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
Well, well, well. SNP conference has gotten off to a rather, er, interesting start. As one might expect, the subject of independence has dominated the first day of the big meet-up in Aberdeen. The party’s strategy as laid out by First Minister John Swinney says that an SNP majority at next year’s Holyrood election would
To the north of Scotland, where in Aberdeen the SNP conference has begun. Activists are gathering, once again, to try and figure out how exactly Scotland might achieve independence after a decisive 2014 referendum, a Supreme Court slap down and, er, almost 20 years of substandard SNP rule. Best of luck, chaps! The party’s Westminster
It’s the SNP’s big weekend out as party members and politicians make the painstaking journey to Aberdeen for the nationalists’ annual conference. Just seven months away from next year’s Scottish parliament elections, the Nats will spend the weekend discussing campaign strategy, devolved policy and – you guessed it – independence. It would appear the talks
To BBC Question Time, where new leader of the Greens Zack Polanski spent much of the evening sparring with Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf. The lefty leader accused the Reform figure of being a ‘far-right, fascist’ that was obsessed with immigration while Yusuf accused Polanski of wanting a ‘communist economic system’ in a Britain where ‘it
To India, where Keir Starmer has met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the UK-India trade deal and learn more about the country’s digital ID scheme. But of course the curious matter of the China spy case collapse came up at today’s press conference as questions remain about why the charges against Chris Cash
After two years of war, both Hamas and the Israeli government have agreed to a ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump. The pact will see the remaining hostages released by Hamas and the bombing of Gaza to stop. British politicians of all stripes have lauded the deal, while Trump has been praised for
The Conservative party conference may be in full swing in Manchester but Reform UK’s politicians are still creating headlines. Deputy leader Richard Tice has given a rather punchy interview to Arabian Business during a trip to Dubai – in which he slated Britain’s immigration ‘disaster’, insisted a decline in the British work ethic was because
The Conservative party conference may be drawing to a close, but the fighting spirit of the Tories isn’t going anywhere. At the Spectator’s well-attended Scotland event this afternoon – ‘Can the Tories turn back the teal tide?’ – MPs Andrew Bowie and Harriet Cross were packing the punches. The story of the Scottish Tories isn’t
The Conservative party conference is in full swing in Manchester with plenty more speeches and fringe events to go. Despite being rather poorly attended this year, the atmosphere among members is not downbeat – although already Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has had to defend herself again some rather unfortunate poll results. A YouGov poll has
It’s not just Conservative politicians popping up at the Tory party conference this year: Labour’s Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has appeared at some fringe events to wax lyrical about the successes of devolution, his hopes for a Manchester tourist tax and reform of council tax. But just a week after the Labour Party conference,
The former prime minister may not be at Conservative party conference, but he’s still managing to create headlines. Boris Johnson has admitted he went ‘far too fast’ on net zero when he was PM, conceding he got ‘carried away’ about the idea that renewables could replace fossil fuels – in his most outspoken remarks on
To the Scottish Tory reception at Conservative Party conference, where leader Kemi Badenoch gave a rather punchy address before popping over to the Welsh Conservative event – her ‘second favourite devolved nation’, quipped Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay. Lauding Findlay, Badenoch expressed her admiration for how he has coped with the journalist crowd north of
The Tory conference parties are in full flow and the political speeches are underway. At the TaxPayers’ Alliance reception, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick was the speaker of choice – and he didn’t disappoint. Crowning himself the ‘drug mule’ of the party, Jenrick laughed about the Ozempic trend that has taken over London: I’ve managed
To Manchester, where politicians, members and delegates are gathering for the Conservative’s annual party conference. A number of speeches have taken place on the main stage today, including that of shadow home secretary Chris Philp. The Tory MP focused on his party’s migration policy this afternoon – and surprised delegates with his announcement that, if
In Manchester, a vigil is taking place after Thursday’s horrific terror attack left two people killed and three seriously injured in hospital. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to do ‘everything’ in his power to protect Jewish people in Britain, condemning the ‘horrific’ terror attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
What was your reaction to the attack on a synagogue in Manchester yesterday? Most right thinking people, you’d hope, simply recoiled in horror and dread on hearing the news that two Jews had been killed and three seriously injured in a terrorist attack on British soil. For the ‘The Centre for Media Monitoring’ (CfMM), an
The country is still reeling from the horrific attack that took place at a Manchester synagogue on Thursday morning. The car and knife attack left two victims dead and three seriously injured in hospital, while the suspect was shot and killed by police. More details have come to light since then: police have said they
Out with old and in with the new. MI6 boss Sir Richard Moore is packing in the clandestine activities for a less secret but perhaps more diplomatic life – hopefully not following too closely in Lord Scandelson’s footsteps. After five years in the role, Moore is stepping aside for Blaise Metreweli – or ‘C’, as
Well, well, well. It transpires that NHS Fife – the health board caught up in the Sandie Peggie trans tribunal case – has now U-turned on its toilet policy. After the nurse took NHS Fife to a tribunal over her suspension for complaining about having to share a changing room with a transwoman, it turns
Whisper it, but there’s a name on everyone’s lips at Labour conference. A man who clearly seems to be going places – if we look at the sheer number of times he’s been cited in Liverpool. Who is this whippersnapper? A young socialist exciting the grassroots? A rising cabinet star? Errr, not exactly: it’s Nigel Farage,
