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 civil war inside the New York Times

5 June 2020 8:49 pm

After the New York Times published an op-ed written by Republican Sen. Tom Cotton – calling for the military to be…

Civil servants strike back: 'arrogant and offensive'

25 May 2020 3:04 am

Oh dear. For some time there have been reports of tension between Downing Street and the Civil Service. Now it…

Why was this lockdown sceptic's video removed from YouTube?

22 May 2020 2:22 am

Professor Karol Sikora is a rare voice of reason in these strange times. So why was a video featuring him discussing…

Lancet editor’s Chinese propaganda

2 May 2020 11:39 pm

Ever since the coronavirus first began to spread in the UK, one of the government’s staunchest critics has been the…

Bail out the Italians and Spanish? 'No, no, no'

30 April 2020 6:31 pm

While most of us have been hunkering down at home, Brussels big wigs have been trying to thrash out of…

Chinese diplomat's Covid-19 PR exercise backfires

25 April 2020 7:41 pm

As countries around the world try to work out a way to live with coronavirus, there’s a growing hostility towards…

Oxford professor: We’ve got to be brave now to come out of lockdown

21 April 2020 6:50 pm

As those who have been keeping a close eye on the number of daily coronavirus cases and deaths in the…

'You are endangering the world': German tabloid goes to war with China

21 April 2020 2:04 am

Could China have done more to prevent the coronavirus pandemic? One tabloid editor in Germany certainly thinks so and an extraordinary…

What pandemic? Labour finds a way to keep talking about itself

14 April 2020 2:50 am

There’s nothing like a national crisis to get your priorities in order. With the coronavirus death toll in the UK…

Diane Abbott's most memorable shadow cabinet moments

9 April 2020 10:46 pm

This week Keir Starmer’s formed his new Shadow Cabinet replacing several Corbynista stalwarts with his own favoured MPs on the frontbenches. As a…

Watch: Boris struggles to say if he'll change nappies

5 March 2020 10:35 pm

After a prolonged spell of avoiding media interviews, Boris Johnson finally came out of hiding today and appeared on breakfast television. The…

Boris’s baby – Westminster’s worst kept secret

1 March 2020 6:42 am

There’s much speculation (and conspiracy theory) about why Boris Johnson chose today to announce that he’s becoming a father for…

The five stages of Brexit grief

31 January 2020 3:40 am

It’s been more than three years since the Brexit referendum, and we’re only a day away from actually leaving the…

Labour official election report: result nothing to do with Corbyn

29 January 2020 11:55 pm

There’s nothing like a period of reflection after a historic election defeat. It offers those involved a chance to look…

‘It’s still not Jeremy’s fault’ – more Corbynite excuses for Labour’s collapse

18 December 2019 8:00 pm

As the week rolls on, the recriminations just keep coming. One thing is for sure, its still not Jeremy’s fault.…

Listen: Labour MP claims BBC ‘consciously’ undermined Corbyn

16 December 2019 10:00 pm

The last few days have seen a rapidly coarsening Labour debate over who is ultimately responsible for the party’s historic…

‘We will fight them in the streets’: Labour MP reacts to Tory win

13 December 2019 10:41 pm

You wouldn’t know Labour had suffered a dismal night in the polls from Lloyd Russell-Moyle’s acceptance speech. The arch Corbynista…

Corbynistas react to the exit poll result

13 December 2019 9:46 am

Tonight’s exit poll has predicted that the Conservatives are heading for a bumper majority of 86 – a remarkable result.…

Piers Corbyn: My brother Jeremy’s green policy is ‘nonsense’

11 December 2019 4:44 am

Vote Corbyn, says Corbyn. That is the unsurprising message from the Labour leader’s brother Piers in a video filmed at…

Watch: Andrew Neil eviscerates Boris Johnson over interview no show

6 December 2019 6:51 am

Boris Johnson has so far refused to take part in an election interview with Andrew Neil. Jeremy Corbyn, Jo Swinson,…

How Corbyn got his broadband nationalisation numbers wrong – by a factor of three

16 November 2019 6:14 am

John McDonnell today explained that the broadband nationalisation plans are perfectly affordable – upkeep costs would just be £230m a…

Watch: Boris Johnson bids backhanded farewell to John Bercow

30 October 2019 11:26 pm

There is no love lost between John Bercow and Boris Johnson but the Prime Minister managed to bite his tongue…

Five ways in which Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal is better than Theresa May’s

18 October 2019 3:48 am

Boris Johnson managed to defy his critics today and reach a Brexit deal with the European Union. The new agreement…

Revealed: David Cameron’s ‘Gove protocol’

10 October 2019 2:20 am

When Michael Gove was welcomed back into government this year and appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, some wondered…

Boris Johnson takes on extinction rebellion at book launch

8 October 2019 9:14 am

To the launch of the final volume of Charles Moore’s biography of Margaret Thatcher at Banqueting House. A mix of…