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.

Nearly half of Brits think Starmer should step down

9 July 2025 11:59 pm

When it rains for Sir Keir Starmer, it pours. The Prime Minister faced the biggest rebellion of his premiership last…

Watch: Is Starmer set to extend the stealth tax?

9 July 2025 11:29 pm

Today’s Prime Minister’s Questions was a rather illuminating session. Tory party leader Kemi Badenoch will be rather pleased at the…

Gregg Wallace takes aim at ‘clickbait’ BBC

9 July 2025 7:11 pm

Gregg Wallace’s 20-year career with the BBC is finished – and so is any admiration he had for the broadcaster,…

Musk’s AI chatbot praises Hitler

9 July 2025 6:51 pm

Uh oh. Elon Musk’s AI chatbot is in the doghouse – after Grok shocked Twitter users when it began praising,…

Reform MP to sit as an independent

8 July 2025 11:29 pm

Oh dear. It appears that after the Sunday Times story last weekend, there is no way back for James McMurdock.…

Brighton council leader reports Rod Liddle to the police

7 July 2025 7:06 pm

It seems that some people really can’t take a joke… In the magazine this week, Rod Liddle wistfully contemplated the…

Kemi: Farage is a ‘bullshitter’

7 July 2025 7:43 am

What a week it has been in British politics. After the welfare rebellion on Tuesday and then the shambles of…

James McMurdock loses Reform whip

5 July 2025 11:33 pm

Oh dear. Reform UK has made much of its recent progress. Having lost Rupert Lowe at the beginning of this…

Watch: Steve Coogan’s accidental Partridge moment

4 July 2025 10:26 pm

Mr Steerpike is a fan of Accidental Partridge moments, and this one was back of the net. Lefty actor Steve Coogan…

Reform catches Vance’s eye

4 July 2025 9:19 pm

Support for Nigel Farage’s Reform party is surging in the UK, and it appears the group is making waves across…

Taxpayer to fund legal bills of ex-SNP chief

2 July 2025 10:47 pm

Just when the SNP thought Operation Branchform had disappeared, the curious case into the party’s funds and finances has reared…

Watch: Reeves in tears after Labour’s welfare U-turn

2 July 2025 10:41 pm

All is not well on the Labour front benches. As Sir Keir Starmer defends his welfare U-turn in the Commons…

Watch: McFadden refuses to rule out tax rises after welfare U-turn

2 July 2025 9:23 pm

Uh oh. After Sir Keir Starmer’s embarrassing U-turn on his government’s welfare bill last night – where changes to Personal…

CPS considers further Letby charges

2 July 2025 8:33 pm

To the Lucy Letby case, where it transpires that the Crown Prosecution Service is considering further criminal charges against the…

Boris donors come back to Kemi

1 July 2025 11:49 pm

Well, well, well. It appears that Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has managed to secure yet another notable donation – and…

Three arrested at Letby hospital in manslaughter probe

1 July 2025 9:31 pm

To the Countess of Chester Hospital, where three hospital managers have been arrested as part of a corporate manslaughter probe…

Ex-Tory minister suspended over ‘cash for questions’ row

1 July 2025 9:22 pm

Dear oh dear. Mr S reported on Saturday that former Conservative science minister George Freeman was under scrutiny over Sunday…

BBC chief left IDF death chants on livestream

1 July 2025 9:03 pm

Well, well, well. The chants of Bob Vylan frontman at Glastonbury – ‘death, death to the IDF’ – sparked outrage…

Watch: Pro-Palestine mob in Leicester chant ‘death to the IDF’

1 July 2025 3:51 am

Pro-Palestine demonstrators on the streets of Britain have been led in a chant of ‘Death, death to the IDF’ –…

Poll: half of voters unaware of ‘Boriswave’

30 June 2025 11:59 pm

What likelihood of a Boris Johnson comeback? Well, according to the man himself, there is, apparently, ‘more chance of a…

Labour contenders jockey for position

30 June 2025 3:50 pm

They say you should never waste a good crisis. And that certainly seems to be the mantra of certain senior…

Exclusive: Met won’t prosecute Kneecap over ‘Kill your MP’

29 June 2025 9:54 pm

How low is too low? Kneecap seem determined to find out, judging by their never-ending mission to troll the UK.…

Watch: Glastonbury crowd chant ‘death to the IDF’

29 June 2025 6:42 am

Is this year’s Glastonbury line-up the worst ever? There’s Kneecap, of course: those tough-talking IRA cheerleaders who simply LOVE revelling…

Starmer changes his tune on peerage rules

29 June 2025 3:14 am

Sir Keir Starmer seems to be changing his mind a lot these days. Whether it is welfare cuts or the…

Tory MP in new ‘cash for questions’ row

29 June 2025 1:42 am

Just how many of the 121 Tory MPs elected last summer will be there by the end of this parliament?…