menu_open Columnists
Steerpike

Steerpike

The Spectator

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Labour blunder on ethics (again)

In opposition, Keir Starmer was at pains to emphasise how different he would be to those wicked old corrupt Tories. But in government, it has proved...

latest 8

The Spectator

Steerpike

Trail hunting battle looms for rural lobby

Tally ho! That sound you can hear is Keir Starmer’s barmy army charging into the fray once more. Having waged war over the Chagos Islands, assisted...

11.03.2026 8

The Spectator

Steerpike

Labour MPs prepare for trigger ballots

It is a difficult time to be a Labour MP. With the Greens on the left and Reform on the right, many are contemplating an electoral pasting in their...

09.03.2026 6

The Spectator

Steerpike

Parliament rocked by another China spy scandal

Oh dear. It seems that the spectre of the Chinese dragon is rearing its head over Westminster again. After three men were arrested earlier today on...

04.03.2026 7

The Spectator

Steerpike

Greens hit second place in polls

Happy spring statement day one and all. As Rachel Reeves valiantly tries to wrestle the public narrative back from her critics, it seems that there is...

03.03.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Minister quits after 'smeargate' row

So. Farewell then Josh Simons. The Macclesfield MP has quit his job at the Cabinet Office following the revelations about his time as head of Labour...

28.02.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Starmer: I am going nowhere

Poor old Sir Keir. It turns out that there was indeed a large anti-Reform tactical vote in Gorton – it just is not willing to vote for his party....

27.02.2026 9

The Spectator

Steerpike

Hoyle: I tipped off the Met about Mandy

Peter Mandelson is in a right old funk. Having been ignominiously hauled in by the Met for questioning on Monday, his lawyers have now been firing off...

25.02.2026 5

The Spectator

Steerpike

Ed Davey's Andrew stunt backfires

Oh dear. It seems that Ed Davey – the most righteous man in all of parliament – has got it wrong again. He and his party must have thought it a...

25.02.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Watch: Labour MP's 'dark shit' jibe

If you didn’t laugh at this Labour government, you would cry. The Anti-Corruption Minister has resigned over corruption; the Homelessness Minister...

23.02.2026 300

The Spectator

Steerpike

Watch: Martin Lewis confronts Kemi

Oh dear. It seems that Martin Lewis, the self-styled ‘Money Saving Expert’, has come a bit of a cropper in his attempts to prove that he is the...

23.02.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is arrested

Happy birthday to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. He has this morning been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, after photos showed cars...

19.02.2026 7

The Spectator

Steerpike

Antonia Romeo is the new cabinet secretary

We have a new cabinet secretary! After a shambolic week in which Downing Street were forced to admit to the lobby that they did not know who was...

19.02.2026 9

The Spectator

Steerpike

Trump slaps down State Department on Chagos

Just what is happening in Washington? It was only yesterday that the State Department was trying to merrily wave through Keir Starmer’s great Chagos...

18.02.2026 8

The Spectator

Steerpike

Reform U-turns on two-child benefit cap

It is Robert Jenrick’s big day out today. The newly-minted Reform ‘Shadow Chancellor’ is making his first speech since his appointment, with...

18.02.2026 7

The Spectator

Steerpike

Chagossians storm their islands

The Chagos deal is set to return to the House of Lords after recess. But a group of islanders are determined to do all they can to avert the handover,...

17.02.2026 60

The Spectator

Steerpike

Rupert Lowe launches his own party

You wait years for a right-wing party – and then a veritable fleet comes along at once. After Advance UK, Heritage and Reclaim, now we have Restore...

16.02.2026 250

The Spectator

Steerpike

Labour Together in turmoil over smear campaign

It was the think tank which made Keir Starmer leader – but now Labour Together is struggling. The Sunday Times yesterday splashed on the news that...

16.02.2026 20

The Spectator

Steerpike

Sturgeon's ex accused of embezzling £459k

The SNP might be heading to another victory – but all is not going swimmingly for the nationalists. The party’s former chief executive Peter...

13.02.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Starmer pick slammed by ex-mandarin

12.02.2026 6

The Spectator

Steerpike

Downing Street flail over dodgy peerage offence

11.02.2026 5

The Spectator

Steerpike

Starmer suspends ex-comms chief over sex offender links

11.02.2026 5

The Spectator

Steerpike

Now Starmer's Cabinet Secretary exits too

10.02.2026 7

The Spectator

Steerpike

Scottish Labour leader calls for Starmer to quit

09.02.2026 4

The Spectator

Steerpike

Labour pains / Mandelson got five-figure sacking payoff

08.02.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Mandelson got five-figure sacking payoff

08.02.2026 6

The Spectator

Steerpike

Mandy’s PR firm plunged into crisis

06.02.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Labour MPs demand McSweeney's head

06.02.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Reform unveil their Welsh leader

05.02.2026 7

The Spectator

Steerpike

Starmer squirms over Phil Shiner links

04.02.2026 20

The Spectator

Steerpike

Watch: Starmer's legal record called out

03.02.2026 6

The Spectator

Steerpike

Watch: Zack Polanski's 45-second U-turn

02.02.2026 6

The Spectator

Steerpike

Peter Mandelson quits Labour

02.02.2026 7

The Spectator

Steerpike

Labour in fresh cash-for-access scandal

30.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Matt Goodwin unveiled as Reform MP hopeful

27.01.2026 7

The Spectator

Steerpike

Rael Braverman joins Reform (again)

26.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Burnham hits out at Team Starmer

26.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Will Burnham come back?

22.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Welsh Tory expelled for Reform talks

20.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Trump slams Starmer's Chagos deal

20.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Tories purge the Jenrickites

19.01.2026 9

The Spectator

Steerpike

Poll: public back Badenoch's sacking of Jenrick

19.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Farage turns on Tory MP over Mauritius

18.01.2026 9

The Spectator

Steerpike

Andy Burnham joins Hillsborough revolt

17.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Badenoch backs Starmer on Greenland

17.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Now the cabinet turns on Wes Streeting

17.01.2026 8

The Spectator

Steerpike

West Mids police chief bows out (finally)

16.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Steerpike

Nick Timothy takes Jenrick’s job

15.01.2026 8

The Spectator

Steerpike

Tory chairman: 'This was treachery'

15.01.2026 7

The Spectator

Steerpike

When will the West Midlands Police chief go?

14.01.2026 20

The Spectator

Steerpike