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
Yesterday Mr S reported that Robert Halfon was due to give a talk to young Tory activists on Wednesday — less than two weeks after he confessed to an affair with a… young Tory activist. The Minister without Portfolio went public over his brief affair with Alexandra Paterson, the chair of Conservative Future, after claiming that Mark Clarke — the
Faced with the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn one day becoming Prime Minister, Lord Sugar said that if elected, we should all move to China. Strong words from the Apprentice star — who quit the Labour Party after the election over its ‘negative’ stance on business, yet he doesn’t seem all that happy with Britain under Tory rule
Last week Robert Halfon made headlines after he confessed to an affair with a Tory activist, claiming that Mark Clarke — the Tatler Tory currently facing allegations of blackmail and bullying (which Clarke denies) — had planned to film him leaving a hotel with his mistress as part of a blackmail plot. While Halfon has since promised Tory
Since Jeremy Corbyn was elected as Labour leader, the party has struggled to put on a united front. In fact, MPs from the moderate section of the party have regularly found themselves at loggerheads with the Corbynistas during meetings of the PLP. Happily the majority of MPs did at least manage to find common ground at one meeting
Since Jeremy Corbyn was elected as Labour leader, his close friend – and rumoured former lover — Diane Abbott has proved to be one of his most loyal allies. When Abbott — who has earned the nickname Madame Mao — isn’t spending PLP meetings writing her Christmas cards, the Shadow International Development Secretary can be found
After the Paris terrorist attacks over the weekend which left at least 132 dead, there has been much discussion about how best to tackle the problem of IS. While politicians put out carefully worded statements and mull over their stance on air strikes, Andrew Neil has a message of his own for the ‘Islamist scumbags’ responsible
In the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, many have been left asking why they happened and what can be done to prevent another deadly massacre. Meanwhile some — including Jeremy Corbyn — have asked why terrorist attacks in non-European countries appear to attract less attention. However, for one Vogue fashion journalist the question on her lips
After the media reported in detail about both the Paris terrorist attacks and the aftermath over the weekend, several online users began to take to social media to complain that the same treatment hadn’t been given to the terrorist attacks that recently occurred in Beirut and Ankara. Jeremy Corbyn was quick to join the cause, hitting out at
Yesterday Ken Livingstone found himself at the centre of a media storm after he suggested that Kevan Jones — a Labour MP with a history of depression — required psychiatric help, after he dared to question Livingstone’s appointment as co-chair on Labour’s defence policy review. As Jones — along with Jeremy Corbyn — called on Livingstone to apologise, a
A mere hour or so into his new role as the co-chair of Labour’s Trident review and Ken Livingstone is already facing calls to step down. The former mayor of London has managed to put his foot in after making an insensitive mental health jibe during an interview with the Mirror. When asked about comments
Last night’s PLP meeting proved to be a lively affair as Jeremy Corbyn was turned on by members of the Labour party over his ‘shoot to kill’ comments. As Mr S’s colleague Sebastian Payne reports, Corbyn was then ‘shouted down’ by MPs for his stance on military action and Syria. So where was the Labour leader’s primary cheerleader
This morning Nick Robinson made his debut as a presenter on the Today show. However, it was Robinson’s co-presenter James Naughtie who managed to make the news, after he turned the air blue during the broadcast. The Scottish presenter uttered a four letter expletive on air just before 7am after failing to realise he was
Since Mr S’s colleague Miles Goslett blew the whistle on Kids Company – and its founder Camila Batmanghelidjh — in The Spectator earlier this year, the charity has been closed down and Batmanghelidjh has been summoned to a select committee hearing. With Batmanghelidjh’s former cheerleader David Cameron now doing his best to distance himself from the
During the summer over 50,000 people signed a petition accusing the BBC of showing bias against Jeremy Corbyn. One major grievance was that presenters regularly referred to the Labour leader as ‘left wing’. While the corporation issued a statement at the time defending their coverage, it appears that even one of their own staff was left
Last night’s episode of Question Time saw David Dimbleby joined in Stoke-on-Trent by Sajid Javid, Lucy Powell, Ukip’s Paul Nuttall, the Sun‘s managing editor Stig Abell and Paris Lees, the transgender rights activist. With Jeremy Corbyn the main topic on the agenda following the Sun‘s story this week claiming Corbyn failed to bow deeply enough at the Remembrance Sunday service
When Russell Brand laid out his vision for a revolution back in 2013, the comedian-turned-revolutonary said that profit was a filthy word. ‘David Cameron says profit isn’t a dirty word, well I say profit is a filthy word,’ he announced to a bemused Jeremy Paxman. So Mr S can’t help but feel for the poor soul after reading the
As Seumas Milne attempts to settle in to his new job as Jeremy Corbyn’s director of communications, the former Guardian columnist has got off to a rather shaky start. As well as making headlines himself over his controversial appointment, the negative press surrounding Corbyn has shown no sign of disappearing with a fresh storm recently emerging regarding Milne’s colleague
Last year Nadhim Zahawi told Parliament in a debate on UK-Kurdistan bilateral relations that it should come as ‘no surprise’ that he has ‘significant interest’ in the region. Indeed only this summer, Zahawi — who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Kurdistan — led a cross-party group there which included a visit to an oil
After Benedict Cumberbatch indulged in a foul-mouthed rant about the government’s response to the refugee crisis, he was criticised by several figures — including Boris Johnson — for using the theatre as a platform for his political views. In fact, the incident even left Mr S asking: is Benedict Cumberbatch the new Russell Brand? Judging by comments he made
Today Simon Danczuk has come under fire for reportedly pulling out of a parliamentary trip to China at the last minute, after discovering he would have to travel in mere economy class. The Labour MP cancelled his attendance after his request to be upgraded to business class was turned down. According to Richard Graham, the Tory