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
From our UK edition
With only four weeks to go until the general election, party campaigns are rapidly ramping up. Politicians and staffers are desperately searching for more creative (and crazy) ways of getting voters' attention — and north of the border the Nats have mobilised the musical wing of their party. Taylor Swift is in town for the start of the UK leg of her Eras tour and the SNP’s Swift-mania is in overdrive.
From our UK edition
Oh dear. The story of the day may well become the story of the election campaign as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struggles to explain why he missed part of Thursday's D-day commemorations in Normandy to film a pre-recorded ITV interview. On Friday morning, Suank apologised on Twitter for snubbing aspects of the 80th anniversary events — which were attended by a number of international leaders including France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Olaf Scholz and President Biden — and at lunchtime the PM eventually faced the cameras. A solemn Sunak told journalists: I've participated in a number of events, in Portsmouth and France, to honour those who risked their lives to defend our freedom and our values 80 years ago.
From our UK edition
As the general election date creeps ever closer, the Green party has found itself in hot water. It transpires that the eco-zealots are currently investigating almost 20 candidates over ‘antisemitic’ insults and conspiracy theories — and party officials have a dossier of dirt on the parliamentary hopefuls. Oh dear... In the latest election scandal, it turns out that the Green party is looking into candidates who have suggested the 7 October attack by Hamas was planned by Israel and compared Zionism to cancer.
From our UK edition
Politics took a back seat on Thursday as the great and good of the British establishment marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer took a break from election campaigning to head to Normandy, where they joined the King and other world leaders in commemorating the occasion. But when the time came for the official photographs in the afternoon with Joe Biden, Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron, it was Lord Cameron, not Rishi Sunak, who did the honours for Britain. So why was the Foreign Secretary left to pose for pictures with the three heads of government, rather than the Prime Minister? The answer could lie in an interview which Sunak chose to do with ITV shortly after returning from the commemorations on Thursday afternoon.
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As election day looms closer, parliamentary candidates continue to wreak havoc on party campaigns. This time Labour is in the spotlight over the issue of national security, defence and, specifically, its position on Trident — one of the issues on which the public rate the Tories over Starmer’s army. Sir Keir Starmer promised his party would ensure a ‘nuclear triple lock’ — which would maintain Britain’s continuous at-sea deterrent (CASD). The Labour leader is keen to hammer home how his party’s stance on nuclear weapons has changed since the Corbyn era, after Jezza caused controversy with his unwavering opposition to nukes.
From our UK edition
It's been a long hard slog for Keir Starmer and his team as they work to prove that he leads a Changed Labour party (honest). But in a bid to prove his patriotism, has one Starmtrooper now taken it too far? Mr S has previously been impressed with Keir Cozens, the well-connected candidate for Great Yarmouth, who has made a name for himself with his snazzy Labour posters and slick graphics. But now it seems Cozens has overreached himself with his latest social media effort. In his bid to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Cozens shared a graphic of soldiers about to land in Normandy emblazoned with his own campaign slogan titled 'Keir Cozens for Great Yarmouth.' The Reform party was quick to jump on it.
From our UK edition
Back to Scotland, where some rather strange events are unfolding. The leader of the Scottish Conservatives Douglas Ross — who most recently was the MP for Moray, alongside being MSP for the Highlands and Islands — this morning brought media from across the country together for an emergency announcement. After months of pledging to step down as a Tory MP, Ross has revealed he will now stand in the new seat of Aberdeenshire North and Moray East. But Ross's announcement has been met with a rather large backlash — not least because his party has effectively deselected his colleague David Duguid, who is currently in hospital with a spinal illness.
From our UK edition
Oh dear. As election campaigns ramp up, the Tories have found themselves in another spot of trouble. It transpires today that the Conservatives accepted another £5 million donation from donor Frank Hester — the Yorkshire businessman who back in March was condemned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for his ‘wrong’ and ‘racist’ remarks about Labour politician Diane Abbott. Talk about a lack of contrition... Hester faced intense criticism after it emerged he had told colleagues at work that looking at Abbott makes ‘you just want to hate all black women because she’s there’ and that ‘she should be shot’.
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Oh dear. As the Conservative £2,000 tax claim continues to implode, poor Bim Afolami has been sent out on the airwaves to prop up his party. Only Sky News aren’t taking his defence quite as well as he might have hoped. ‘How much has tax gone up under the Conservatives over the last parliament term, per household?’ Sky News’s Sophie Ridge quizzed the former Tory politician. ‘Well it’s difficult to calculate,’ Alofami confessed, before his interviewer stepped in again. ‘I’ll give you the answer,’ Rigby replied. ‘Since 2019, according to our Economics Data Editor Ed Colway and analysing OBR figures, taxes have gone up £13,000 per household since 2019. £2,000 sounds like a bit of a bargain in comparison, doesn’t it?
From our UK edition
Well, well, well. The gloves are off in the election campaign after Rishi Sunak accused his Labour opponent Keir Starmer of plotting a £2,000 tax grab. Both Conservative and Labour politicians have launched into heated post-match analysis following that claim which was made in Tuesday night's ITV leaders' debate — and they've taken their spin to the airwaves this morning. Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth was one of the Labour spinners hard at work in the ITV press room on Tuesday evening and has continued the job on today's morning round. Talking to LBC's Nick Ferrari, Ashworth blasted the Prime Minister for 'lying' about Labour's tax plans in a scathing tirade: The reality is Rishi Sunak lied last night.
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Another day, another drama. Labour has been thrown back into the spotlight after deselected candidate Faiza Shaheen today announced her resignation from Sir Keir’s party in a rather scathing — and detailed — Twitter post. Shaheen was originally the selected for the Chingford and Woodford Green seat — but just last week, the left-wing candidate was ditched by party apparatchiks after reportedly liking social media posts that downplayed accusations of antisemitism. Hauled to a meeting with the party’s NEC, Shaheen was quizzed over her social media conduct before being dropped by Starmer’s army. The ex-candidate has certainly not kept quiet about her disappointment, lambasting Labour on BBC Newsnight last week: ‘Honestly I’m so shocked right now to be treated this badly.
From our UK edition
Reform’s new leader Nigel Farage has been busy wooing crowds in Clacton as he launched his election campaign in the Essex seaside constituency this lunchtime. But the visit didn't go off without a hitch for poor Nige, whose trip was rather rudely ruined by a bystander who threw a drink at the politician as he left a local pub. The former Ukip leader was leaving Clacton’s Wetherspoons, the Moon & Starfish, when one decidedly disgruntled member of the public chose to make their feelings towards Reform's newest candidate known. In what appears to be an attempted repeat of 2019’s milkshake attack — in which Farage was doused in the sugary substance by an unimpressed Geordie — the Reform founder had a similar run-in today.
From our UK edition
Back to the blundering BBC, whose latest mishap involves one of the broadcaster’s cricket pundits. Qasim Sheikh, formerly a Scotland international cricketer and a new addition to the Beeb's sports commentator team, has been accused of antisemitism after sharing some rather controversial social media posts — including an image of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with an Adolf Hilter moustache. So much for impartiality… The picture showed Sunak with other world leaders — including German chancellor Olaf Scholz, president Biden and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu — with flags on their foreheads and moustaches on their upper lips.
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Another day, another Conservative campaign gaffe. This time it involves Education Secretary Gillian Keegan who has enthusiastically thrown her support behind the Tory candidate for Winchester, Flick Drummond. And so excited was Keegan about Drummond’s prospects she turned up to the launch event, um, several hours early. Talk about getting ahead of yourself... Drummond’s launch event was actually scheduled for 2.30pm on Tuesday afternoon, leaving a rather confused Secretary of State with some unanticipated free time on her hands this morning. Recovering quickly from her false start, Keegan decided to spend her morning talking up Drummond anyway — who was most recently the Tory MP for Meon Valley, split up by the latest boundary changes.
From our UK edition
Oh dear. It's been another bad day for the Tories. Shortly after Nigel Farage announced his return as leader of Reform, the first YouGov MRP poll of 50,000 voters dropped, showing Sunak's party down to just 140 seats. But for one Conservative, things were about to get even worse. As Sky's Sam Coates discussed the MRP poll on air, his phone rang and his Apple Watch lit up. On it was emblazoned the name of Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary. At Sophy Ridge's insistence, Coates took the call, as the camera kept on rolling. 'Hello Grant Shapps', he said. 'You’re live on Sky News.' Amid background muttering and laughing from Shapps, Coates told him 'I’m in the studio with Sophy Ridge. Have you seen you’re about to lose your seat, according to the Sky News-YouGov projection?
From our UK edition
Can anything go right on Rishi Sunak's magical mystery tour? Nothing seems to be going right for the Prime Minister as he campaigns around the country, seeking to overturn Labour's 20-point lead in the polls. Whether it's attendees rolling their eyes on camera or an ill-advised trip to Belfast's Titanic Quarter, the PM often seems to attract headlines for all the wrong reasons. So Mr S was not surprised to see the local Lib Dems making the most out of a visit by the PM to Leander rowing club in Henley-upon-Thames. As Sunak chatted away to locals, a Lib Dem vessel came motoring past behind him, with attendees on board cheekily waving large orange signs.
From our UK edition
Labour is out this morning insisting they can be trusted with national security – honest! Keir Starmer's latest wheeze is a 'nuclear deterrent triple lock' aimed at giving a 'total commitment to securing the UK's future nuclear deterrent.' Such a ground-breaking policy includes such prior commitments as, er, upgrading the current fleet, maintaining a continuous at-sea deterrent and the construction of four new nuclear submarines at Barrow-in-Furness. Indeed, the only thing that seems new about Labour's big nuclear announcement is its sheer chutzpah. For at least a dozen members of Starmer's own hand-picked shadow cabinet have previously voted against renewing Trident – including his chosen man to be Foreign Secretary, David Lammy.
From our UK edition
The SNP will soon have more election campaign launch events than predicted Westminster seats if it continues at the rate it is going. The party's latest launch — the third this year — was held in the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Glasgow on Sunday afternoon, where party activists and political candidates gathered to hear a series of speeches ahead of the looming general election. Marketing itself as the party of ‘change’ (Mr S doesn’t have to look far to know where that’s been stolen from), the Nats slammed ‘continuity Keir’ as the ‘most right-wing Conservative Labour leader’ to date.
From our UK edition
The Tories have continued their habit of making a big election pledge at 10:30 p.m every weekend. Last time, it was the reintroduction of national service; this week it is their plans to overhaul the Equality Act. Yes, that's right, after 14 years in government, the Conservatives have finally decided that it might be worth taking a look at one of the most contentious pieces of legislation which Labour passed in its dying days of office. Better late than never eh... The Tories claim that if they are re-elected they will amend the Equality Act in order to make clear that the protected characteristic of sex is ‘biological sex’.
From our UK edition
Oh dear. It seems that Diane Abbott has outmanoeuvred Keir Starmer once again. Week one of Labour's much-vaunted election campaign has been overshadowed by the row over the status of the Hackney North MP. Having lost the Labour whip in April 2023 for her ill-judged Observer letter, Abbott's status was still unresolved when the campaign began ten days ago. Following the BBC's revelation on Tuesday that the investigation into Abbott had actually concluded back in December, Keir Starmer was forced to endure three days of questions about appropriate action before declaring on Friday that she was ‘free to go forward as a Labour candidate’.