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.

The National’s latest journalistic triumph

2 December 2024 6:10 pm

Oh dear. It seems that Scotland’s self-identifying ‘newspaper’ is at it again. On Saturday, the great and the good of…

New MPs were more likely to back assisted dying

30 November 2024 3:28 am

Does wisdom come with age? MPs have just voted by a margin of 55 to back a bill to legalise…

Flashback: Rachel Reeves’ battle for winter fuel allowance

28 November 2024 2:09 am

It’s fuel poverty awareness day today. So what better time to reflect on Labour decision to pull payments for pensioners,…

Swing seats back another election

25 November 2024 12:07 am

For more than a decade, viral petitions demanding an immediate election were the preserve of Remainiacs and much of the…

Starmer’s local media round: the lowlights

23 November 2024 12:00 am

It’s been another bad week for the government, with rows over farmers, ships and businesses too. So what better time…

Republicans rage against state of UK free speech

22 November 2024 10:00 pm

‘Two countries separated by a common language’ is how transatlantic relations are often defined. But these days it really does…

Police drop probe into Allison Pearson

22 November 2024 4:37 am

At last, an outbreak of common sense from Essex Police. After a mounting backlash – with Boris Johnson, Elon Musk…

Starmer’s spinner squirms on Netanyahu arrest

22 November 2024 3:53 am

It’s a day ending in ‘y’ – so it’s more bad news for the government. This afternoon the men and…

Jon Sopel’s Twitter U-turn

21 November 2024 5:04 am

Dear oh dear. The left-wing Twitter scourge hasn’t gone quite as well as users may have hoped. Following Donald Trump’s…

Why is the BBC staying silent on Reeves’s CV claims?

20 November 2024 10:13 pm

Rachel Reeves remains in the spotlight after weeks of scrutiny over her rather curious CV claims. Mr S documented the…

Watch: Clarkson blasts BBC in farmers’ protest interview

20 November 2024 3:31 am

Thousands of farmers descended on Westminster this morning to protest the Labour government’s new inheritance tax plans. As protesters brandished…

Watch: Mandelson urges PM to end ‘feud’ with Musk

20 November 2024 2:41 am

Well, well, well. Picking a fight with Elon Musk is hardly the wisest decision Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot have…

Full timeline: Rachel Reeves’s CV claims

20 November 2024 12:48 am

Dear oh dear. Rachel Reeves has ended up in something of a pickle over her employment history, with the Chancellor…

British Sikhs blast Starmer’s ‘incompetence’

18 November 2024 11:18 pm

Another day, another Downing Street drama. This time No. 10 is in trouble with the British Sikh community after it…

Parliament shells out £900k on cobblestones

15 November 2024 2:02 am

Whether it’s falling masonry or rats, staff in the Houses of Parliament have to put up with a lot in…

Watch: Haka protest disrupts New Zealand’s parliament

15 November 2024 12:15 am

To New Zealand, where parliamentary proceedings have become rather, er, heated during discussions on the Treaty Principles Bill. During a…

Clifton Suspension Bridge quits Musk’s Twitter

14 November 2024 11:30 pm

First they came for the Guardian, and then they came for the Clifton Suspension Bridge. In a move that will…

Will Justin Welby lose his Lords seat?

14 November 2024 10:06 pm

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby this week announced he will resign from the top job after the pressure piled…

Farage rated most favourable of Britain’s politicians

14 November 2024 12:17 am

As Sir Keir Starmer’s fortunes go from bad to worse, things only seem to be improving for Nigel Farage. While…

The Guardian announces it’s leaving Twitter – on Twitter

13 November 2024 11:06 pm

The absurdity of the Guardian never fails to amuse. Now the lefty newspaper has decided it is too good for…

How many parliamentary police are failing fitness tests?

13 November 2024 4:33 am

They’re the redoubtable men and women who keep our legislature safe. But is the thin blue line around the Commons…

Who will be the next Archbishop of Canterbury?

13 November 2024 1:56 am

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has this afternoon announced he will resign from the role after days of pressure…

Sue Gray rejects Starmer’s non-job

13 November 2024 12:27 am

Goodbye Sue Gray. A mere 32 days after taking a ‘short break’ from No. 10, Keir Starmer’s ex-chief of staff…

Watch: Ex-Blair aide takes a pop at Britain’s farmers

13 November 2024 12:07 am

Farmers across the country have been in uproar since Rachel Reeves’s Budget. Just weeks ago the Chancellor announced that agricultural…

Tories overtake Labour in first poll since Badenoch victory

12 November 2024 11:20 pm

When it rains, it pours for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot. The polls have gone downhill since Starmer’s army got…