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Steerpike

The Spectator

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Labour MP defends her kids’ private schools

It’s been a tough old time for private schools. Amid endless self-aggrandising, Keir Starmer’s ministers took great pleasure in whacking VAT on...

previous day 10

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Politics / Andy Burnham can’t get enough of reviews and consultations

They’re always tough, the first weeks back at work after a holiday, but the Prime Minister really has been off the ball since returning to the job...

23.08.2026 20

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Andy Burnham can’t get enough of reviews and consultations

They’re always tough, the first weeks back at work after a holiday, but the Prime Minister really has been off the ball since returning to the job...

22.08.2026 10

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Labour MP rewrites the laws of economics

It is no secret that Labour MPs struggle to understand how wealth is created – hardly surprising when just one member of the Cabinet has a business...

21.08.2026 20

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Lucy Powell: There’s nothing wrong with migrant rape pamphlet

“What does this say about the people entering our country?” @NickFerrariLBC asks Education Secretary Lucy Powell why it’s necessary to give...

20.08.2026 20

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Top wonk joins Jenrick’s gang

The summer transfer window is open and Reform UK is making its fair share of signings. Mr S has already broken the news that Karl Williams of the...

20.08.2026 10

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Watch: Bastani grovels over Arday comments

'Professionally I erred, but ethically I really screwed up.'Novara Media co-founder Aaron Bastani has apologised for comments he made on X...

19.08.2026 10

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Burnham: I’m ‘not embarrassed’ after being duped

"There was a minimal exchange. Nothing of consequence."Andy Burnham says he is "not embarrassed" over texting impersonator...

18.08.2026 20

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Labour MP suspended amid Covid loan questions

Well, well, well. For all Labour’s high-minded talk of morality, one of its MPs has been suspended pending an investigation into whether he tried to...

17.08.2026 20

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Illegal migrants in Britain ‘need’ brothels, says Tory grandee

Astonishing.Former Conservative MP Edwina Currie suggests migrants need brothels in these towns and villages.Via @TimesRadio...

14.08.2026 20

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Watch: Tice flounders over Farage’s Clacton no-show

‘That’s nothing to do with his safety, he just doesn’t want to stand next to a bin!’ @NickFerrariLBC isn’t satisfied with how @TiceRichard...

14.08.2026 20

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Reform puts Vodafone on notice over migrant SIM cards

Vodafone is actively assisting illegal migrants in France to break into Britain. Their CEO earns £10m a year. If they do this under a Reform...

13.08.2026 30

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Unite members sit out leadership vote

A meagre 10 per cent of Unite members bothered to vote in the union’s election for general secretary. Arch-lefty Sharon Graham was today re-elected...

12.08.2026 20

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Burnham: I’m ‘completely focused’ on dinghy crossings

Andy Burnham today insisted he is ‘completely focused’ on stopping the boats – but admitted he probably won’t be able to do so before 2029....

11.08.2026 20

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Rayner: Boat migrants are often ‘women and children’

"I feel absolutely appalled these criminal gangs will load a boat up to dangerous levels.Housing Secretary Angela Rayner reacts to a small boat...

11.08.2026 10

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Labour pains / ‘Serial bully’ Bercow back in Labour

Keir Starmer might be gone but Labour is still counting the cost of his legacy. Party membership figures published this week showed that the number of...

09.08.2026 20

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‘Serial bully’ Bercow back in Labour

Keir Starmer might be gone but Labour is still counting the cost of his legacy. Party membership figures published this week showed that the number of...

08.08.2026 20

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Labour: Kids can vote – but not use sunbeds

Stop the presses! Labour has, at last, found something it thinks sixteen-year-olds should not be allowed to use. Not a ballot in national elections,...

06.08.2026 20

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Jason Arday quits Cambridge (finally)

So. Farewell then Jason Arday. The 37-year-old lackademic has tonight resigned his post at Cambridge University – the latest chapter in a remarkable...

06.08.2026 20

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Treasury fires warning shot at wealthy

We are two weeks into Burnhamania and the Prime Minister has already, er, earned himself a break. Somewhere abroad, our Andy reclines. In his absence,...

05.08.2026 20

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Watch: Lowe offers an alliance with Farage

The Greater Manchester result showed what Restore Britain can deliver.The next step is how we maximise the chances of delivering the change Britain...

02.08.2026 20

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Watch: Haigh pleads for a second chance

“I hope they will give me a second chance to serve in government.”First Secretary of State Louise Haigh addresses her conviction for fraud and the...

31.07.2026 20

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Burnham welcomes Diane Abbott back to Labour

Andy Burnham has continued his warm embrace of Labour’s worst lefties by reinstating Diane Abbott to the parliamentary party. The veteran socialist...

31.07.2026 20

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Watch: Thousands of illegal migrants storm the border into Spain

Ceuta is a small Spanish enclave. It would be very easy for the military to round-up everyone who has just stormed into it and return them to Morocco....

30.07.2026 20

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Watch: French police sit back as small boats set sail

This is jaw-droppingFrench Gendarmes admit today they have orders not to stop migrants – only talk to them – even though we pay over £1/2...

29.07.2026 20

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Trade unions boycott Labour women’s conference over trans ban

Labour has once again descended into infighting because swathes of its members and trade union chums remain unable to comprehend what a woman is. Four...

29.07.2026 10

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Watch: French warship fires warning shots near Chris Philp in Channel

On the channel today monitoring illegal migrant crossings … as I was being interviewed by the BBC just now a French warship approached close and...

28.07.2026 10

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Labour backbenchers restart welfare whinging

It’s day eight of Andy Burnham’s premiership and, bless him, he’s already facing a left-wing revolt. Labour backbenchers are up in arms after...

28.07.2026 10

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Labour MPs’ embarrassing Berlin response

What is it about tragedy that brings out the worst in some people? After the horrifying attack on Berlin Pride, most politicians have rushed to offer...

27.07.2026 10

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Europe minister suggests rejoining EU could be in next manifesto

It has only been a week since Andy Burnham’s big reshuffle and there are a fair few ministers still trying to get their feet under the desk. For...

27.07.2026 20

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John Lewis gets behind Labour MP’s dildo campaign

Just in case you were worried it had slipped off the agenda, Labour MP Samantha Niblett has confirmed that her parliamentary dildo exhibition will go...

24.07.2026 20

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Watch: Farage’s car crash heckler

Usually the phrase ‘car crash interview’ is only a metaphor, referring to a politician after a terrible exchange. But now a more literal example...

23.07.2026 20

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Gary Lineker’s tax hypocrisy

The UK’s king of virtue signalling has served up another blinder. Gary Lineker has joined 119 fellow millionaires in signing an open letter calling...

23.07.2026 20

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Badenoch on Shapps: The Tories are now a ‘very different party’

"This is a new and different Conservative Party."Sky's @LucyJMcDaid asks Kemi Badenoch about reports former Conservative cabinet...

23.07.2026 20

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Stella Creasy’s bird-brained parrot alert

Walthamstow has anyone lost a parrot? There’s one in Lloyd park right now! Please share to help reunite it with its owner!...

22.07.2026 30

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Burnham’s policy blitz backfires

Oh dear. It is only day three of Andy Burnham’s premiership and his policy blitz is already descending into quite the shambles. Ministers are...

22.07.2026 20

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Civil service no-shows threaten Burnham’s northern vision

Andy Burnham has made moving civil servants oop North a key plank of his promise to revive prosperity across the country. But the great mandarin...

21.07.2026 20

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Andy Burnham’s rough record on homelessness

Taking a leaf out of Jeremy Corbyn’s playbook, Andy Burnham today used his first pledge as Prime Minister to promise an end to rough sleeping in...

20.07.2026 20

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The SDP makes a bid for Clacton

William Clouston (@WilliamClouston), SDP, is standing to give the people of Clacton full and fair debate. 👇@UKLabour won't serve...

17.07.2026 20

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Liz Truss brings CPAC to Britain – but not the crowds

I’m not going to say that CPAC is dead… but it’s not the most alive… pic.twitter.com/IsRoUTenz0— Anna Ridgway (@annaroseridgway) July 16,...

16.07.2026 20

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Sadiq Khan gains a gong

Just when you thought you couldn’t dislike Sir Keir Starmer any more, he has gone and awarded Sir Sadiq Khan a peerage. The London Mayor is among 26...

16.07.2026 30

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Starmer tells Argentina: hands off the Falklands

Sir Keir Starmer has officially backed Spain to beat the Argies in Sunday’s World Cup final. A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said he wishes...

16.07.2026 30

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Watch: Sinn Féin MEP’s virtue-signalling stunt backfires

pic.twitter.com/5Kmgar5vjJ— Matt Forde (@mattforde) July 15, 2026 pic.twitter.com/5Kmgar5vjJ Westminster is choc-a-bloc with MPs trying to outdo one...

15.07.2026 10

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Liam Halligan to run Thatcher’s think tank

What will Andy Burnham do in office? It is a question many Labour MPs would like answered. With Britain facing a myriad of woes, one institute which...

15.07.2026 20

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BBC publishes annual staff rich list

Roll up, roll up – it’s that deeply depressing time of year once again. The BBC has today published its annual list of obscenely overpaid...

14.07.2026 20

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Ed Davey: Tory wets should join me

Sir Ed Davey this afternoon issued an impassioned plea to Tory wets disillusioned with Kemi Badenoch: come home to the Lib Dems. The party leader...

14.07.2026 30

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Barwell bemoans losing the Tory whip

Fresh from discovering that he has been booted out of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords, Gavin Barwell has found time to compose a 500-word...

14.07.2026 20

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Kemi kick-starts purge of the Tory wets

Kemi Badenoch today set out to prove that she means business when it comes to clearing out the Tory has-beens and wets. The Conservative leader...

13.07.2026 20

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Robbins puts Starmer in the dock

Hell hath no fury like a disgruntled former employee – and, in this case, perhaps justifiably so. As Sir Keir Starmer scrambles to cobble together...

13.07.2026 20

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Does the public back Farage’s by-election gamble?

One of the hottest debates in Westminster today is whether Nigel Farage’s decision to quit as an MP and trigger a by-election was an act of...

10.07.2026 30

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