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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Rishi Sunak was expected to set sail for the US after leaving No. 10, but it turns out his post-prime ministerial life is less Silicon Valley and more Sunday Times. The former Conservative party leader – who remains an MP for Richmond and Northallerton – will become a regular fixture in the august weekend paper,
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Well, well, well. While the issue of drug decriminalisation has reared its head in recent months thanks to an intervention by London mayor Sadiq Khan, there aren’t all that many politicians who have advocated for the legalisation of illicit substances. That hasn’t put off the Economist which, in a leader titled ‘Brute force is no
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Uh oh. There’s trouble in paradise as Reform UK has suspended four councillors on Kent county council after a leaked video revealed a rather lot of infighting in their ranks. Councillors were captured complaining about ‘backbiting’ and being ignored by leader Linden Kemkaran – formerly of this parish – who fumed that they should ‘f***ing
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It’s a difficult time for Tory members. Down to barely 123,000 at the last count, the annual conference passed off well, given the circumstances. But while Kemi Badenoch’s speech received a thumbs up from the commentariat, those running local groups continue to complain of problems. For a leaked recording has revealed what senior members and
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Ever fancied going stateside? Enjoy travel, hobnobbing and schmoozing Republicans? Well, now you can, thanks to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) latest posting. After Peter Mandelson’s unfortunate demise last month, London is looking for an ambitious, industrious type to go be our new man (or woman) in Washington D.C. The job advert has
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Something of a nightmare is gripping the city of dreaming spires. Over at the Oxford Union – the supposed nursery of our nation’s leaders – the new Union president-elect is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Last month, George Abaraonye sparked outrage after appearing to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk. Then, on Saturday
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When stories first emerged about a new tell-all book on Keir Starmer’s ruthless rise to power, Corbynites got predictably excited. The work by Paul Holden – titled The Fraud – has not quite proved to be the thing which finally does for this besieged No. 10 team. But it does, however, contain some interesting details
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They say that politics is showbiz for ugly people. But that has not stopped some of parliament’s finest swapping the Westminster jungle for the real thing. Over the years, a series of politicians have braved the Australian climate of ITV’s reality series I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! Among them are the ex-Scottish
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As any good Spectator subscriber knows, Joan Collins is a national institution. The Hollywood star took centre stage at last night’s big Thatcher Centre bash to mark one hundred years since the Iron Lady’s birth. Boris Johnson reminisced about Collins’ diaries when he edited this august outlet some twenty years ago. But it was left
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To the Guildhall where hundreds of Thatcherites last night met to pay tribute to the Iron Lady. On the centenary of her birth, a roll call of the great and the good was assembled by the eponymous centre named in her honour. Highlights of the evening included Jeffrey Archer’s auction, where he told the crowd
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To the Cliveden Literary Festival, where Health Secretary Wes Streeting has offered up his support for Sir Keir Starmer’s Brexit attack strategy. The Prime Minister is planning to use Brexit – and Nigel Farage’s part in the campaign – as a way to both excuse the difficult decisions that will be made in next month’s
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Reform UK’s Nigel Farage has hit out at Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the party’s youngest council leader was attacked in the street on Friday. George Finch suffered an allegedly unprovoked attack in Nuneaton town centre at the weekend, after which his assailant started shouting abuse at the 19-year-old Warwickshire county council leader – calling
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Well, well, well. SNP conference has gotten off to a rather, er, interesting start. As one might expect, the subject of independence has dominated the first day of the big meet-up in Aberdeen. The party’s strategy as laid out by First Minister John Swinney says that an SNP majority at next year’s Holyrood election would
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To the north of Scotland, where in Aberdeen the SNP conference has begun. Activists are gathering, once again, to try and figure out how exactly Scotland might achieve independence after a decisive 2014 referendum, a Supreme Court slap down and, er, almost 20 years of substandard SNP rule. Best of luck, chaps! The party’s Westminster
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It’s the SNP’s big weekend out as party members and politicians make the painstaking journey to Aberdeen for the nationalists’ annual conference. Just seven months away from next year’s Scottish parliament elections, the Nats will spend the weekend discussing campaign strategy, devolved policy and – you guessed it – independence. It would appear the talks
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To BBC Question Time, where new leader of the Greens Zack Polanski spent much of the evening sparring with Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf. The lefty leader accused the Reform figure of being a ‘far-right, fascist’ that was obsessed with immigration while Yusuf accused Polanski of wanting a ‘communist economic system’ in a Britain where ‘it
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To India, where Keir Starmer has met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the UK-India trade deal and learn more about the country’s digital ID scheme. But of course the curious matter of the China spy case collapse came up at today’s press conference as questions remain about why the charges against Chris Cash
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After two years of war, both Hamas and the Israeli government have agreed to a ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump. The pact will see the remaining hostages released by Hamas and the bombing of Gaza to stop. British politicians of all stripes have lauded the deal, while Trump has been praised for
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The Conservative party conference may be in full swing in Manchester but Reform UK’s politicians are still creating headlines. Deputy leader Richard Tice has given a rather punchy interview to Arabian Business during a trip to Dubai – in which he slated Britain’s immigration ‘disaster’, insisted a decline in the British work ethic was because
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The Conservative party conference may be drawing to a close, but the fighting spirit of the Tories isn’t going anywhere. At the Spectator’s well-attended Scotland event this afternoon – ‘Can the Tories turn back the teal tide?’ – MPs Andrew Bowie and Harriet Cross were packing the punches. The story of the Scottish Tories isn’t