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
Oh dear. Reform UK has made much of its recent progress. Having lost Rupert Lowe at the beginning of this year, Farage’s forces then gained Sarah Pochin at a stonking set of local elections. But now the parliamentary party is backed down to four MPs again, after James McMurdock chose to resign the whip, amid
It’s been a tumultuous first year for Sir Keir Starmer, and with backbenchers and opposition politicians alike becoming far more vocal, where better to take the temperature of Westminster then at The Spectator’s annual summer party? The party, always in early July, is typically a scene of political drama: it comes just days after Labour’s latest U-turn
Mr Steerpike is a fan of Accidental Partridge moments, and this one was back of the net. Lefty actor Steve Coogan popped up on BBC Breakfast this morning to talk up his appearance at this weekend’s Co-op congress in Rochdale. Amid swipes at the government and big business, the comedian was becoming visibly exasperated by presenters Charlie
Support for Nigel Farage’s Reform party is surging in the UK, and it appears the group is making waves across the pond too. As reported by the Telegraph, US Vice-President JD Vance is getting interested in Farage’s outfit, even quizzing UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson about the rise of Reform. It’s one sign
Just when the SNP thought Operation Branchform had disappeared, the curious case into the party’s funds and finances has reared its head again. Now it transpires that former SNP chief Peter Murrell – and ex-husband of Dear Leader Nicola Sturgeon – has been granted legal aid after being charged with embezzlement, meaning the taxpayer will,
All is not well on the Labour front benches. As Sir Keir Starmer defends his welfare U-turn in the Commons – after last night an eleventh-hour concession saw the government push back Personal Insurance Payment changes – behind him Chancellor Rachel Reeves is struggling to keep it together. Looking both upset and rather sleep deprived,
Uh oh. After Sir Keir Starmer’s embarrassing U-turn on his government’s welfare bill last night – where changes to Personal Insurance Payments were pushed back until after disability minister Stephen Timms’s review on it all next year – cabinet minister Pat McFadden has been out on the airwaves this morning defending his leader. But when
To the Lucy Letby case, where it transpires that the Crown Prosecution Service is considering further criminal charges against the ex-nurse. Murder investigators have passed evidence of further allegations that relate to baby deaths and collapses at the hospitals that employed her – and these are now being considered by the CPS after the Cheshire
Well, well, well. It appears that Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has managed to secure yet another notable donation – and this time from Tory donors who backed Boris Johnson. According to the MPs’ register of interests, the Tory party leader has received a £150,000 donation from Lord Bamford, who was a generous donor to Johnson
To the Countess of Chester Hospital, where three hospital managers have been arrested as part of a corporate manslaughter probe relating to the conviction of nurse Lucy Letby. Cheshire police have confirmed that the hospital bosses have been arrested today on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. They have been bailed pending further inquiries. It follows
Dear oh dear. Mr S reported on Saturday that former Conservative science minister George Freeman was under scrutiny over Sunday Times reports about his £60,000-a-year adviser gig to GHGSat Limited. Now it transpires that the Tory MP for Mid Norfolk has been suspended from his role as government trade envoy after the allegations he was
Well, well, well. The chants of Bob Vylan frontman at Glastonbury – ‘death, death to the IDF’ – sparked outrage at the weekend and it wasn’t long before questions were asked of the BBC, which streamed the performance to viewers at home. Now it transpires that the Beeb’s director general Tim Davie was made aware
Pro-Palestine demonstrators on the streets of Britain have been led in a chant of ‘Death, death to the IDF’ – in a sick imitation of punk duo Bob Vylan’s performance at Glastonbury. Protestors who gathered in Leicester on Sunday shouted the slogan during a speech by controversial activist and ex-Guantanamo inmate Moazzam Begg. Begg, now
What likelihood of a Boris Johnson comeback? Well, according to the man himself, there is, apparently, ‘more chance of a baked bean winning Royal Ascot’ than an improbable second premiership. Yet amid Kemi Badenoch’s constant woes, there are those who still harbour hopes of Johnson 2.0. Of course, one massive stumbling block could be the
They say you should never waste a good crisis. And that certainly seems to be the mantra of certain senior figures within the Labour party, given their prominence in recent days. First, there was Wes Streeting out on the Sunday airwaves. Asked about the ‘Death, death to the IDF’ chant at Glastonbury, the Health Secretary
How low is too low? Kneecap seem determined to find out, judging by their never-ending mission to troll the UK. But last month even the West Belfast trio seemed to go too far, after a video emerged of them calling for the death of British MPs. It prompted a grovelling statement from the band, insisting
Is this year’s Glastonbury line-up the worst ever? There’s Kneecap, of course: those tough-talking IRA cheerleaders who simply LOVE revelling in the imagery of terrorist violence, right up until the point it risks costing a British state grant – or actually serving some jail time. But it seems they now have some fierce competition in
Sir Keir Starmer seems to be changing his mind a lot these days. Whether it is welfare cuts or the ‘island of strangers’ speech, a grooming gangs inquiry or winter fuel, the Prime Minister is struggling to keep consistent line on much at present. So it is perhaps no surprise then that the Labour leader
Just how many of the 121 Tory MPs elected last summer will be there by the end of this parliament? Already, Patrick Spencer has lost the whip after being charged with two counts of sexual assault. And now, George Freeman finds himself in hot water after the Sunday Times reported allegations about his second job
Good old Charlie Falconer. For more than 15 years now, the noble Lord has been trying, desperately, to ram assisted dying through parliament. Kim Leadbeater’s Bill represents his eighth attempt at legalising suicide following previous efforts in 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2022 and 2024. Now, with a narrow majority of just 23 MPs backing
