Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike
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After Robert Jenrick’s (not entirely) shocking defection to Reform in January, Westminster’s eyes swiftly turned towards one of the Tory party’s new bright young thing’s: Katie Lam. Would the 34-year-old MP for Weald of Kent pack her bags and follow her political chum across the teal Rubicon? Lam, widely regarded as a rising star on
Oh dear. Just when you thought a British ambassador to the US couldn’t possibly cause any more grief for Sir Keir Starmer, enter Christian Turner. Peter Mandelson set a high bar for humiliating Labour ministers, but the career diplomat – who took up post in February – has given the Dark Lord a run for his
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It’s a blockbuster day in parliament today. To kick things off, we had Philip Barton up pleading ignorance; to close the proceedings tonight we have a vote on a possible Privileges Committee probe. But in between we have Morgan McSweeney, the longtime bête noire of the Labour left, giving testimony on the appointment of Peter
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Whooooo remembers Sir Philip Barton? The lifelong diplomat spent an inglorious four and a half years in charge of the Foreign Office, most memorably taking 11 days to return from holiday, just as Kabul was falling to the Taliban. But having been pensioned off at the end of 2025, now old Phil is back in
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So. Farewell then to the last hereditary peers. Today marks the last day in parliament for most of the small rump who avoided Tony Blair’s purge in 1999. Ahead of the new King’s Speech next month, the end of this legislative session marks the end of hereditaries in the House of Lords: one of the
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It’s that time of year again. Spring is sprung and that means another bad set of local elections for an unpopular incumbent government. Cue much gnashing of teeth, plenty of wringing of hands and an endless stream of policy announcements from Labour caucuses fearing the future of their party. One particularly noticeable faction is the
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Up until now, the subject of the Prime Minister’s political survival has been an awkward question for any Labour MP. Privately, many concede that he is ‘done’; publicly their proclaim their faith in a man who is stretching their patience to breaking point. The number who have called on him to go can be counted
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Oh dear. For many years, there has been an iron rule of Labour broadcasting: when you’re in a jam, call Pat McFadden. Generations of underpaid, overworked press officers have come to respect the Paisley pugilist for performing media heroics on a scale equivalent to the Gloucestershire Regiment at the Battle of the Imjin River. Hordes
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Oh dear. It seems that Keir Starmer’s strategy has, er, backfired once again. Having spent yesterday afternoon declaring to all and sundry that he was shocked, SHOCKED to discover that Peter Mandelson might have been a wrong ‘un, it was left to Olly Robbins this morning to deliver his response. With the calm demeanour of
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Keir Starmer has not being having a good time of it in the Commons. Once again, the PM has been dragged in front of the House to explain why on earth he appointed Peter Mandelson as US ambassador – despite his well-publicised relationship with the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. This time, the questions have been over
With its ruthless backstabbing, unscrupulous characters and long-suffering flock, there is much overlap between the politics of the Church of England and those of the United Status. But, as Donald Trump continues to infuriate Catholics by brawling with the Pope, it seems that the onetime primate of the CofE is determined to get in on
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Spin, spin, spin! That furious sound you can hear out of Westminster is Labour’s apparatchiks doing their damnedest to dig Keir Starmer out of yet another hole. The Prime Minister is accused of misleading parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Our Man in Washington. The Labour grandee failed his developed vetting clearance in
They say that the clue is in the name, but with Meghan the first two letters give the game away: Me. The Duchess of Sussex is staying true to form by making it all about herself on her and her husband Harry’s tour of Australia. Meghan told a group of students that for a decade
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Of all Labour’s U-turns, none is perhaps more egregious than their stance on China. In opposition, they were happy to claim credit as a champion of the Uyghur Muslims, pushing in parliament for Beijing’s treatment of Xinjiang to be recognised as a genocide. But in office, a succession of ministers have traipsed out to the
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Whooooo remembers John Bercow? It has been sometime since the disgraced former Speaker attracted Steerpike’s attention. Having been banished unceremoniously from The Traitors two years ago, Mr S’s chief preoccupation with Bercow was whether or not he remains a member of the Labour party, having been suspended some four years ago. But the onetime Monday
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It is a hard time to be a Labour MP. The polls are flagging, the economy is stagnating and the Middle East remains in crisis. But facing electoral armageddon in three weeks’ time, one brave backbencher has taken it up on herself to raise her party’s spirits. Samantha Niblett, the Honourable Member for South Derbyshire,
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Purdah is one of those words familiar to anyone covering the world of Westminster. It refers to the ‘pre-election period of sensitivity,’ when government activity and public communications are restricted to ensure impartiality. In these times of political crisis, it seems to be the word on everyone’s lips: indeed, back in February, when Keir Starmer’s
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In his never-ending mission to reboot his premiership, Keir Starmer has found a great new cause: Europe. The Prime Minister’s allies are briefing furiously that their boss is keen to pick a fight on this issue, believing it is a chance to win Remainers back to the Labour party. Ministers are to introduce legislation that
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With almost 5,000 wards up for grabs, it’s all hands to the pump at these local elections. And in their desire to field a full slate for 7 May, the good Conservatives of Greenwich have turned to a familiar face to stand in the unpromising territory of Woolwich Arsenal. Hugh O’Leary, best known as Liz
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It seems that the Chagos deal is the grift which keeps on giving. The government last night confirmed that it had been forced to pause the legislation granting the islands’ handover, following a U-turn by Washington. Now, Mr S can reveal that humiliation follows humiliation for our poor, beleaguered Prime Minister. Sir Keir has made
