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.

Farage threatens vetting company with legal action

19 June 2024 12:16 am

Uh oh. After multiple reports of controversial candidates, Reform UK boss Nigel Farage has announced that he is threatening a…

Starmer flounders on phone-in over private schools and Corbyn

18 June 2024 8:38 pm

With only 16 days to go until the election – and today being the last day you can register to…

Reform candidate defends Hitler remarks

18 June 2024 2:45 am

Since the return of Nigel Farage, Reform UK has been going from strength to strength. Last week a YouGov survey…

iPad scandal MSP accepts £12,000 ‘golden goodbye’

17 June 2024 9:43 pm

Dear oh dear. Back to Scotland and the chaos of the SNP. Former health secretary Michael Matheson was suspended for…

Boris backs Sunak sceptic

14 June 2024 10:39 pm

At long last, Boris Johnson has joined the campaign trail. With less than three weeks to go until polling day,…

Watch: Starmer slams audience for ‘disrespect’ over ‘toolmaker’ jibes

14 June 2024 8:09 pm

There’s less than three weeks to go until polling day and the TV debates are continuing to roll in. This…

Watch: Dawn Butler’s bizarre campaign rap

14 June 2024 12:35 am

Today’s a big day in the election calendar. This morning, Labour launched its official manifesto, while campaigners hit the three-week…

Watch: Farage’s plans to reunite the right

13 June 2024 8:34 pm

There may only be three weeks of election season left but there’s still a new development every day. Now Nigel…

Sunak’s aide under investigation after betting on election date

13 June 2024 4:55 am

Oh dear. Now it has transpired that the Prime Minister’s closest parliamentary aide, Craig Williams, placed a £100 bet on…

Listen: Andrew Neil schools Green co-leader on wealth tax

13 June 2024 4:16 am

Another day, another campaign disaster. Now it’s the turn of the Green party’s co-leader Adrian Ramsay, who was this lunchtime…

Nicola Sturgeon’s ITV hypocrisy

13 June 2024 12:08 am

Back to Scotland, where the SNP’s Dear Leader is back in the news — literally, this time. It transpires that…

Watch: Sunak admits to Sky TV sacrifice

12 June 2024 8:29 pm

Oh dear. The first clips of Rishi Sunak’s now infamous ITV interview have started to surface ahead of the full…

Watch: Animal rights activists vandalise King’s portrait

12 June 2024 12:00 am

Good heavens. Protestors are back to their old tricks and now it’s the King’s first official royal portrait that has…

Farage attacked again on campaign trail

11 June 2024 11:30 pm

Nigel Farage is continuing his cross-country campaign as he makes the case for voters to back Reform UK on 4…

Former Green leader jumps ship to Labour

11 June 2024 8:35 pm

Another day, another drama. As general election campaign shenanigans continue, it now transpires that Robin Harper — the UK’s first…

Reform candidate apologises for his Hitler neutrality comments

11 June 2024 3:24 am

Oh dear, it seems like the election scandals are coming thick and fast at the moment. Today, it was the…

Starmer’s shadow cabinet split on private schools

10 June 2024 8:30 pm

Labour have made much of their VAT raid on private school fees, proudly trumpeting the policy as one of the…

Watch: Green leader’s nuclear disaster

10 June 2024 5:33 am

There are some decent arguments in favour of unilateral disarmament. So it’s a pity then that Carla Denyer did not…

Watch: Tory aide stops Holden grilling

10 June 2024 4:59 am

Which Tory minister is having the worst week in politics? It’s a title that Rishi Sunak seemed to have sewn…

Minister: ‘No question’ of replacing Sunak

9 June 2024 8:09 pm

It’s three days since Rishi Sunak’s Normandy gaffe but there’s no sign of the row going away anytime soon. The…

Watch: Galloway blasts ‘believers’ who support Labour

8 June 2024 4:14 am

Oh dear. While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struggles to fend off criticism about leaving Thursday’s D-day commemorations early, another party…

Watch: Sunak grovels over D-day ‘mistake’

7 June 2024 10:37 pm

Oh dear. The story of the day may well become the story of the election campaign as Prime Minister Rishi…

Greens investigate ‘antisemitic’ candidate posts

7 June 2024 8:42 pm

As the general election date creeps ever closer, the Green party has found itself in hot water. It transpires that…

Why did Sunak leave the D-Day commemorations early?

7 June 2024 9:27 am

Politics took a back seat on Thursday as the great and good of the British establishment marked the 80th anniversary…

Could Labour change its tune on Trident?

7 June 2024 1:59 am

As election day looms closer, parliamentary candidates continue to wreak havoc on party campaigns. This time Labour is in the…