Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from London and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk.

Tugendhat’s ‘disgusting and yellow’ Lib Dem jibe

1 October 2024 1:19 am

The first of the official Tory leadership hustings kicked off today with Tom Tugendhat in the hotseat. The former security…

Jenrick mocks Starmer’s ‘unserious’ government

30 September 2024 10:20 pm

To Birmingham, where the Conservative party conference is in full swing. As well as the formal leadership hustings taking place…

JK Rowling defends Duffield against ‘numbskulls’

30 September 2024 8:27 pm

All is not well in the Labour party. Not only is Sir Keir still dealing with the freebie fiasco, Starmer…

Poll: young ex-Tories won’t return to party in 2029

30 September 2024 7:28 pm

There’s an oddly upbeat mood here at Tory party conference in Birmingham. You might have thought that with just 121…

Labour points finger at Tories over donations

30 September 2024 9:20 am

Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party’s conference was mired in his freebie fiasco scandal after revelations about clothing donations and trips…

‘Absolute chancer’: new Scottish Tory leader blasts Farage

30 September 2024 3:53 am

While one Tory leadership contest rumbles on, another has come to a close. Russell Findlay was made the new leader…

Which Tory contender has the best conference stall?

29 September 2024 8:11 pm

Welcome to Tory conference 2024. For the next four days, the final quartet of contenders will battle it out, Hunger…

Watch: BBC is forced to fact check itself

28 September 2024 7:39 pm

Amid a wave of BBC cutbacks, the Corporation has made much of its new ‘Verify’ service. Bosses have trumpeted its…

Whatever happened to the ‘Office of Deputy PM’?

28 September 2024 1:46 am

Poor old Angela Rayner. It seems she is not too happy about reports that she is being ‘frozen out’ of…

Watch: JSO protestors attack more Van Gogh paintings

28 September 2024 1:42 am

It didn’t take long for the eco-zealots to strike again. Just minutes after Just Stop Oil activists Phoebe Plummer and…

Labour climate envoy sports Extinction Rebellion badge

27 September 2024 10:02 pm

When it rains for Sir Keir Starmer, it pours. Labour isn’t yet in the clear over the freebie fiasco that…

Russell Findlay becomes Scottish Tory leader

27 September 2024 9:09 pm

The first of two Conservative leadership contests has concluded and today it has been announced that the new leader of…

Boris gave Prince ‘manly pep talk’ to keep him in UK

27 September 2024 7:09 pm

Well, well, well. When the monarchs of Montecito decided to cut ties with the UK and live stateside, Prince Harry…

Trump on Starmer: ‘I actually think he’s very nice’

27 September 2024 5:40 pm

After months of diary-juggling, Keir Starmer finally got his meeting with the man who could be the next US President.…

Abbott slams Starmer’s cabinet, one by one

26 September 2024 11:33 pm

,All is not well in the Labour party at present. If Sir Keir Starmer didn’t have enough on his plate,…

Labour MP’s million-pound loan from Lord Alli

26 September 2024 8:51 pm

Another day, another drama. Now it transpires that a Labour MP took a million-pound loan from Lord Alli – to…

Labour conference votes to reverse Starmer’s winter fuel cuts

25 September 2024 10:17 pm

Keir Starmer’s first Labour conference as Prime Minister has ended in humiliation after delegates backed a motion condemning cuts to…

Starmer uses son’s exams as excuse for freebies

25 September 2024 9:19 pm

Labour’s freebie fiasco isn’t going away. Sir Keir Starmer has prompted more headlines by suggesting he took thousands of pounds…

Reform exodus continues in professionalisation drive

25 September 2024 5:38 am

The ravens really are leaving the tower. In recent months, Reform has been turbo-charging its professionalisation drive, working to set…

Watch: Starmer heckled by pro-Gaza protestor

25 September 2024 1:33 am

It’s day three of Labour conference, and Sir Keir’s has just delivered his much anticipated keynote speech. The Prime Minister…

Watch: Starmer calls for the return of ‘the sausages’ from Gaza

25 September 2024 12:39 am

Oops. After his first Labour conference as Prime Minister was overshadowed by power struggles in No. 10 and the growing…

Pat McFadden’s bizarre Reform rant

24 September 2024 11:55 pm

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s address a number of Cabinet ministers are savouring the last full day of their party…

Is Labour sidelining Keir Starmer’s oracy drive?

24 September 2024 11:29 pm

Back in September last year, Labour leader Keir Starmer unveiled his party’s flagship education policy: a drive for oracy, or…

Yvette Cooper slams Reform as ‘right-wing wreckers’

24 September 2024 9:06 pm

To the Labour party conference, where Starmer’s army is celebrating its first meet as a part of government in over…

Labour MP: regulate media to ‘make Starmer’s job easier’

24 September 2024 4:36 am

To Liverpool, where all the wit and wisdom of Sir Keir’s Labour party is gathered. Starmer’s army has come to…