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.

Exclusive: Sadiq Khan no-platforms Eric Zemmour

19 November 2021 4:04 am

As the race for the Elysée hots up, presidential candidates are busy courting voters and raising funds. And with Macron’s poll…

Blue on Blue: May savages Boris

17 November 2021 2:50 am

The faults in the Tory party were on show for all to see today, as MPs were forced to debate…

Truss fails her first big test

16 November 2021 10:40 pm

Can anything stop the irresistible rise of Liz Truss? The power-dressing insta lover reinvented herself at International Trade, becoming the…

Prince Harry declares war on disinformation

16 November 2021 8:15 am

Democracy is in crisis, faith in institutions is at an all-time low. The public’s trust in our leaders has collapsed;…

Macron and Barnier chase the nationalist vote

16 November 2021 2:54 am

For centrists of a certain age, few names are more likely to tug the heartstrings than Emmanuel Macron and Michel…

Boris COPs up his host city

15 November 2021 10:00 am

And so COP26 ended, not so much with a bang, but rather a whimper. Alok Sharma’s tears aside, there was…

Prince Harry: I predicted the Capitol coup

10 November 2021 9:45 pm

Prince Harry is a man of many talents. He’s an eco-obsessed ethical banker whose firm invests in the oil and gas industry.…

Passholder privilege: the MPs turned consultants

10 November 2021 5:00 am

Westminster is full of stories at present of politicians cashing in. But while much of the attention thus far has…

Top MoD mandarin: supporting BLM is 'not political'

9 November 2021 12:07 am

Is it political to support Black Lives Matter? Not according to No. 10’s most senior security adviser. Stephen Lovegrove (he/him) was…

British MPs in the dark about Beijing's threats

6 November 2021 10:05 am

Following the killing of Sir David Amess, there has been much discussion in recent weeks about the safety of elected representatives. But…

COP's awkward reliance on coal

5 November 2021 9:40 am

It’s day four of COP26 and while the big names have already departed, the speeches carry on. This morning some…

Meghan and Harry pledge to save the world

3 November 2021 10:30 pm

In Glasgow the green games are well underway, with a roll call of world leaders reading from the COPacabana hymn sheet to a…

Ursula von der Leyen's climate hypocrisy

3 November 2021 2:34 am

Looking down today’s batting order at the COP26 summit, Steerpike’s eye alighted on the name of Ursula von der Leyen.…

Rocketman Bezos's galactic hypocrisy

2 November 2021 10:05 pm

It appears that COP26 are running out of the big guns to wheel into Glasgow. Already David Attenborough, Prince Charles…

Six of the most melodramatic warnings from COP26

2 November 2021 7:50 pm

The COP26 summit in Glasgow reaches its climax today, as world leaders try and thrash out a deal to halt…

The great Greta rebrand

2 November 2021 7:30 pm

Steerpike is no prude but even he has been surprised by some of the blue language from green activists at COP.…

CNN's COP capital confusion

2 November 2021 2:40 pm

American network CNN appears to be bringing the same rigour and insight to COP26 that it displayed throughout the Trump administration.…

Sleepy Joe can't keep his eyes open

2 November 2021 1:27 am

That didn’t take long. It’s less than four hours since America’s septuagenarian president landed in Scotland and already he appears…

COP kicks off with another eco-quandary

31 October 2021 11:30 am

At long last, COP26 is finally here. Tomorrow, the world’s largest eco-jamboree will begin in Glasgow, with some 20,000 to…

The curious case of Boris and the bishops

27 October 2021 3:30 am

Back in July the wedding of Boris and Carrie at Westminster Cathedral prompted Steerpike’s diligent colleague Robert Peston to ask…

Saint Jacinda backs a two-tier society

25 October 2021 10:50 pm

For many so-called liberals, Jacinda Ardern seemed to be the perfect premier. Warm, empathetic, progressive, above all – moderate –…

LSE takes £1.5 million from China

23 October 2021 9:08 pm

Boris Johnson might insist that the UK will not ‘pitchfork’ Chinese investment but it seems not everyone in government agrees.…

Labour MPs pose with convicted harasser

23 October 2021 12:48 am

Irony was officially pronounced dead this week after disgraced MP Claudia Webbe launched an attack on ‘wrong, bad and exploitative’…

COP26 hit by yet another strike

21 October 2021 8:15 pm

It’s just ten days to go before COP26, the green gathering described by Ed Miliband as ‘the most consequential summit that has ever…

Rishi in, Keir out: 2020's most popular baby names

19 October 2021 7:56 am

Once the popularity of politicians was judged by how many babies they were asked to kiss – now it’s by…