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.

Net zero minister forced to fly back for crunch vote

13 December 2023 1:22 am

It’s been a rather difficult week for Rishi Sunak, and it’s still only Tuesday. After being grilled by the Covid…

‘Division will be punished’: Tory MPs urged not to rebel on Rwanda

12 December 2023 6:12 pm

Can Rishi Sunak persuade wavering Tory MPs not to vote down his Rwanda bill this afternoon? The European Research Group…

Gary Lineker slips up (again)

12 December 2023 5:59 am

Will Gary Lineker ever learn? The BBC Sports pundit is now facing criticism after signing an open letter calling for…

Nigel Farage comes third on I’m A Celeb

11 December 2023 8:54 am

It’s been a highly anticipated finale of I’m A Celebrity, not least because of the staying power of Brexit mastermind…

Will Tory plotters sink Sunak?

10 December 2023 8:58 am

After months of tedium, Sunday newsrooms everywhere rejoiced at Robert Jenrick’s resignation on Wednesday night. Finally, a return to the…

Watch: Naga Munchetty’s X-rated jibe at Boris

10 December 2023 4:58 am

Pity the poor staff and stars of Have I Got News For You. Having propelled Boris Johnson to fame in the early noughties,…

Jenrick takes aim at Rishi’s Rwanda fix

9 December 2023 7:58 pm

After three days of speculation, Robert Jenrick has finally broken cover. In this morning’s Daily Telegraph he sets out in…

Starmer caught in Thatcher U-turn

9 December 2023 1:36 am

Stop the presses: Starmer Chameleon has U-turned once again. In predictable fashion, he last night sought to row back on…

Prince Harry loses (again)

8 December 2023 10:54 pm

Good old Prince Harry has done it once again. In spite of all his strenuous efforts to avoid press intrusion,…

Omid Scobie’s royal tell-all flops

6 December 2023 8:16 pm

For a couple supposedly desperate for privacy, Meghan and Harry have an interesting definition of what it means to escape…

Tory right want migration crackdown to go further

5 December 2023 11:05 pm

Uh oh. Less than a day has passed since James Cleverly announced his new five-point immigration plan and already there…

Eddie Izzard’s charm offensive backfires

5 December 2023 3:24 am

If there’s one thing Eddie Izzard can’t be faulted on, it’s enthusiasm. The comedian and actor, who also self-identifies as…

Sunak hits record low in Tory members’ poll

4 December 2023 6:42 am

If things seem bad, they can always get worse. That’s the message for poor Rishi Sunak in the latest ConservativeHome…

Keir Starmer changes his tune on Mrs T

4 December 2023 12:52 am

Has Starmer Chameleon gone too far this time? In his never-ending bid to be all things to all men, the…

Has the King snubbed Sunak over the Elgin Marbles?

2 December 2023 1:20 am

Diplomatic ties are of great importance to King Charles. So it was no surprise that his sartorial choice at the…

Andrew Bailey does it again

28 November 2023 12:16 am

Oh dear. It seems that the Bank of England Governor is suffering from a permanent case of foot-in-mouth syndrome. Andrew…

David Cameron charms the Lords

22 November 2023 3:05 am

To the rarified surroundings of the Upper House, where the newest member of the government took his place on the…

Met police swell their social media army

20 November 2023 9:32 pm

Scarcely a week seems to go by without an incident involving one of the Metropolitan Police’s social media accounts. Recent…

Will Sunak publish Braverman’s ‘ransom note’?

19 November 2023 8:34 pm

Another week of Tory wars looms in SW1. Ministers are desperately trying to find a fix to the Supreme Court’s…

Cameron squirms over China links

19 November 2023 8:10 pm

Welcome back to Westminster, David Cameron. The return of the former PM to frontline politics has prompted a deluge of…

Guardian forced to delete viral Bin Laden letter

17 November 2023 2:10 am

Oh dear. It seems that the world’s wokest newspaper has blundered, again. The Guardian has today been forced to remove…

Is Lord Cameron a ‘useful idiot’ for the CCP?

13 November 2023 11:09 pm

Let the great kow-tow begin – again. David Cameron, the new Foreign Secretary, is well-known for his attempt to create…

Six questions David Cameron can now answer

13 November 2023 10:28 pm

David Cameron left 10 Downing Street with indecent haste. Britain had voted for Brexit and we were about to discover…

Farage to seek millions in damages from NatWest

12 November 2023 8:00 pm

It’s a busy old time if you’re Nigel Farage. The Brexiteer is expected to shortly become the latest politician to…

Watch: Douglas Murray takes on Piers Morgan from Israel-Gaza border

9 November 2023 6:37 pm

Douglas Murray popped up on Talk TV last night live from the Gaza border – and his head-to-head with Piers…