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.

Watch: Richard Madeley grills Rachel Reeves on CV

31 January 2025 12:21 am

When it rains for the Labour lot, it pours. This morning Rachel Reeves came under fire on Good Morning Britain…

Gaza uni protests used non-students to boost numbers

30 January 2025 11:52 pm

Well, well, well. In a new report released by the Higher Education Policy Institute, it has emerged that a number…

Tory donors pay five figures to appear at Reform fundraiser

30 January 2025 7:28 pm

Uh oh. Things aren’t looking good for the Tories after a number of former Conservative donors paid five figures to…

Can’t the UK pay its ‘Head of Tariff Strategy’ more than £55k?

30 January 2025 2:24 am

Donald Trump is back in the White House and the UK is playing catch-up once again. Whether it’s Mandelson grovelling…

Sadiq splurges £2.1 million on statues commission

30 January 2025 1:45 am

Another day, another City Hall scandal. Mr S can today reveal that Labour’s London mayor Sadiq Khan has splurged a…

Where is Ed Miliband?

29 January 2025 11:52 pm

It’s a busy day for the Labour lot, what with Rachel Reeves’s big growth speech this morning and Sir Keir…

Will the SNP government lose yet another health minister?

29 January 2025 10:48 pm

To Scotland, where today the SNP government’s embattled Health Secretary Neil Gray is in the firing line. The Scottish Tories…

Reeves blasted for backing third Heathrow runway

29 January 2025 10:05 pm

Growth is the flavour of the month for Sir Keir Starmer’s government, with Rachel Reeves this morning delivering a big…

Mandelson grovels to Trump on Fox News

29 January 2025 9:08 pm

Oh Mandy. It’s now nine days since Donald Trump was elected – and our new man in Washington is still…

Kim Leadbeater U-turns once again

28 January 2025 5:56 pm

Another week and another U-turn on Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Bill. The 23-man committee scrutinising the legislation is supposed to…

Full list: Labour MPs who opposed Heathrow expansion

28 January 2025 4:40 am

There are just two days to go until Rachel Reeves’ big growth speech. The Chancellor is expected to turn her…

Navy rebrands HMS Agincourt to appease French

28 January 2025 3:18 am

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more. Trump might be back in the White House but here in…

Starmer’s foreign policy doctrine revealed

27 January 2025 11:55 pm

It is sometimes claimed that Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones’ Diary series is based on Keir Starmer. One is…

Rachel Reeves’ ironic artwork choice

26 January 2025 3:42 am

To govern is to choose. So what have Labour’s ministers chosen to hung on their walls? Raiding the Government Art…

Reform tops poll for first time

25 January 2025 3:34 am

As the new Labour government continues to struggle with voters, support for Reform UK only seems to be growing. New…

Bishop compares disgraced Welby to God

25 January 2025 2:30 am

The Church of England has received a rather lot of bad press, to put it mildly, after the Archbishop of…

Labour MP: is hair colour a ‘protected characteristic’?

25 January 2025 1:24 am

As Donald Trump starts clamping down on diversity, equality and inclusion practices, it’s a shame that the same can’t be said on…

Braverman calls on Tories and Reform to ‘unite the right’

23 January 2025 4:00 am

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has had a rather good few months, with a number of opinion polls showing the Clacton…

Starmer’s academies U-turn

23 January 2025 12:04 am

Today’s PMQs won’t go down in history as Sir Keir Starmer’s finest half hour, with the PM losing marks over…

Five failings of the assisted dying committee

22 January 2025 11:19 pm

Back in November, MPs waved through Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill by 330 votes to 275. Some of those who…

BBC under fire over Trump coverage

22 January 2025 11:14 pm

Uh oh. The Beeb’s back in the spotlight – and this time it’s over some rather interesting reporting on the…

SNP minister admits misleading parliament over Limogate

22 January 2025 6:33 am

Well, well, well. Just when the Scottish government thought it had steadied the SNP ship after two rather tumultuous years,…

Will Trump deport Prince Harry?

22 January 2025 3:17 am

To the US, where President Trump is busy making the most of his return to the top job. At his…

What Rishi Sunak did next

22 January 2025 2:48 am

It wasn’t so long ago that political commentators and Tory MPs alike were confidently predicting that Rishi Sunak would leave…

Burghart warns of ‘overwhelming power’ of Treasury

22 January 2025 12:55 am

To London, where the Institute for Government’s 2025 conference is in full flow. This afternoon the think tank hosted a…