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.

Porn project received thousands of pounds of Scottish taxpayers’ cash

16 March 2024 1:48 am

Good heavens. Just when you think events north of the border can’t get any more ridiculous, they do. Now it…

Meghan launches new lifestyle brand

15 March 2024 8:57 pm

Never able to keep herself from the spotlight for long, Meghan is back on Instagram. After her Archetypes podcast series…

Could Starmer really become the UK’s ‘most unpopular leader’?

15 March 2024 9:18 am

The Tory party hasn’t had the best week, what with one of their MPs defecting and their biggest donor embroiled in…

Robert Jenrick: The Tories have a young person problem

13 March 2024 8:35 am

Is ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick on manoeuvres? He certainly looked the part as he waxed lyrical to a crowd of…

Badenoch calls for forgiveness over Tory donor’s ‘racist’ remarks

13 March 2024 4:10 am

The Frank Hester saga continues after the Tory donor’s ‘rude’ remarks about Diane Abbott came to light on Monday. A…

Lee Anderson’s top three spats with Reform

12 March 2024 12:29 am

Well, well, well. The rumours turned out to be true. This morning the former deputy chairman of the Tory party…

Picture agencies ‘kill’ royal photo over editing fears

11 March 2024 10:14 am

Kensington Palace is making headlines this evening — but not in the way officials hoped. A photo that was meant…

Meghan Markle’s PR push

9 March 2024 2:59 am

The Queen of Privacy is doing it again. After a brief hiatus from the spotlight, the Duchess of Sussex has…

Theresa May to quit parliament at the election

8 March 2024 5:56 pm

Another one bites the dust. Theresa May has today become the 60th Tory MP to announce she is standing down…

‘You’re fired’ – watch Trump’s prebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union speech

8 March 2024 8:17 am

In a few hours, Joe Biden will deliver what could be his final State of the Union address as President.…

Papers deliver verdict on ‘fiscal drag queen’s’ Budget

7 March 2024 11:08 pm

Jeremy Hunt is facing a day of reckoning after announcing the Budget on Wednesday. The Chancellor framed his statement as…

Watch: Trump ally tells Emily Maitlis to ‘f*** off’

6 March 2024 10:30 pm

The News Agents podcast has had a mixed reception in the UK but its presenters are having an even rougher…

Listen: Jenrick warns of foreign state media ownership

6 March 2024 9:00 pm

Will a UAE-backed entity buy the Telegraph and The Spectator? Not if parliament gets its way. More than 100 MPs have signed a letter saying…

How did Newsnight end up defending a Syrian child rapist?

6 March 2024 8:27 pm

This week, a Syrian man named Omar Badreddin was sentenced to 18 years in prison, after being found guilty of…

Ten of the worst Tory tax hikes since 2010

6 March 2024 7:44 pm

It’s Budget day today. With the tax burden predicted to amount to 37 per cent of national income by the…

GB News suffers big losses as TalkTV goes online

6 March 2024 3:01 am

What a week for TV broadcasters: it’s been non-stop breaking news about, um, themselves. After BBC Verify’s debacle yesterday, it’s…

Will Jeremy Corbyn sue Nigel Farage?

5 March 2024 10:04 pm

They say opposites attract but the battle brewing between Nigel Farage and Jeremy Corbyn is evidence to the contrary. The…

Rwanda bill battered in the Lords

5 March 2024 7:16 pm

If you thought the Rwanda Bill was a headache last year, 2024 is shaping up to be no different. Rishi…

BBC Verify sources under scrutiny

5 March 2024 2:32 am

There’s rarely a day now that the blundering BBC isn’t the news itself. This time the spotlight is back on…

John Bercow banished from The Traitors

2 March 2024 10:08 pm

Poor John Bercow just can’t seem to catch a break. In his never-ending quest to find some relevance post-parliament, the…

Watch: Lord Forsyth warns of foreign states owning British newspapers

29 February 2024 5:03 am

All eyes were on the House of Lords this afternoon where it is the second reading of the Media Bill.…

Tory switchers less keen on Sunak’s smoking ban

27 February 2024 5:07 pm

It’s the threat the Tories really fear: a high-profile defection at the beginning of an election year. Richard Tice’s Reform…

Labour loses control of the credit card

27 February 2024 5:44 am

After four straight election defeats, Labour are desperately keen to prove that the party has changed. Gone – supposedly –…

Angela Rayner facing questions over council house sale

26 February 2024 10:56 pm

A difficult Monday morning for Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner. The right-on left-winger is facing some tricky questions today after…

Was Cameron behind Prince William’s Gaza intervention?

23 February 2024 9:26 pm

Eyebrows in Westminster this week after Prince William opted to wade into the Gaza conflict. On Tuesday, the Prince of…