Steerpike

Steerpike

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

Watch: Kay Burley retires from Sky on air

So. Farewell then Kay Burley. After 36 years, the Sky star has announced she is retiring from the channel. In a two-minute monologue at the end of this morning’s programme, Burley reflected on her career in broadcast journalism, covering stories ranging from the death of Princess Diana and the Concorde air disaster to London winning

Eleven lowlights from the assisted dying evidence session

To Westminster, where last week Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying bill began the evidence session of committee stage. But rather than provide much needed clarification about the scope of suicide bill, the three days of evidence sessions instead threw up even more questions about the safety of the legislation. After paying careful attention to the hours

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Starmer set to close Chagos deal in ‘coming weeks’

Is Sir Keir Starmer determined to make himself more unpopular with the British public? The news of his latest Chagos offer is hardly likely to endear the Prime Minister to his critics – not least given the Labour leader has reportedly offered the Mauritians yet more money and ‘complete sovereignty’ of an island containing a

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Burnham’s night czar eviscerates Reeves

Oh dear. It’s a day ending in ‘y’ – so that means more bad news for Rachel Reeves. Today, the flack comes from an unlikely quarter: someone you might think was actually on her side. Sacha Lord, who quit last week after more than six years as Andy Burnham’s night-time economy advisor, has today decided

Foreign Office struggles to mind its Mandarin

The Foreign Office was once described as a ‘palace of dreams’, yet these days it seems increasingly like a graveyard full of nightmares. Just weeks after the Gaza ceasefire, the outbreak of a tariff war in America is just another fresh headache for the Sir Humphreys of Whitehall. Yet with Trump returning to the White

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Did Starmer breach Covid rules?

Oh dear. It seems No. 10 aren’t keen to go anywhere near suggestions that Sir Keir Starmer might have broken lockdown rules. Back in December 2020, the Labour leader was receiving voice training lessons from actress Leonie Mellinger, who claimed status as a ‘key worker.’ This included a visit to Labour HQ on Christmas Eve,

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SNP mull ban on household cats

Here’s one to make you paws for thought: SNP ministers are considering a ban on pet cats, in a bid to protect birds and other wildlife. Yes, that’s right, an official report for the Scottish Government suggests establishing containment zones where residents can be forced to keep their pets indoors, or stopped from owning them

Channel 4’s diversity hypocrisy

Some good news for the BBC: for once it’s not them causing bad headlines. Today’s latest shining example in public service broadcasting is offered by Channel 4. It seems that in their never-ending quest to boost their flagging ratings, producers have turned in desperation to a TV ‘personality’ with some rather unsavoury views. Go Back

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Nats blast Humza in ministerial interview series

Uh oh. There’s more trouble in nationalist paradise. A series of interviews with past and present Scottish government ministers have been published on the Institute for Government website as part of a devolved government series – and they make for some rather revelatory reading… As if the Nats hadn’t aired their dirty laundry enough, the

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J.D. Vance mocks ‘110 IQ’ Rory Stewart

Oh dear. In his never-ending desire to appear clever, it seems that Rory Stewart has slipped up again. You might have thought that after his poor predictions of a Kamala Harris landslide, the former Tory MP might be taking a break from super-forecasting and philosophising. But no, undaunted by past humiliations, ‘Florence of Belgravia’ seems

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Trump: Diversity hires to blame for Washington crash

While the investigation into the Washington air crash has only just started, already President Trump has hinted at what he considers is to blame. His conclusion? Diversity hires. The horrific crash took place on Wednesday evening when an American Airlines flight carrying 64 people collided with a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac river, a

Watch: Priti Patel challenged to apologise over borders failure

As Reform UK’s support surges, the Conservatives are coming under scrutiny for failing to deal with immigration to the UK during their time in power. Former Home Secretary Priti Patel found herself in the firing line after she was grilled on the Sun’s Never Mind the Ballots today. Quizzed by the newspaper’s political editor Harry

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Watch: Richard Madeley grills Rachel Reeves on CV

When it rains for the Labour lot, it pours. This morning Rachel Reeves came under fire on Good Morning Britain as she appeared on the airwaves for a media round. She may have made her big growth speech yesterday, but the Chancellor still can’t escape questions about her rather controversial curriculum vitae. Quizzing Reeves on

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Gaza uni protests used non-students to boost numbers

Well, well, well. In a new report released by the Higher Education Policy Institute, it has emerged that a number of pro-Gaza university campus protests relied on non-students to help bolster campaign numbers – after widespread demonstrations took place across top university campuses last year. Both the US and UK saw mass university protests –

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Reform lures Tory donors to £1m bash

Uh oh. Things aren’t looking good for the Tories – after a number of former Conservative donors paid five figures to attend a fundraiser for Reform UK. The luxurious do included Dom Pérignon champagne, bagpipers and even an opera singer. Talk about switching sides… It transpires that multiple Tory donors attended the £1 million-raising Reform

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Where is Ed Miliband?

It’s a busy day for the Labour lot, what with Rachel Reeves’s big growth speech this morning and Sir Keir Starmer’s PMQs at noon. But as viewers tuned in to watch the back-and-forth play out between the Prime Minister and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, there was one rather notable absence on the Labour benches. Energy

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Will the SNP government lose yet another health minister?

To Scotland, where today the SNP government’s embattled Health Secretary Neil Gray is in the firing line. The Scottish Tories have tabled an amendment – which will be voted on today – calling for the ‘Limogate’ minister to step down after Gray admitted to inadvertently misleading parliament over using taxpayer-funded cars to transport him to

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Reeves blasted for backing third Heathrow runway

Growth is the flavour of the month for Sir Keir Starmer’s government, with Rachel Reeves this morning delivering a big speech on Britain’s economic potential. As the Chancellor attempts to woo the public with a number of talking points in today’s address, all eyes remain on the rather controversial matter of Heathrow’s expansion – which,