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.

Boris pressgangs Biden at White House love-in

22 September 2021 12:05 pm

You can take the boy out of journalism but you can’t the journalism out of the boy. That’s the rule…

Four of the worst responses to the Aukus deal

20 September 2021 8:39 am

It is four days since the US, UK and Australia announced their historic security pact in the Asia-Pacific but there are few…

Steady Eddie gets his Far East readies

18 September 2021 7:54 pm

The Tory party has had a difficult relationship with China in recent years. David Cameron and George Osborne’s ‘Golden era’…

Sir Humphrey's spirit survives in Whitehall

18 September 2021 8:53 am

Fear has been the watchword of Westminster this week, as nervy ministers check to see whether they have survived the cull.…

Harry and Meghan named world's most influential icons

16 September 2021 8:49 am

It’s still some months until awards season gears up but Mr S is happy to announce this year’s winner of the…

Rosie Duffield to miss Labour conference due to security concerns

12 September 2021 3:32 am

Labour conferences have been fractious affairs in recent years. Tensions between various factions have often spilled over onto the conference…

Michel Barnier's Brexity manifesto

9 September 2021 11:20 pm

It seems Michel Barnier has undergone something of a transformation in recent months. Gone is the starry-eyed Eurocrat who decried…

Terf war reignites at Guardian HQ

9 September 2021 8:14 pm

Few issues divide the Guardian’s right-on journalists more than transgender rights. Back in November its longtime columnist Suzanne Moore was purged after…

Sturgeon pushes for independence (again)

8 September 2021 5:20 pm

It’s Groundhog Day in Holyrood. Amid criticisms about her administration’s underwhelming ‘Programme for Government,’ Nicola Sturgeon has returned to her…

Five more lowlights from Australia's Covid fight

8 September 2021 8:51 am

It was less than a fortnight ago that Steerpike wrote of Australia’s various missteps in its long fight with Covid.…

Another Tory tech blunder

7 September 2021 2:23 am

Oh dear. Longtime readers will recall that it was just three years ago that the Conservative conference app was revealed…

Now even Sir Alan Duncan turns on Stonewall

6 September 2021 4:35 pm

Covid has meant it’s been a tough old year for the charity sector – but few have had it worse…

Six times Remainers denied an EU army would happen

5 September 2021 6:47 am

One of the points of discussion which dominated British politics in the Brexit era was the possibility of the formation…

When will Twitter treat Biden like Trump?

2 September 2021 4:12 pm

With the conclusion of the disastrously-executed Afghanistan withdrawal, the attention of Joe Biden and his loyal media apparatchiks has turned to…

Fact check: how much US kit have the Taliban got?

2 September 2021 8:05 am

With the war in Afghanistan having officially ended on Monday, the world’s thoughts have turned to how the Taliban will…

Is troubled Trudeau the new Theresa May?

1 September 2021 8:30 am

Oh dear. For years Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been at pains to prove his feminist credentials. Whether it’s correcting a…

Covid collapse fails to revive MPs' bars

31 August 2021 5:15 pm

The bars at Parliament have played host to many scenes over the years – plots, arguments, merriment and even fisticuffs –…

Expelled leftists mull new party

30 August 2021 12:12 pm

The not-so-great and good of the onetime Labour left were out in force last night, as members of Labour Against the…

UK-New Zealand trade deal likely within weeks

28 August 2021 1:00 am

September is shaping up to be a big month for Liz Truss and the Department for International Trade. While the minister…

Prince Harry’s eco-warrior credentials take another hit

22 August 2021 9:58 am

Life seems to be going well for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after they officially split from the royal…

China's state broadcaster returns to British airwaves

21 August 2021 9:00 pm

It’s a hard tasking trying to sell China these days. What with the crackdown on Hong Kong, the subjugation of…

Which lobbyists run MPs' interest groups?

20 August 2021 11:30 pm

David Cameron’s links to Greensill have brought the issue of lobbying back into the spotlight. Next month the Committee on…

Finally, the Sussexes speak out on Afghanistan

19 August 2021 7:43 am

If you’re an Afghan translator sheltering in a Kabul compound, life must seem pretty grim. The Taliban’s triumph has brought…

Labour lefties show their solidarity

17 August 2021 7:04 pm

Once the British left fought for civil rights, social justice and the brotherhood of man. But now such high principles…

Cameron snubs Osborne

17 August 2021 2:14 am

The papers have been full of speculation this month about rumours of a rift between Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson.…