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.

Watch: Tetchy Starmer wriggles over Rayner’s tax affairs

12 April 2024 2:37 am

Angela Rayner appears unable to shake off questions about her tax affairs — literally. And now in an interview with…

Reform apologises for not realising candidate had died

11 April 2024 11:15 pm

Uh oh. Reform UK has not had an easy ride with its general election candidates, to put it mildly. Richard…

JK Rowling won’t forgive Harry Potter actors for trans stance

11 April 2024 9:30 pm

All is not well in the Harry Potter universe. Author of the hit wizarding novels and prominent women’s rights campaigner…

Boris lashes out at Rishi’s ‘mad’ smoking ban

11 April 2024 6:57 pm

Oh dear. Having his leadership questioned is becoming an almost-daily occurrence for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. When he announced he…

Watch: Canadian MPs sing God Save the King after constitutional motion defeat

11 April 2024 6:13 pm

Well, well, well. In a turn of events that is good news for Canada’s monarchists, a motion that would have…

Who are the Westminster honeytrap targets?

9 April 2024 10:59 pm

The honeytrap scandal is the talk of the town as politicians, staffers, advisers and even journalists working in Westminster have…

Amnesty laments death of Palestinian torture group leader

9 April 2024 9:19 pm

One might expect a global human rights organisation to wholeheartedly condemn a man involved in the brutal torture of a…

David Cameron meets Trump at Mar-a-Lago

9 April 2024 5:30 pm

As the US elections draw ever closer, Donald Trump is back in the spotlight. Last night, David Cameron met with…

Watch: Pro-Palestine protestors vandalise Labour HQ

9 April 2024 3:44 am

Uh oh. Labour is once again facing dissent from its own supporters over the Israel-Gaza conflict. Things came to a…

Did David Lammy break broadcasting rules?

8 April 2024 10:46 pm

Uh oh. David Lammy is back in the spotlight again after Ofcom’s announcement today that it is investigating the shadow…

Honeytrap scandal: Jenkyns says Wragg must face disciplinary action

8 April 2024 9:42 pm

Back to the Westminster honeytrap, and now Dame Andrea Jenkyns has revealed that she was also targeted by the parliamentary…

Watch: Lammy flounders in Rayner defence

7 April 2024 8:30 pm

When you’re in a hole, who gonna call? David Lammy! Yes, the Shadow Foreign Secretary was out on the airwaves…

Scotland’s police at ‘breaking point’ over hate law

7 April 2024 12:53 am

Oh dear. As the furore around Scotland’s Hate Crime Act extends into its sixth day, there are now fears about…

Listen: David Cameron refuses to answer Gaza questions

5 April 2024 5:47 am

After the tragic news of the deaths of three British aid workers, killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza, both…

Poll predicts Labour could become Scotland’s largest party

4 April 2024 4:30 am

As Scotland’s embattled First Minister continues to face backlash over his Hate Crime Act, his party has been hit with…

Four groups keeping quiet on the SNP’s Hate Crime Act

4 April 2024 2:53 am

It’s three days since Scotland’s Hate Crime Act took effect and there is no sign of public outrage dissipating anytime…

Rishi Sunak slams Scotland’s Hate Crime Act

2 April 2024 11:35 pm

Scotland’s Hate Crime Act has got off to a rather rocky start, to put it mildly. On Monday, when the…

Will Angela Rayner take her own advice?

28 March 2024 8:56 pm

It seems Angela Rayner is in hot water again. The Labour deputy leader might have thought she had escaped unscathed…

Galloway suggests Obama involvement in Moscow attack

28 March 2024 12:39 am

The fall-out continues from Friday’s attack on Moscow concert hall attack in which 139 people were reported dead. Russian officials…

Tories split on CCHQ attack ads

27 March 2024 10:12 pm

It’s five weeks to go until the local elections and Tory high command are stepping up their attacks. On Monday,…

Watch: Stephen Colbert grovels for Kate joke

26 March 2024 11:24 pm

Oh dear. In his never-ending quest to prove that he’s almost as funny as Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert has tripped…

Steve Bray is silenced, finally

26 March 2024 3:14 am

It must be a hard job being the Metropolitan Police. Too hardline and you risk howls of protest from the…

Jon Sopel joins the Garrick Club

24 March 2024 11:03 pm

Tough times for the Garrick Club, after the embarrassing leak of its membership list to the Guardian. Following the newspaper’s…

Revealed: Reform leader issues letter of complaint to ‘out of touch’ Mail group

23 March 2024 1:25 am

Richard Tice is on a mission to crack down on ‘defamatory and libellous’ slurs against his party as the election…

Fake Labour minister polls better than real frontbenchers

22 March 2024 10:30 pm

While the polls continue to predict a Labour victory at the next election, it’s not all rosy for Sir Keir…