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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To the House of Lords, where it transpires that two peers are to be suspended after they were deemed to have breached lobbying rules. Undercover footage recorded by the Guardian caught Lord Dannatt and Lord Evans of Watford offering parliamentary services to clients who were hoping to lobby the government. The House of Lords’ standards
So much for simple Chinese takeout. In his never-ending search for economic growth, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has finally alighted on the obvious answer: cozying up to the liberal-minded democrats of Tiananmen Square. The Prime Minister is expected to fly to Beijing in the new year, once the long-awaited Chinese super-embassy in the
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Today saw The Spectator’s Energy Summit in full swing, with a variety of panels, debates and discussions about issues from wind power to energy storage and even a review of the Paris Agreement. Naturally Coffee House Shots enjoyed an energy focus too, with shadow energy secretary and Conservative MP Claire Coutinho in conversation with political
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Oh dear. Green leader Zack Polanski may have enticed thousands more voters to join his party with his eco-populist rhetoric, but his grasp of economics leaves a lot to be desired. The party leader appeared on the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg show on Sunday to discuss what the Greens would like to see in the Budget
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Ding ding ding! The gloves are coming off as tensions rise between the Conservatives and Reform UK. Tory party chairman Kevin Hollinrake has come under fire from Nigel Farage’s group after he linked the Reform UK logo to, er, a Nazi party badge. So much for being civil, chaps! The controversial intervention came after Farage
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Another one bites the dust. Iqbal Mohamed has become the second Independent MP to quit the left-wing Your Party amid party infighting. The group, founded by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, has seen unedifying splits become very public as serious rifts grow between the MPs involved in its launch. The animosity between Corbyn and Sultana
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News just in: the former leader of Reform UK in Wales has been handed a prison sentence of 10 and a half years for bribery. Nathan Gill admitted to taking pro-Russia bribes and was paid thousands to give TV interviews that favoured a key ally of Vladimir Putin. He also made pro-Russia speeches in the
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Well, well, well. Just days after MI5 alerted MPs and peers to Chinese espionage threats, it appears that Prime Minister Keir Starmer could be ready to give a Chinese embassy in London the green light. According to the Times, two Whitehall departments will submit their responses to the proposals in the next few days, ahead
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Back to the Covid inquiry, where chair Baroness Heather Hallett has presented the findings of its report. The conclusions don’t particularly paint anyone in a good light and the report even claims that acting ‘too little , too late’ cost the country as many as 23,000 lives in England – although this figure is already
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Zack Polanski’s Green party has experienced a membership boom in recent months, after the new leader was elected at the end of summer. Under the eco-populist’s rule, the party has seen its membership figures soar and its accounts are looking healthier than ever with recent reports suggesting that party has, er, too much money to
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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has dominated the headlines this week after she announced her plans to crackdown on asylum seekers in the UK. Mahmood’s tough talk has earned her criticism from some of her own colleagues about the Labour party’s stance on immigration, while some of her opponents in the Conservative and Reform parties have
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Well, well, well. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is back in the spotlight. Earlier this week, Norwich South MP Clive Lewis offered up his seat to allow Burnham to make a leadership challenge. Left-winger Lewis announced on the Beeb’s Politics Live that he would be happy to let Burnham take his seat to allow the
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Oh dear. As if there hadn’t been enough hiccups in the launch of new left wing group Your Party, it appears there has been another bump in the road. It transpires that Jeremy Corbyn has, er, not been invited to a rally on the eve of the conference hosted by the party’s co-founder Zarah Sultana.
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Well, well, well. Baroness Chapman of Darlington – the international development minister – turned up to the House of Lords to address the UK government’s Chagos deal. Last October, Sir Keir Starmer’s government decided to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a move that has sparked outrage in several quarters – not least
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It was all guns blazing from Kemi Badenoch today. The Tory leader has clashed before with the Guardian – most notably during last year’s contest when she lambasted the paper’s claims of ‘bullying and traumatising behaviour’ when serving in government. And the wokest outlet in all the West was firmly in her sights today when
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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will this afternoon announce big reforms to the UK’s asylum policy – including fast-tracking illegal migrant deportations, changes to human rights law and plans to stop granting visas from certain African countries if their governments don’t co-operate on immigration. While Mahmoud’s tough talk will go down well with voters concerned about
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Another day, another bad poll for Labour. YouGov research has revealed that a whopping 75 per cent of Scots disapprove of the UK government, with just half of those who backed Labour in 2024 saying they would consider voting for the reds again. But this doesn’t necessarily spell good news for the nationalists: while 37
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To Bangladesh, where the country’s ousted former prime minister – and aunt of Labour MP Tulip Siddiq – has been found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death. A special tribunal judged Sheikh Hasina responsible for ordering a violent crackdown on student-led protests in 2023 – during which up to 1,400 people died,
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It has been another bad week for the government. Growth down to 0.1 per cent, a briefing war engulfing No. 10 and now the Budget plans in crisis too. So amid all the various dramas, one story has gone somewhat under the radar. Nine four-star generals signed an open letter to the Times – timed
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‘Ohhhhh Jeremy Corbyn!’ Where would Mr S be without him eh? The grift that keeps on giving has been in full flow this month, with the organisers of ‘Your Party’ determined to get their operation up and running prove. At a meeting last week, poor old Jezza’s wife had to step in and wrestle the