Steerpike, Author at The Spectator

Friday

8 November 2024

BBC under fire over Amsterdam attack coverage

Football fans are known to get a little rowdy after a game, but the horror that broke out after the Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax game on Thursday night was an entirely different matter. As Jonathan Sacerdoti wrote for the Spectator today, hundreds of Jews were hunted and beaten by mobs after the game while videos of the violence quickly spread across social media, leaving users horrified at the Amsterdam attacks. Yet for some rather peculiar reason, mainstream broadcasters were not quite as fast to report on the matter as one might have expected – with the Beeb in particular notably slow to the news, with readers taking to Twitter to blast both the delay to the public service broadcaster's reporting and the language used to describe the attacks. Good heavens...

Steerpike

Labour appoints Chagos chief to run national security

In an uncertain age, who do you want keeping the nation safe? How about the guy who just bartered away the Chagos Islands? Yes, that's right, fresh from his Mauritian shenanigans, Jonathan Powell has today been announced as the new National Security Adviser in No.10. A former career diplomat, he famously served as Tony Blair's Chief of Staff throughout his ten years in Downing Street. And now, after a stint in banking and endless summitry around the world, he is back to help out a flailing Labour government once more. Powell's appointment is not without controversy. As well as the Chagos farrago, he was a sometimes divisive figure in the Good Friday peace talks. He replaces Tim Barrow, a civil service 'lifer', in the role, having been a special adviser when last he served in government.

Steerpike

Oxford Chancellor race in new transparency row

It's the election drama obsessing much of Westminster. No, not Donald v Kamala but rather the race to be Chancellor of the University of Oxford. The ten-month slug-fest began back in February when incumbent Chris Patten announced his intention to retire after 20 years. An early attempt to vet candidates by committee was blocked after claims of a 'stitch up', with 38 names eventually going forward to the first ballot. Sadly Imran Khan didn't make the cut... On Monday, the final five for the second ballot were named: peers William Hague, Peter Mandelson and Jan Royall alongside ex-MP Dominic Grieve and Elish Angiolini, who led the Everard inquiry. Yet four days on after that result, there is still no word about when the breakdown of votes will be announced.

Steerpike

What does a Trump victory mean for Prince Harry?

Dear oh dear. Donald Trump’s presidential victory has not thrilled everyone – and, Mr S suspects, least of all Prince Harry. The president-elect has suggested the royal could be, er, deported from the States. The suggestion came after the publication of Harry’s book Spare, in which the prince claimed he once dabbled with drugs like cocaine, cannabis and magic mushrooms. Under US law, a visa can be rejected if the person making the application has taken drugs – and Trump has suggested that Harry should not receive ‘special privileges’ if he was found to have lied on his visa form.

Thursday

7 November 2024

Steerpike

Is Rishi Sunak off already?

It's less than a week since he formally handed over the reins of power – but Rishi Sunak is wasting no time. On Wednesday, just five days after he formally resigned the leadership of the Conservative party, Sunak and his wife Akshata registered their latest venture on Companies House. The newly-incorporated 'Office of Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak Limited' follows similar vehicles being set up by Sunak's four Tory predecessors. David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss all established their own eponymous outlets shortly after leaving office. Clearly Sunak, the Peloton-loving premier, is in something of a hurry. Cameron waited a month after quitting as an MP to set up an office while May, Johnson and Truss all took a month or more after handing over the leadership.

Steerpike

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.