, Mr S has been interested in learning more about what artwork is deemed acceptable to the Labour lot. Via a Freedom of Information request, Steerpike can now reveal which Parliamentary Art Collection works adorn
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The SNP’s 90th party conference has finally wrapped up in Scotland, after the Nats spent a long weekend discussing their flailing party’s fortunes. Support for the party has been on the decline since the pandemic, with its latest leader John Swinney presiding over a rather disastrous general election result that saw his party left with
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To Downing Street, where a painting of a former prime minister has been causing quite a stir lately. Sir Keir Starmer found himself at loggerheads with a number of Conservative politicians last week when it transpired the Labour PM had removed a portrait of Margaret Thatcher from the former No. 10 study – after he’d
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As the SNP conference weekend kicks off, another Scottish story is starting to take shape. It has emerged that detectives north of the border are now investigating allegations that a senior civil servant gave a false statement under oath to an inquiry into sexual misconduct allegations involving Alex Salmond. Edinburgh’s Court of Session was informed today
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To the new Labour government, where the spotlight is on Jess Phillips and her rather extraordinary revelation. It transpires that in a recent ‘in conversation’ event, Phillips rather overshared – admitting to skipping a choc-a-bloc NHS queue because of, er, how she voted on a Gaza ceasefire. When that became a secret hack to better
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Another day, another Sue Gray-related drama. Now Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff has come under fire over yet another prospective government appointment. It transpires that Gray is reportedly in favour of making Daniel Gieve, a senior civil servant who worked alongside her at the Cabinet Office, Starmer’s principal private secretary – a top job
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Keir Starmer wasted no time on entering 10 Downing Street in appointing his cabinet that same day. But taking longer are the junior ministerial posts – some still vacant – and the appointment of special advisers. Such aides often get a bad rep around Westminster, thanks, in part to the mythology of The Thick Of
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To Downing Street, where it appears the new Prime Minister isn’t having the most pleasant of premierships. Sir Keir Starmer has been in the top job for less than two months – and yet he’s already facing a cronyism row that doesn’t appear to be disappearing. Despite the resignation of Labour donor Ian Corfield from
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Well, well, well. It seems Sir Keir Starmer wasn’t exaggerating about his ‘change’ agenda. It now transpires that the new Prime Minister has taken it upon himself to redecorate parts of No. 10 – and has reportedly gone so far as to remove a portrait of Margaret Thatcher from Downing Street. Talk about a Labour
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It looks like there could be bad news again for smokers ahead of the return of parliament in September. Already Starmer’s stubbers have committed to resurrecting the last government’s pledge to ban smoking completely for those born after 2009, as part of a phased roll-out which would see ordinary members of the public ID’d at
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It’s the Tory race on everyone’s lips. No, not the battle to be the next party leader but rather the contest to chair the Conservatives’ National Convention. The body effectively serves as the parliament of the voluntary party and is contested annually, with chairmen elected for three year terms and subject to re-selection every year.
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At long last, it’s finally here. After five days of media trails, Keir Starmer’s equivalent of the Gettysburg Address will be made later today. The scintillating socialist will be doing a press conference in the Downing Street garden, with his address expected to feature such hard-hitting lines as – gasp – he will people ‘at
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Congratulations to the artist formerly known as Lorraine Kelly, for taking the gong for this weekend’s most tasteless media appearance. Having repeatedly failed to turn up to host her own show on ITV, the self-styled ‘chatty persona’ decided to take a turn on a rival channel, pitching up to Times Radio on Saturday for an
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It’s just 50 days since Keir Starmer took office – so it’s impressive he’s already embroiled in a sleaze row. Amid the growing number of controversies about political appointees, the Sunday Times today features an intriguing story as its front page splash. ‘No. 10 pass for Labour donor who gave £500k’ screams the headline, which
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Oh dear. Tory leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat has been rather excited about all the support he’s received from his counterparts north of the border. So far almost a third of the 31 Scottish Conservative MSPs have backed Tugendhat – and in his excitement to announce his latest supporters, the Tory contender’s team accidentally, um, fabricated
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The Beeb is no stranger to controversy, and now pro-independence Scottish newspaper the National is on the warpath. The editor of the secessionist journal has taken to Twitter to fume after the BBC’s business editor described her august paper as ‘propaganda’ multiple times on one of the broadcaster’s own podcasts. Talk about saying the quiet
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The eco-zealots never do manage to stay quiet for long. After Levelling-Up Secretary Angela Rayner approved the expansion of operations at London City Airport earlier this week – in a rebuke to the Labour-run Newham Council attempting to block it – the Green party has launched its latest protest. But the eco-activists would do better
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If it’s not Just Stop Oil eco-zealots causing havoc, it’s the animal rights activists creating a fuss. Now it transpires that Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is on the warpath – about, er, paint names. Just when you think things can’t get much weirder… Peta – which ‘opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview’
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Oh dear. It seems that all is not well in Leeds. Former Tory MP for Leeds South West and Morley, Dame Andrea Jenkyns, has taken to Facebook today to slam the ‘insensitivity’ of the constituency’s new MP, Labour’s Mark Sewards. It seems that cross-party relations are only, er, souring… Jenkyns slammed her ‘classless’ successor for
