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

Gary Lineker defends Gaza documentary pulled by the BBC

It’s a day ending in a ‘y’ which can only mean one thing – noted geopolitics expert Gary Lineker inflicting his opinions on the Middle East on the rest of us. Gary’s latest dip into the Arab-Israeli conflict comes after the BBC was forced to pull its documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, from iPlayer

From the archives: Rupert Lowe’s first fight for freedom

These days, it’s rare to find an MP who is consistent in his politics. So Mr S was delighted to discover on a trip to the archives that there is an exception to this usual rule. Rupert Lowe has served as the no-nonsense Honourable Member for Great Yarmouth since July 2024. Prior to his election

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How will the Chagos deal be funded?

To the Commons, where Prime Minister’s Questions has this afternoon taken place. Sir Keir Starmer was asked a ranged of questions, from energy to aid to the economy. But while the Labour PM appeared to enjoy his to and fro with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, on the Chagos Islands he was a little more cagey…

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Chagos judge also supported slavery reparations

Well, well, well. It turns out that an international judge who ruled against Britain on the Chagos Islands has also, er, called for the UK to pay over £18 trillion in slavery reparations. Patrick Robinson is a Jamaican judge who has previously served on the International Court of Justice – and was one of the

Watch: Starmer apologises over defence statement leak

Uh oh. Sir Keir Starmer made a big statement in the Commons today on raising defence spending – but before the Prime Minister could get started, his party faced a rather big telling off from the Speaker about following the ministerial code. As Lindsay Hoyle explained to parliamentarians, texts of ministerial statements should be provided

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Starmer to raise defence spending to 2.5%

To the Commons, where Sir Keir Starmer has just made a rather big announcement on the issue of defence. The Prime Minister took to the Chamber today to announce to parliamentarians that Labour will raise Britain’s defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 – with a commitment to hit 3 per cent

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Assisted dying committee votes down palliative amendment

Back to Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill, which continues to undergo scrutiny as it makes its passage through parliament. This morning, the bill committee gathered to further discuss the legislation – and, in yet another baffling move, MPs voted by almost two to one against an amendment that would have required a patient to be

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Watch: Trump and Macron share awkward handshake

Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron have some odd history. The US president and his French counterpart don’t particularly see eye to eye and their strained relations have, over the years, been reflected in a series of rather intense handshakes – with one lasting for a full 29 seconds during a 2017 encounter. Crikey. Their meeting on

‘Orwellian’ Commons in MPs’ bar crackdown

Happy freedom day! Yes, that’s right – after more than a month closed, the Strangers’ bar in the Palace of Westminster has today finally re-opened. Peers and MPs piled in to celebrate the return of their beloved watering hole. But, alas, already there are reports that Strangers’ will no longer be the fleshpot, following allegations

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Ex-Reform Wales leader accused of taking Russian bribes

Uh oh. The ex-leader of Reform UK in Wales has appeared in court after being accused of accepting Russian bribes. Nathan Gill, 51, is facing eight counts of bribery alongside one count of conspiracy to commit bribery – to make statements, it is alleged, that would benefit Russia in the European parliament. Good heavens… Initially

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Energy bosses lose faith in Miliband’s net zero goals

When it rains for the Labour lot, it pours. Now Ed Miliband is in the firing line after a new global survey revealed a sharp fall in confidence about net zero among top energy bosses. The Energy Industries Council polling found just one in six energy chiefs believe the world can achieve net zero by

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Kemi calls for probe into BBC Hamas film

To the BBC, which has received a rather scathing letter from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch over a controversial documentary on Palestine. The Conservative party leader blasted the BBC 2 film released last week – titled ‘Gaza: How to Survive A Warzone’ – which was narrated by none other than, er, the son of a Hamas

Reform UK officially democratises

Parliament may be in recess – but for Reform UK the work does not stop. This morning Mr S noticed a bit of transfer activity on the party’s Companies House page. Both Nigel Farage and Richard Tice were no longer listed as ‘persons with significant control’; in their place was Reform 2025 Ltd, as of

Hague brings the house down at Oxford

To Oxford, where William Hague was today admitted as the university’s 160th chancellor. In an hour-long ceremony, the onetime Tory leader was welcomed by Jonathan Katz, Oxford’s Public Orator. He reflected on Chris Patten’s decision to retire as Chancellor, noting that ‘there are precedents’ – indeed, to use ‘academic terminology’, ‘the great Creator himself took

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Which female minister did Sunak call ‘effing useless’?

There’s only one book which all of Westminster is talking about. Traditionally, the post of Chief Whip has been filled by various men in grey suits, the very embodiment of discretion and anonymity. But today Simon Hart has begun serialising his tell-all diaries. From 2022 to 2024, he served as Rishi’s enforcer, desperately trying to

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Reform makes more gains in Scotland

Well, well, well. As Nigel Farage’s Reform party continues to poll well across the UK, north of the border the right-wing group is making yet more gains in Scotland. Now yet another Scottish Tory councillor has defected to join Reform UK, with the party announcing this morning that Alec Leishman had switched sides – as

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Could Jeff Bezos face jail under Labour’s knife reforms?

It’s a gaffe day with Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot and now the spotlight is on policing minister Diana Johnson. The Labour MP took to the airwaves this morning to sell Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s announcement that the maximum prison sentence for people selling knives to children under 18 will be increased in light of

Scottish Labour U-turns on trans stance

Well, well, well. Gender is back on the agenda in Holyrood again after the ongoing Sandie Peggie v NHS Fife case sparked outrage across the country. Scottish politicians held off on declaring their support for the female nurse, who took her health board and transgender doctor Dr Beth Upton to a tribunal over harassment allegations,