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.

Simon Clarke breaks his silence

25 January 2024 5:39 am

Well, that was quick. Less than 24 hours after Simon Clarke called for Rishi Sunak to resign and tweeted ‘I…

Foreign Office blows £110k on KCL counter-terrorist courses

25 January 2024 3:06 am

It was ten days ago that Mr S brought news of the latest controversy to embroil our ancient seats of…

Tory WhatsApp group rows in behind Sunak

24 January 2024 8:53 am

It’s a fun night on Tory WhatsApp tonight. Sir Simon Clarke – a cabinet minister under Boris Johnson and Liz…

Prince Harry faces £750k libel bill

20 January 2024 2:04 am

It seems the renegade royal has run away again. All of Fleet Street was eagerly anticipating the mother of all…

The curious case of Nicola Sturgeon’s missing WhatsApps

19 January 2024 11:45 pm

The saga of the Scottish Government’s WhatsApps continues to rumble on. The SNP regime has never been slow in condemning…

Starmer flip-flops on his CPS record

19 January 2024 2:33 am

He’s at it again. Like those unscrupulous bosses he professes to despise, Sir Keir Starmer enjoys taking the credit when…

Sergei Lavrov: War has had a ‘positive impact on life in Russia’

19 January 2024 2:08 am

Just when you thought Putin’s regime couldn’t sink any lower, it somehow manages to. Like something out of George Orwell’s 1984,…

Now even Humza distances himself from the SNP

19 January 2024 1:53 am

You know your brand is struggling when even the boss wants to ditch it. For it seems that hapless Humza…

Lee Anderson: Laughing Labour MPs stopped me voting against Rwanda Bill

18 January 2024 7:45 pm

Tory MP Lee Anderson’s name was a curious omission from the list of rebels who voted against Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda…

Watch: Rishi goes for Keir on his legal record

17 January 2024 11:39 pm

A feisty edition of PMQs today, following the drama in the House yesterday evening. As predicted, Sir Keir Starmer opted…

Do Scotland’s politicians deserve their bumper pay rise?

17 January 2024 1:57 am

Bumping up politicians’ pay seldom goes down well, especially in times of economic hardship. But the news that members of…

The ministerial casualties from a 1997-style wipeout

15 January 2024 6:42 pm

It’s blue Monday today for Tory MPs as they read the findings of the Daily Telegraph’s mammoth new poll. The…

Civil servants urged to ‘suppress’ Douglas Murray in counterterrorist lecture

15 January 2024 4:27 am

For all the talk of a Tory ‘war on woke Whitehall’, more examples just keep cropping up. In an article…

Keir Starmer’s morning of U-turns

14 January 2024 10:45 pm

Another day, another U-turn from Keir Starmer. Or to be precise, two new U-turns from the Labour leader before midday.…

Suella savages Sunak’s Rwanda Bill

13 January 2024 1:48 am

The Rwanda Bill comes back to parliament next week which means a return of Westminster’s favourite parlour game: Tory blue-on-blue.…

Watch: Trump mocks Macron’s accent

9 January 2024 6:10 pm

Emmanuel Macron is facing something of a crisis at home: his prime minister has resigned and his party is trailing…

Theresa May gets her Brexit dividend

8 January 2024 7:01 am

There’s nothing so ex as an ex-Prime Minister. But while the likes of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and David Cameron…

BBC rushes to defend Harvard’s president Gay

3 January 2024 8:44 pm

President Gay, we hardly knew thee. Six months ago, the political scientist was appointed the head of Harvard University to…

Watch: Sadiq Khan grilled on London knife crime

1 January 2024 8:51 pm

Sadiq Khan was hoping to project a message of ‘unity to the world’ with this year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks…

Glasnost grips Whitehall, at last

31 December 2023 12:00 am

The Cabinet Office is sometimes described as the ‘thinking brain of government’. So it’s a pity then that so little…

Michelle Mone hits back at Sunak

19 December 2023 2:05 am

‘When you’re in a hole, stop digging.’ It’s a famous mantra known to all; everyone that is, except for Michelle…

Eddie Izzard loses, yet again

18 December 2023 4:37 am

Oh dear. Labour’s biggest loser has done it again. Poor old Eddie Izzard has a pretty poor track record when…

Harry and Meghan named ‘biggest Hollywood losers’

15 December 2023 3:37 am

At last, official confirmation that Harry and Meghan are the world’s most unpopular couple – by their local newspaper, no…

Watch: Kemi Badenoch blasts Labour MP in gender spat

14 December 2023 8:12 am

Kemi Badenoch isn’t exactly known for beating around the bush, and her spat with a Labour MP at this evening’s…

Sunak’s popularity hits record low

14 December 2023 12:27 am

It never rains but it pours. Every time poor Rishi Sunak seems to catch a break, bad news appears just…