Michael Gove

Sex and the Famous Five

9 December 2023 9:00 am

Before drawing tenuous comparisons between Enid Blyton and David Bowie, Nicholas Royle invites us to consider the erotic potential of Timmy the dog

How has the Conservative party’s ‘Dr No’ escaped everyone’s notice for so long?

18 November 2023 9:00 am

This malevolent figure has been at the centre of the party for more than 40 years, says Nadine Dorries. But nothing in The Plot bears much relation to reality

The Spectator's Notes

15 July 2023 9:00 am

The trouble with Nick Robinson’s Thoughts for the Day

8 October 2022 9:00 am

Thought for the Day appears every morning on BBC Radio 4. This preachy slot is hallowed by longevity, if not…

What does Michael Gove want?

4 October 2022 7:22 am

Tory conference has long been more stage-managed than other party meetings, but this year the official speeches from ministers have…

Gove backs Kemi Badenoch for prime minister

11 July 2022 6:11 am

Michael Gove has endorsed Kemi Badenoch for Tory leader. Badenoch, who was one of his junior ministers at the Department…

Why parliament should move to Stoke

21 May 2022 9:00 am

Justified relief that soldiers are now coming out of the Azovstal steelworks alive is accompanied by anxiety about what might…

My secret invitation from Michael Gove

23 April 2022 9:00 am

As you may have heard (if you haven’t, I’m losing my narcissistically self-promotional touch) my new TV show Piers Morgan…

I’ve found a little Eden in London

5 March 2022 9:00 am

I’m not one of life’s early risers but an exception had to be made on Wednesday last week. In an…

Boris Johnson is drifting

5 February 2022 9:00 am

Tory MPs only have one topic of conversation: the fate of Boris Johnson. They huddle together in offices in Portcullis…

‘Politics exacts a very high price’: an interview with Michael Gove

18 December 2021 9:00 am

Michael Gove on levelling up, Plan B and the price of politics

Gove gets into gear

13 November 2021 2:06 am

‘This government ends if the red wall reverts back to type and we lose 45 seats then end up in…

How the Tories can 'level up' without annoying Nimbys

6 October 2021 12:48 am

Have the Conservatives lost their nerve on planning reform? Not quite, but a couple of small interventions at the Conservative…

Even Tories should be wary of Gove's election stitch-up

9 September 2021 7:36 am

Conservative politicians appear willing to revolt on every issue: tax rises, China, lockdowns. But on the accumulation of power by…

Oxford has more to be ashamed of than Gove

7 September 2021 5:50 pm

Being the most prestigious university in the English-speaking world comes with its drawbacks. While the rolls of alumni are littered…

Why Gove’s night on the dance floor is good news

4 September 2021 9:00 am

I was pleased to see pictures of Michael Gove at a nightclub in Aberdeen last weekend. According to press reports,…

The Prince Harryfication of Boris Johnson

10 July 2021 9:00 am

The acting one sees upon the stage doesn’t show how human beings actually comport themselves in crises, but simply how…

Ever weaker Union: The Tories lack a constitutional theory

25 June 2021 12:10 am

No doubt Michael Gove is satisfied with how his latest comments on Scottish independence have gone down. The Chancellor of…

Scrapping English votes for English laws could spell trouble

17 June 2021 9:56 pm

It has been almost 45 years since Tam Dalyell first asked the West Lothian Question. It is a damning indictment…

A politician's guide to non-denial denials

28 April 2021 4:50 pm

Michael Gove was deployed to the Commons on Monday afternoon to answers questions on the ministerial code, an hour-long appearance…

Gove hints at vaccine passport app

30 March 2021 9:31 pm

It wasn’t so long ago that ministers were lining up on broadcast to insists vaccine passports were out of the…

Petronella Wyatt: I’m not surprised Michael Gove is a lockdown fanatic

19 December 2020 9:00 am

What this government needs is a good dose of the London mob, which at its height in the 18th century…

Has Spitting Image ever been funny?

31 October 2020 9:00 am

Thank you, Spitting Image, for the nostalgia trip! Your new series on BritBox has rekindled with almost Proustian fidelity those…

I admit it: I was wrong to back Boris

19 September 2020 9:00 am

A friend emailed me earlier this week in despair about the Prime Minister. ‘Boris reminds me of a hereditary king…

The confusion in government goes beyond face masks

18 July 2020 9:00 am

When Michael Gove delivered the Ditchley Annual Lecture last month he spoke about why citizens feel that the political system…