Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from London and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk.

Ex-Unite boss under fire over private jets and million-pound hotel project

23 July 2025 1:42 am

Well, well, well. It would appear the former Unite the Union boss Len McCluskey is not immune to the temptation…

DVSA bosses celebrate ‘progress’ as car test waits worsen

22 July 2025 9:51 pm

The ability of Britain’s quangos to sugarcoat their rather unflattering performance figures will never fail to amaze Mr S. The…

Lowe brands Farage a ‘stinking hypocrite’ over crime policies

22 July 2025 1:12 am

Reform UK has dominated headlines this morning, as the party kick off their six-week campaign on crime. During a central…

When will Miliband make up his mind on Mingyang?

21 July 2025 9:12 pm

Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is preparing to be grilled by the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee this afternoon…

Commons blow Lords away in shooting cup

19 July 2025 1:54 am

The big guns of parliament were out in force this morning. The annual cross-party Commons v Lords shooting match has…

Jenrick accuses Yusuf of ‘bulls**t’ over Twitter post

19 July 2025 1:25 am

Never mind uniting the right, there’s more talk of fighting the right today as the feud between Tory MP Robert…

Shapps accused of trying to ‘rewrite history’ over MoD leak

19 July 2025 1:09 am

To the Ministry of Defence leak, which has created a flurry of news this week after journalists were eventually allowed…

Ex-Tory MPs denied special treatment for 2029 election

18 July 2025 5:24 am

The 2024 election was something of a disaster for the Tories. Two in every three MPs departed the Commons last…

Rayner’s youth blunder

18 July 2025 3:22 am

Oh dear. After the government announced that 16- and 17-year-olds will be allowed to vote in time for the next…

Lefty MPs accept Glastonbury tickets in freebie U-turn

17 July 2025 11:16 pm

Well, well, well. It transpires that a number of left-wing MPs enjoyed some time away from their constituencies at this…

Will Labour suspend Diane Abbott – again?

17 July 2025 8:58 pm

All is not well in Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party. Last night, seven MPs were punished for voting against the…

NHS diversity officer: I don’t know my own sex

17 July 2025 8:42 pm

The Sandie Peggie case against NHS Fife is only getting stranger. The tribunal resumed on Wednesday morning, after first being…

Foreign national benefits figures are ‘absolute insanity’, fumes Lowe

16 July 2025 11:31 pm

Well, well, well. It was only a fortnight ago that the government was forced to gut its own welfare reform…

Rael Braverman quits Reform after attacks on Suella

16 July 2025 9:42 pm

A day is a long time in politics. Just 24 hours ago, the husband of former Tory Home Secretary Suella…

Sandie Peggie cleared of NHS misconduct

16 July 2025 7:12 pm

To Scotland, where the nurse at the centre of a trans tribunal against NHS Fife has been cleared of all…

Soaring asylum costs threaten aid budget, watchdog warns Labour

15 July 2025 5:30 pm

Immigration is never off the news agenda these days, as Brits remain concerned about the influx of people to the…

Layla Moran’s nimbyism backfires

15 July 2025 5:59 am

Oh dear. It seems that Layla Moran – the oracle of Oxfordshire – has been left with egg on her…

Gaza documentary report finds BBC misled viewers

15 July 2025 12:22 am

Back to the BBC, which is better at making the news than breaking it these days. This afternoon a report…

Who are working people? All Labour’s definitions

14 July 2025 10:15 pm

The Labour party has long been dubbed the party of working people – but despite the term being integral to…

Wallace’s BBC return ‘untenable’ after complaints upheld

14 July 2025 8:48 pm

Another week, another bit of bad news for ex-Beeb star Gregg Wallace. A report into the former MasterChef presenter has…

Thatcher hit job piece backfires

13 July 2025 4:47 pm

It is a century this year since the Iron Lady’s birth – and conservatives are determined to mark it in…

Rupert Lowe cleared by standards watchdog

12 July 2025 3:37 am

Well, well, well. It transpires that Independent MP Rupert Lowe – formerly of Reform UK – has now been cleared…

Rachel Reeves’s GDP hypocrisy

11 July 2025 10:35 pm

Well, well, well. Today the Office for National Statistics released its estimate for May’s GDP. It showed a contraction of…

Unite suspends Rayner over Birmingham bin strikes

11 July 2025 10:15 pm

Uh oh. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has been suspended by Unite the Union over the Birmingham bin strike –…

Lammy appoints campaign donor to Foreign Office board

10 July 2025 10:53 pm

Well, well, well. There has been a rather interesting appointment made to the Foreign Office board by David Lammy, as…