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.

Kemi Badenoch guns for Stonewall – and the charity sector

2 October 2023 7:19 am

Kemi Badenoch’s war with Stonewall opened up on a new front this evening. Earlier this year, the business secretary incurred…

Bully XL owners team up with anti-Brexit Steve Bray outside Tory conference

2 October 2023 3:44 am

It wouldn’t be a Tory party conference without hundreds of protesters lining the streets. Manchester has not disappointed. From trade…

Why did the Observer bury a poll showing Starmer’s shrinking lead?

1 October 2023 8:39 pm

As Conservative conference kicks off, there is a crumb of comfort for the Prime Minister in the latest polling in…

GB News civil war intensifies

29 September 2023 11:51 pm

It’s safe to say that this hasn’t been GB News’s finest week and there’s no sign of the drama stopping…

Rishi’s media round derailed by HS2

28 September 2023 8:29 pm

Ah the regional BBC round: the chance for any aspiring local reporter to make a name for themselves. Every year,…

The knives sharpen for GB News

28 September 2023 9:44 am

The GB News row rumbles on, with its enemies seeing the perfect chance to call for its closure. A genuinely…

It’s Fox vs Wootton, as GB News debacle deepens

27 September 2023 8:18 pm

Oh dear. It seems that the self-proclaimed ‘People’s Channel’ has been at it again. GB News has been forced to…

BLM protestor admits fundraiser fraud

27 September 2023 12:45 am

Three years on from the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol, an organiser of a Black Lives Matter…

Johnsons deny sacking their nanny for having a drink with Boris

25 September 2023 7:11 pm

Childcare can be a contentious issue at the best of times. So Mr S was intrigued to read of reports…

Melvyn Bragg takes a pop at Gary Lineker

19 September 2023 5:31 pm

Radio 4 show In Our Time celebrates its landmark 1,000th episode this week. Host Melvyn Bragg is one of the Beeb’s…

Watch: GB News hosts clash over Russell Brand

18 September 2023 10:17 pm

It all kicked off on GB News this morning, following a joint Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches investigation into…

Seven of the worst people in politics, according to Rory Stewart

16 September 2023 4:30 pm

If only more politicians were like Rory Stewart. That is pretty much the gist of his book Politics on the…

China hawks urge unity on spy row

14 September 2023 9:22 pm

It’s been a difficult week for Sinosceptics in Westminster, following the revelation that a parliamentary researcher was arrested in March on…

BBC denies cancelling Roisin Murphy over puberty blockers

13 September 2023 8:19 pm

The Róisín Murphy row rumbles on. The Irish singer suffered a pile-on last month after she criticised puberty blockers and…

Boris’s Brexit blunder on customs unions revealed

12 September 2023 12:09 am

Oh dear. When it came to getting Brexit done, Boris Johnson was, it seems, winging it more than he might…

Coming soon: Liz Truss’s book

10 September 2023 9:00 pm

First it was Nadine Dorries, then it was Theresa May. Now Liz Truss has become the latest female Tory MP…

‘Chinese spy’ arrested in the Commons

10 September 2023 6:27 am

Oh dear. The Sunday Times is tonight reporting that a Westminster parliamentary researcher has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China.…

Braverman backs Douglas Murray

9 September 2023 8:20 pm

Stop the presses: common sense has broken out in parliament. On Thursday, Suella Braverman delivered an update on the anti-terror…

Watch: Macron booed at World Cup opening ceremony

9 September 2023 7:54 pm

You know it’s bad when the rugby fans are booing you. Poor Emmanuel Macron had his big moment upstaged last…

BBC disinformation correspondent accused of lying on her CV

8 September 2023 7:33 pm

Oh dear. Could things get any worse for the fledgling BBC Verify, launched to combat the scourge of fake news?…

Carol Vorderman suffers a blow in her scrap with the Tories

8 September 2023 2:59 am

Carol Vorderman’s campaign against the Tories suffered a setback today after the ex-Countdown host climbed down from a row with…

Blundering mandarins forget £3.6 billion

7 September 2023 9:08 pm

Oh dear. It seems that Sir Humphrey has messed up again. Perusing parliament’s records this morning, Mr S was struck…

Tory MP Chris Pincher quits and triggers another by-election

7 September 2023 8:04 pm

To no-one’s surprise, Chris Pincher has now quit as a Tory MP, preferring to resign now rather than drag out…

Just Stop Oil protests cost Met police over £9 million

6 September 2023 4:49 pm

Staging sit-ins, slow marches and protests throughout the spring and summer, Just Stop Oil (JSO) and Extinction Rebellion (XR) have been…

Kemi becomes the Tory members’ favourite

5 September 2023 9:16 pm

When the king abdicates, who inherits the throne? Following Ben Wallace’s departure as Defence Secretary, it seems that Kemi Badenoch…