Michael gove

Grammar schools remain one of the most highly-charged issues in domestic politics. There is bound to be controversy about how to boost social mobility and educational standards. But grammar schools bring to the surface other deep undercurrents as well. Were things better in the 1950s? What was Margaret Thatcher’s role in closing so many of them and did she want to see them brought back? Does the call for more grammar schools represent the best of authentic politics shaped by our own experiences, or does evidence-based policy making mean going beyond that? And it is where the Conservative Party fights its own version of class war – those who were

In the aftermath of the Leave vote, it’s safe to say that not every Brexiteer’s career path has played out as they hoped. After Michael Gove’s leadership bid backfired, the former Justice Secretary has found himself on the back bench. What’s more, his old pals George Osborne and David Cameron appear to have cut him from their once close friendship group. However, Mr S is pleased to report that Gove has reason to smile once again. As of next month he will return to The Times — where he previously worked before turning his hand at politics — to write a regular column for the Murdoch-owned paper. Steerpike understands that the appointment has

It’s been over a month since Theresa May stood on the steps of Downing Street. And yet the process of finding out what will define her government is moving slowly. We’ve had snippets of the direction in which it won’t be heading: her decision to put the brakes on Hinkley Point, at least for the time being, shows she won’t be pursuing the Osborne agenda. This has, too, been backed up by reports today that she won’t press ahead with plans for regional mayors with the same fervour as the former chancellor. Yet we’ve had only limited glimpses of what May will be aiming to implement. The catchphrase ‘Brexit means

One of the many incorrect predictions about this year’s referendum was that those who voted for Brexit would soon regret it. The theory was that these deluded souls only intended to lodge a protest vote, and would be overcome with buyers’ remorse as Britain fell headlong into a deep recession. Two months after the referendum, there is precious little regret. Polls suggest that just 5 per cent of those who backed Brexit wish they hadn’t; the same is true for those who voted Remain. However, the Remainers have moved quickly and effectively into post-campaign mode and have found a new vocabulary. Their new enemy is ‘hard Brexit’. They seize on

There has been much speculation this week regarding rumours that Michael Gove has a beard. The former Justice Secretary was spotted on Tuesday in the Palace of Westminster with what appeared to be a new bout of facial hair. Today photos have emerged of Gove’s whiskers, as his wife Sarah Vine confirmed the news in Wednesday’s Daily Mail. Alas, she has given the beard a lukewarm verdict. Vine says that although Gove is ‘enjoying his new hipster look’, she’s growing tired of men getting to let their ‘facial hair grow wild and free as they relax their regimes’ in summer. Instead she would like to turn the tables so that the woman don’t need

Now that Michael Gove has returned to the backbenches, the former Justice Secretary can take heart that his new role will at least save him some awkward meetings, say for example, with the Queen. In an upcoming BBC documentary on Brexit, Nick Clegg blames Gove for the Sun’s ‘the Queen backs Brexit’ splash. Published in March, the paper reported that the Queen clashed with Nick Clegg — then Deputy Prime Minister — over Europe at a lunch in 2011 at which Her Majesty declared the EU was ‘heading in the wrong direction’. Although Gove has previously denied being behind the story — which the palace complained to Ipso about — Clegg would care to disagree. In the

A few weeks ago, I wrote a Spectator cover story about David Cameron’s purge of the posh. My peg was a new wheeze from the Cameroons whereby prospective employees should be asked not just where they went to university, but about their childhood and parents’ assets etc. The idea was to make sure that too many posh people didn’t make it to the top. Sinister, I argued, and not meritocratic. Judging people on their merits means not marking them down for being poor or posh. Inverted snobbery is still bigotry, and ought to be deplored as such. And yet the government was proposing rolling it out, first with the civil service and then…. …the government hopes other

I first met a boyish, sunny Tony Blair more than 20 years ago. Our encounters have always been slightly tense since I reported some clumsy remarks he made about tax when he was still an apprentice PM — and he reacted much as Andrea Leadsom did against the Times last week (though via A. Campbell rather than Twitter). On Wednesday afternoon at Admiralty House he is a stricken caricature of how he was: painfully thin; waxy skin; astonishingly terrible teeth. He is a brilliant actor but not that good: he has been tormenting himself over Chilcot. But he isn’t sorry for the invasion, as he told me, and would do

As Theresa May prepares to move into No.10 today, Britain’s next Prime Minister has a united party behind her. Since Andrea Leadsom dropped out on Monday, Conservative MPs have done their best to put any differences behind them and rally behind their new leader. However with a Cabinet reshuffle looming, that could all change very quickly indeed. Given that there have been little to no leaks regarding the impending reshuffle, it’s anyone’s guess who May will pick for her front bench. Happily, the bookies are at least on hand to offer their list of politicians to watch. In a move that is likely to worry Out-ers, Paddy Power have Remain-er Philip Hammond — who

David Cameron is now in in his last full day in Downing Street and already all eyes are on the woman who will replace him. Theresa May is on the front of every newspaper this morning as she prepares to take over at No.10. Here’s how the papers have greeted Britain’s new PM-in-waiting: The Daily Mail, which backed Theresa May in the Tory leadership race, relishes the prospect of her taking over from David Cameron. On its front page, the paper describes the handover as the ‘Coronation of Theresa’ – making a big show of her promise to heal rifts and make Brexit a success. Don’t expect such uncompromising praise

Over the course of the past weekend, Andrea Leadsom has come under fire for her comments on having children. Such media scrutiny has proved too much for Leadsom as she announced her withdrawal from the Tory leadership campaign. With this leaving Theresa May as the only candidate for Prime Minister and Conservative party leader, what will happen next? Joining Isabel Hardman for Coffee House shots today is Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth. On the podcast, James Forsyth describes how Andrea Leadsom lost her confidence in the contest: ‘Most of the people who’d voted for Michael Gove were moving over to the Theresa May camp, so she really would have been