Michael Gove
Has Spitting Image ever been funny?
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
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
When Michael Gove delivered the Ditchley Annual Lecture last month he spoke about why citizens feel that the political system…
It’s not only Cummings whose fate is at stake
When the cabinet met by conference call on Monday, three ministers spoke in support of Dominic Cummings: Jacob Rees-Mogg, Suella…
The British state needs rewiring
‘Covid-19 has been perhaps the biggest test of governments worldwide since the 1940s,’ declares the government’s command paper on the…
The ridiculousness of the bookshelf police
‘People want to know why Michael Gove owns “racist” and “anti-Semitic” books’, reports the Independent’s website. By ‘people’ it actually…
What have you changed your mind about? A Spectator Christmas survey
Grayson Perry In 1992 I created a graphic novel called Cycle of Violence. Reading it now, the initially striking thing…
Revealed: David Cameron’s ‘Gove protocol’
When Michael Gove was welcomed back into government this year and appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, some wondered…
‘Cameron was a bloody good prime minister’: Michael Gove interviewed
Michael Gove stands in front of an empty throne in the magnificent Cabinet Office room. George III was the last…
From the NHS to Bayreuth: Norman Lebrecht talks to midwife-turned-opera singer Catherine Foster
Every summer for the past six years, Bayreuth has risen to its feet to acclaim an English Brünnhilde. Catherine Foster,…
Boris’s big mistake? Agreeing to the BBC debate
Boris and his team made a mistake by agreeing to take part in Tuesday’s BBC leadership debate. In such decisions,…
The Boris campaign get the leadership final they hoped for
There will be sighs of relief in the Boris Johnson camp this evening after Jeremy Hunt won the second spot…
Portrait of the week: Gove confesses, Brexit party falters and the BBC makes pensioners pay
Home Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, a candidate for the Conservative leadership, admitted he had used cocaine several times 20…
It would be weird if Gove hadn’t taken drugs
Cocaine is an abominable drug, by far the most hateful of all the various uppers and downers and psychoactives because…
Michael Gove’s cocaine blues
The Tory leadership race has taken on a new turn this weekend with the Daily Mail splashing on Michael Gove’s…
How I could get a better Brexit deal
There are things that we can do which will change the way in which we leave the European Union. I…
Tory leadership candidates start frenzied final push for support
With just a few days to go until nominations close in the Tory leadership contest, candidates are busy trying to…
Full-blooded Brexiteers vs cabinet compromisers
Parties don’t get rid of their leaders unless things are going very badly. But this Tory crisis is different in…
No luxury has ever disappointed me as much as my wood-burning stove
When I first heard rumours that Michael Gove was planning to go round the country with his environmental Gestapo, ripping…
Leavers have just killed the best chance of Brexit ever happening
When intelligent, informed and rational people make a choice that onlookers can see confounds their own declared interests, we are…
Life is about so much more than Theresa May’s crappy Brexit deal
It’s that time of year again when I put aside my wonted snark and share with you a few of…
Will no one ever take on the Green Blob?
Gosh it hurts when your little corner of paradise is destroyed by a few idiots’ ignorance and greed. This is…
Who to believe: calculating Kavanaugh or forgetful Ford?
A weekend news report says Environment Secretary Michael Gove’s childhood has been scrutinised by colleagues ‘for clues to understanding this…
Michael Gove’s stove ban is a direct attack on country life
Michael Gove wants to punish those who use wood-burning stoves and possibly even open fires. It would be hard to…
Your Twitter history will always haunt you – if you’re on the right
I once asked Michael Gove, when he had just been appointed Education Secretary, if he would mind awfully appointing me…
