Gove on the teaching of history Recorded 30 December 2013
Michael Andrew Gove, Baron Gove (/ɡoʊv/; bornGraeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician and journalist. A member of theHouse of Lords since May 2025, he previously held seniorCabinet positions inConservative governments between 2010 and 2024. He was theMember of Parliament (MP) forSurrey Heath from 2005 to 2024, during which he twice returned to the backbenches. He was a prominent figure in the2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union and stood for theConservative leadership on two occasions. Gove has been editor ofThe Spectator since 2024.
Gove was born Graeme Andrew Logan on 26 August 1967.[2][3] His biological mother, whom he originally understood to have been an unmarriedEdinburgh student, was in fact a 23-year-old cookery demonstrator.[2] Gove regarded Edinburgh as his birthplace until it was revealed in abiography in 2019 that he was born in amaternity hospital in Fonthill Road,Aberdeen.[4] Logan was put into care soon after he was born.[5]
At the age of four months he was adopted by a couple in Aberdeen, Ernest and Christine Gove, by whom he was brought up.[6] After he joined the Gove family, Logan's name was changed to Michael Andrew Gove.[2] His adoptive father, Ernest, ran EE Gove and Sons,[7] afish processing business atAberdeen Harbour inTorry.[8][9] Established by Ernest's father,[10] the business was sold by Ernest in the 1980s.[7][10] Gove's adoptive mother, Christine, was alab assistant at theUniversity of Aberdeen, later working at the Aberdeen School for the Deaf.[11]
Gove, his parents, and his adoptive sister Angela Christine lived in a small property in theKittybrewster area of Aberdeen,[12] before moving to a residence on Rosehill Drive. He was educated at two state schools (Sunnybank Primary School and Kittybrewster Primary School),[13] and later, on the recommendation of his primary school teacher,[14] he sat and passed the entrance exam for the independentRobert Gordon's College.[15]
At Robert Gordon's, classmates and teachers recalled him as confident and intellectually curious. According to a former teacher, "at the start of every lesson a hand would go up and it would be Michael". He rode an old-fashioned bicycle, wore suits, recited poetry and participated enthusiastically in debates, although he was less strong at sport.[16] Gove later recalled feeling intellectually out of place at home[17] and described himself as a "swot" who asked questions from an early age.[18] In 2012, he wrote an apology letter to his former French teacher for misbehaving in class.[19]
Gove joined theLabour Party in 1983[20] and campaigned for the party in the1983 general election.[21] Outside of school, he spent time as aSunday school teacher at Causewayend Church.[21] As he enteredsixth year,[22] his father's business had collapsed and the family could no longer afford the school fees, so he won a scholarship.[16] He served as aschool prefect in his final two years.[23]
While at Oxford and shortly afterwards, Gove participated inCambridge Union debates where he sometimes used language that later drew criticism. In 1987, while president-elect of the Oxford Union, he took part in a debate on theBritish Empire. In his speech he said: "It may be moral to keep an empire because thefuzzy-wuzzies can't look after themselves. It may be immoral to keep an empire because the people of theThird World have an inalienable right to self-determination, but that doesn't matter whether it's moral or immoral." He also describedMargaret Thatcher's policies as a "new empire" where "the happySouth stamps over the cruel, dirty, toothless face of theNortherner", and said that gay people "thrive primarily upon short-term relations".[34] These and other remarks he made shortly after university later drew criticism.[35] Gove graduated with anupper second-class degree.[36]
After university, when applying for a job at theConservative Research Department, Gove was told he was "insufficiently political" and "insufficiently Conservative", so he turned to journalism.[37] After passing an interview with editorMax Hastings, Gove briefly worked onThe Daily Telegraph's Peterborough column,[38] edited by David Twiston-Davies. He reportedly found regular shifts hard to come by and was told by Twiston-Davies that his talent lay "in libel". Struggling to make a living in London,[39] he moved back to Aberdeen and became a trainee reporter[40] and court reporter[41][42] atThe Press and Journal, where he spent several months on strike in the 1989–1990 dispute over union recognition and representation.[40] From 1990 to 1991,[43][44] he worked as a reporter forScottish Television, with a brief interlude atGrampian Television in Aberdeen.[45]
Gove co-foundedPolicy Exchange,[59] a conservativethink tank launched in 2002,[60][61] and chaired it for three years.[62] He was seen as part of an influential group of Conservatives referred to as theNotting Hill set, which included futureparty leaderDavid Cameron, futureChancellor of the ExchequerGeorge Osborne,Ed Vaizey,Nick Boles, andRachel Whetstone.[63] They were considered modernisers within the Conservative Party, combiningsocially liberal positions with an emphasis on environmental issues.[64] Having been passed over for the editorship ofThe Times[59] and seen his authority diminish, Gove began to focus on a political career.[65] Cameron, who had long encouraged him privately, publicly urged him to enter politics, writing: "Give up the journalist's expense account and cast aside ambitions of editing the Thunderer. Gird up your loins and prepare for late nights sitting on uncomfortable green benches... In short, Michael, become a Tory MP."[66][67] In 2004, Gove was commissioned to write a biography ofHenry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke.[52] On 5 July 2004, he won the Conservative candidacy forSurrey Heath,[68] after the sitting MPNick Hawkins was deselected by the local Conservative association[69] amid disputes over his personal conduct.[70] Gove then arranged to leave the staff ofThe Times, but was retained on a contract to write a weekly column for the newspaper and other such pieces as might be commissionedad hoc.[52] Gove has helped to write speeches for Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet ministers, includingPeter Lilley andMichael Howard.[71]
Over a five-month period between December 2005 and April 2006, Gove claimed more than £7,000 on a house bought with his wifeSarah Vine, in 2002. Around a third of the money was spent atOKA, an upmarket interior design company established byAnnabel Astor, David Cameron's mother-in-law. Shortly afterwards he reportedlyflipped his designated second home, a property for which he claimed around £13,000 to cover costs including local authority searches, fees andstamp duty. Gove also claimed for a cot mattress, despite children's items being banned under updated Commons rules. Gove said he would repay the claim for the cot mattress, but maintained that his other claims were "below the acceptable threshold costs for furniture" and that moving house was necessary "to effectively discharge my parliamentary duties". While he was moving between homes, on one occasion he stayed at thePennyhill Park Hotel inBagshot,Surrey, charging the taxpayer more than £500 per night's stay.[75]
Gove won the "Rising Star Award" at the February 2006 Channel 4 political awards.[76] He criticised the then-Labour government for its introduction of the Empty Properties Rating Bill, because he viewed it as a damaging tax, especially during an economic downturn. He also criticised Labour's top-down housing targets,[77] a policy from the 2000s where the central government imposed mandatory housebuilding quotas on local councils.[78]
Gove occasionally contributed to the right-leaningStandpoint magazine.[83] He contractedswine flu during the2009 influenza pandemic.[84] In January 2010, he gave up his column forThe Times, in keeping with a policy governing Shadow Cabinet activity laid down by David Cameron at that time.[52] Many of his questions in Commons debates prior to the2010 general election concerned children, schools and families, education, local government,Council Tax, foreign affairs, and the environment.[85] At the 2010 general election, Gove was re-elected, winning an increased majority of 17,289, and with an increased vote share of 57.6%.[86]
With the formation of theConservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government following the hung parliament after the 2010 general election, Gove becameSecretary of State for Education. His first moves included reorganisinghis department,[87] announcing plans to allow schools rated as Outstanding byOfsted to becomeacademies,[88] and for groups such as parents and charities to establish new state-fundedfree schools,[89] and cutting the previous government's school-building programme,Building Schools for the Future.[90] He apologised, however, when the list of terminated school-building projects he had released was found to be inaccurate;[91] the list was reannounced several times before it was finally accurately published.[92]
Gove's second home was not in his constituency, but inElstead, in theSouth West Surrey constituency. Gove sold the house and began to commute to his constituency.[93]
During the 2010 Conservative Party Conference, Gove announced that theprimary and secondary-school national curricula for England would be restructured, and that study of authors such asByron,Keats,Austen,Dickens, andHardy would be reinstated in English lessons as part of a plan to improve children's grasp ofEnglish literature andlanguage.[94] Academies and free schools were not required to follow the national curriculum, and so weren't affected by the reforms.[95] Children who failed to write coherently and grammatically, or who were weak in spelling, were penalised in the new examinations. Standards in mathematics and science were also strengthened.[94] Gove won the "Minister of the Year" award at the 2011Spectator awards.[96]
In February 2011, Gove told Parliament that one individual adviser had earned £1,000,000 in a single year, when in fact the total pay for five advisers over a four-year period was £700,000, spread across a programme covering more than 80 schools. The following month, he was criticised for suggesting that architects had "creamed off" money that could be better spent on teaching, and for misrepresenting the cost of school architecture, leading to accusations that he underestimated the importance of school design for pupils' behaviour and educational outcomes.[97]
During the Cameron–Clegg ministry, Gove was the subject of repeated criticism for alleged attempts to avoid the provisions of theFreedom of Information Act. The criticism surrounded Gove's use of various private email accounts to send emails that allegedly related to his departmental responsibilities. The allegations suggested that Gove and his advisers believed they could avoid their correspondence being subject to freedom of information requests, as they believed that their private email accounts were not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. In September 2011, theFinancial Times reported that Gove had used an undisclosed private email account—called "Mrs Blurt"—to discuss government business with advisers.[98][99] In March 2012 theInformation Commissioner ruled that because emails theFinancial Times had requested contained public information they could be the subject of a freedom of information request and ordered the information requested by the paper to be disclosed.[100][101] It was also alleged by theFinancial Times that Gove and his advisors had destroyed email correspondence in order to avoid freedom of information requests. The allegation was denied by Gove's department, which stated that deleting email was simply part of good computer housekeeping.[102][103]
In February 2012, when asked about the possibility of running for the Conservative Party leadership in the future, Gove said: "I'm constitutionally incapable of it. There's a special extra quality you need that is indefinable, and I know I don't have it. There's an equanimity, an impermeability and a courage that you need. There are some things in life you know it's better not to try."[104] Nevertheless, a few months later, Michael Portillo backed Gove as a serious contender in a future Conservative Party leadership contest.[105]
In September 2012, Gove announced to the House of Commons anEnglish Baccalaureate to replaceGCSEs, comprising English, Maths, Science, together with a Humanities subject and language,[106] to be first examined in 2017.[107] The English Baccalaureate would cut back heavily on the use of classroom assessment and coursework,[108] with exams at the end of the course in a return to anO-level style traditional qualification. The plans were dropped in February 2013, after a report by theEducation Select Committee said the changes would mean "too much, too fast" and could threaten exam quality.[106]
In March 2013, 100 academics wrote an open letter arguing that Gove's curriculum placed too much emphasis upon memorisation of facts and rules over understanding, and would lead to more rote learning.[109] Gove retorted that "there is good academia and bad academia".[110] In response, one signatory to the letter opined that Gove suffered from a "blinkered, almost messianic, self-belief, which appears to have continually ignored the expertise and wisdom of teachers, head-teachers, advisers and academics, whom he often claims to have consulted".[111]
Gove was criticised by teachers unions for his attempts to overhaul English education.[112][113] At theAssociation of Teachers and Lecturers Annual Conference in March 2013 a motion of no-confidence in Gove was passed.[114] The next month theNational Union of Teachers passed a vote of no confidence in Gove at their annual conference and called for his resignation.[115] TheNational Association of Head Teachers andNASUWT also passed motions of no confidence at their conferences that year.[116][117] Large-scale teacher strikes were held over pay, workload, and the pace of change.[118]
On 15 July 2014, Gove's four-year stint in charge of the Department for Education came to an end when he was dismissed[119] as Secretary of State for Education ina wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle. Gove was moved to the post of Governmentchief whip,[120] which was portrayed as a demotion by his detractors; Prime Minister Cameron denied this was the case.[121] Private polling had reportedly showed that Gove had become a "toxic liability" among teachers, prompting the prime minister's electoral strategist,Lynton Crosby, to advise his removal from the education brief ahead of the2015 general election. The reshuffle also allowed Cameron to promote a number of women into the Cabinet, withNicky Morgan replacing Gove.[122]
Gove toldBBC News that he had mixed emotions about starting the new role, saying it was a privilege to become Chief Whip but that leaving the Department for Education was "a wrench".[123][120][124] The position came with a £30,000 pay cut.[125] However, Gove was given an "enhanced role in campaigning and doing broadcast media interviews".[124] According toThe Daily Telegraph's Georgia Graham, this specific media role saw Gove on television and radio "more than a traditional Chief Whip would be".[125]
Gove missed his first House of Commons vote in the new role. Shadow Commons LeaderAngela Eagle said that he "not only lost his first vote but managed to get stuck in the toilet in the wrong lobby".[126] In October 2014, Gove was reported to have "irritated seniormandarins" by being offered a standing invitation to attend their weekly "Wednesday Morning" meetings.[127]
In November 2014, MPs voted on retaining 35 EU police and justice directives – including theEuropean Arrest Warrant (EAW).[128] A ruse was devised whereby MPs would get a vote on 11 of the 35 measures the UK was planning to opt in on, but not the EAW itself. The Government would take the passing of the 11 as a go-ahead for retaining the warrant.[129] This approach led to criticism from Eurosceptic MPs, opposition parties, and thespeaker of the House of Commons,John Bercow.[129][130][131] Gove remained in the post of chief whip until May 2015, when the role was taken over byMark Harper.[132]
At the2015 general election, Gove was again re-elected, increasing his majority to 24,804 and increasing his vote share to 59.9%.[133] Following the election, Cameron promoted Gove asSecretary of State for Justice andLord Chancellor in his newly formed Cabinet.[132] He was praised in December 2015 for scrapping the courts fee introduced by his predecessor,Chris Grayling.[134] The fee had been heavily criticised for, among other things, causing innocent people to plead guilty out of financial concerns.[135] Gove removed the 12-book limit on prison books introduced by Grayling, arguing that books increased literacy and numeracy, skills needed for making prisoners a "potential asset to society". The move, effective from September 2015, was welcomed byFrances Crook of theHoward League for Penal Reform.[136] Gove was also praised for his prominent role in scrapping a British bid for a Saudi prison contract.[137]
Within three months of his taking office, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) voted to stop taking new work in protest at Gove's insistence that they work for lower fees.[138] The CBA subsequently praised his "courage" in reversing the proposed cuts.[139] On 14 July 2016 Gove was removed from the position of justice secretary by the new prime minister,Theresa May.[140]
Gove was a prominent figure in thecampaign for Britain to leave the EU in the2016 referendum and described his decision to take that side as "the most difficult decision of my political life".[141][142][143] In 2015, he and his family spent Christmas with the Cameron family atChequers where, according toCraig Oliver, Cameron was under the impression that Gove would support remaining in the EU.[144] Despite this, Gove decided to support the Leave campaign. At the beginning of March 2016, he was appointed co-convenor ofVote Leave, with Labour MPGisela Stuart, and given responsibility for chairing the campaign committee.[145]
He argued Britain would be "freer, fairer and better off" for leaving,[142] and that "[t]he day after we vote to leave, we hold all the cards and we can choose the path we want."[146] When in an interview it was claimed that there was no expert opinion to support this, Gove remarked that "the people of this country have had enough of experts from organisations with acronyms saying they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong."[147] However, interviewerFaisal Islam interrupted Gove after the word "experts",[148] causing some sources to report that he had made a general statement that "the people... have had enough of experts".[149] In 2021,Louise Richardson, the vice-chancellor of theUniversity of Oxford, said she was "embarrassed" that Gove was an alumnus, on account of these comments.[150]
In her memoir, Gove's wifeSarah Vine wrote that he was hoping for a respectable Leave turnout, after which he could set about repairing relationships that had been damaged during the campaign.[151] However, the Leave campaign won, leading to Cameron's resignation. In his memoirFor the Record, Cameron described Gove during this period as "mendacious", adding: "One quality shone through, disloyalty. Disloyalty to me and, later, disloyalty to Boris [Johnson]".[152]
After Cameron announced his intention to resign as prime minister, Gove was not expected to be a candidate, having said in the past that he had no interest in becoming prime minister.[153] Instead, he was seen as a strong, highly influential supporter of Johnson for that role. In a move that surprised most political analysts, Gove withdrew his support for Johnson on 30 June 2016, hours before the deadline, without any previous notice to Johnson and announced his own candidacy in the leadership election. Subsequently, Johnson declined to run.[154]
Gove said: "I wanted to help build a team behind Boris Johnson so that a politician who argued for leaving the European Union could lead us to a better future. But I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead. I have, therefore, decided to put my name forward for the leadership."[155]The Daily Telegraph said that Gove's actions in undermining Johnson's leadership aspirations constituted "the most spectacular political assassination in a generation"[156] whileThe Guardian labelled it as a "Machiavellian move".[157]
By 5 July 2016, Gove was in third place in the leadership election by number of MP backers, behind May andAndrea Leadsom; the latter had gained an endorsement from Johnson. Some political analysts predicted that Gove might quit the race if he was unable to beat Leadsom in the first round of voting.[158] Later that day, it was announced that May had won the first round of voting, with support from 165 MPs, while Andrea Leadsom received 66 votes and Gove trailed with 48.[159] Gove was eliminated in the second ballot after receiving 46 votes, compared to 199 for May and 84 for Leadsom.[160] He subsequently told the media that he was "naturally disappointed" and described his two opponents as "formidable politicians", welcoming the fact that the next prime minister would be female. He also encouraged a "civilised, inclusive, positive and optimistic debate".[161]
On 14 July 2016, Gove was dismissed by the prime minister, Theresa May.[162] In a two-minute meeting,[163] May said: "One of the things that's very important is loyalty, and after the last few weeks I've been speaking to people in the party... I wouldn't say that you could never come back, but you need to take a period on the backbenches in order to demonstrate loyalty".[164]
In the aftermath of the EU referendum, Gove was accused byNick Clegg of being the source of a claim byThe Sun thatQueen Elizabeth II made comments supportive of Brexit in a private lunch atWindsor Castle. Clegg told a BBC documentary that Gove "obviously communicated it – well, I know he did".[165][166]The Sun said it had "multiple sources" and was confident its report was true.[167][168]
In December 2016, Gove defended a Vote Leave claim that an additional £350 million a week could be spent on theNHS when Britain left the EU. Gove said the figure was robust and it was up to the Government to decide how to spend it.[172]
In January 2017, in his capacity as a writer forThe Times, Gove conducted an interview withDonald Trump, thepresident-elect of the United States, along withKai Diekmann fromBild. Gove was the first British journalist to interview Trump following the 2016 United States presidential election,[173][174] and the second British politician to meet him as President-elect afterNigel Farage.[175] Despite preferringHillary Clinton to Trump asPresident of the United States,[176] Gove's interview and consequent defence of it was seen by some political commentators as praising the president-elect unduly.[177][178]
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: 2017–2019
At the snap2017 general election, Gove was again re-elected, increasing his majority to 24,943 and increasing his vote share to 64.2%.[179] Following the election, Gove was promoted toSecretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by May during a reshuffle.[180] Gove said he "was quite surprised" to be asked to join the Cabinet after May dismissed him in 2016 after she became prime minister.[181] May said: "At this important time for our country, [the public] need stability and certainty provided by the Government, and that's what I've been doing today, putting together a Cabinet that reflects the wealth of talent and experience across the Conservative Party".[182]
Following his appointment, Gove announced that amicrobead ban would be put into place by the end of 2017.[183] However, the ban arrived in early 2018. It meant that manufacturers could no longer produce the tiny beads used in cosmetics and care products. Another ban came in June 2018 which stopped shops from selling products that contained the beads. The reasoning behind the ban was to stop the beads harming marine life.[184]
In July 2017, Gove announced that afuel combustion vehicle ban would be put into place to reduceair pollution. He said that the ban would take effect by 2040 and end the sales of new fuel combustion cars, trucks, vans, and buses that have petrol and diesel engines in the UK. The ban did not includeplug-in hybrid vehicles.[185]
Gove introduced a ban on bee-harming pesticides likeneonicotinoids.[186] He was praised byGreenpeace UK executive directorJohn Sauven for his strong stance on issues like bee-harming pesticides,single-use plastic, and the future of the internal combustion engine. Sauven said: "Gove has defied many people's expectations on the environment".[187]
In October 2017, Gove issued an apology for a joke which compared tough interviews on theToday programme toa sexual encounter with Harvey Weinstein.[188][189] He was criticised by political opponents who felt allegations of sexual abuse were not a suitable subject for jokes.[190]
Other policies Gove had announced by December 2017 were thatCCTV would be used in all slaughterhouses and beavers would be reintroduced into the UK.[191]
Gove faced criticism over the appointment ofBen Goldsmith to the role of non-executive director[192] at theDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as Goldsmith had previously donated cash to Gove's Surrey Heath constituency. Concerns were also raised about the selection process for the job, which was overseen bySir Ian Cheshire, the chairman of Goldsmith's investment firm, Menhaden Capital Management.[193]
An important aspect of Gove's tenure was the introduction of laws concerninganimal welfare. Maximum sentences for the crime of animal cruelty increased, as did protection for animals used by Government services, such aspolice dogs andhorses.[194] One of the "toughest worldwide bans" onivory trade was also introduced in 2018.[195]
In January 2019, May survived avote of no confidence in her government, after a "barnstorming" speech from Gove in her defence directed towards theLeader of the Labour Party,Jeremy Corbyn.[197] The speech, which gained significant media attention, attacked Corbyn for his foreign policy record, with Tom Rogan of theWashington Examiner describing it as "A tour de force. It was angry but not fanatical, passionate but not somber, and intellectual but simply put".[198]
In March 2019, Gove argued that "we didn't vote toleave without a deal. That wasn't the message of the campaign I helped lead. During that campaign, we said we should do a deal with the EU and be part of the network of free trade deals that covers all Europe, from Iceland to Turkey". Gove consistently voted for Theresa May's withdrawal deal, and during the referendum campaign he had written a letter alongside other MPs saying that it was "in everyone's interests to do a free trade deal".[199]
In April 2019, after having a meeting withExtinction Rebellion, Gove said he agreed with the activists that there needed to be a deeper level of public understanding overclimate change, but he declined todeclare a climate emergency in the United Kingdom.[200] Despite Gove's position, Parliament passed a motion to declare a climate emergency.[201]
On 26 May 2019, Gove announced he would stand for the Conservative leadership following May's resignation, entering the contest.[203] He promised to remove the charge for UK citizenship applications from EU nationals if elected,[204] and to replaceVAT with a "simpler sales tax".[205] He also promised to review theHigh Speed 2 rail project[206] and planned to increase school funding by £1 billion.[207] Unlike most other candidates who pledged to leave the EU on 31 October 2019 whether a deal was in place or not, Gove said that he would not be bound by the 31 October deadline if an agreement was within reach.[208]
By 5 June 2019, Johnson became the clear frontrunner with the bookmakers, with Gove second favourite.[209] In June, reports emerged that Gove had takencocaine as a journalist in his twenties. Gove stated that he regretted having done so, and regarded it as having been a mistake.[210][211] In an article forThe Times in December 1999, Gove had argued against the legalisation of drugs and criticised members of the middle classes for their hypocrisy in doing so.[212] Gove's cocaine use was a key component of his bid to be leader. In reaction,Craig Oliver said it would have a negative impact on his run whereas fellow candidate for leadership Dominic Raab said he "admires [Gove's] honesty".[210]
Gove progressed following the first ballot of Conservative MPs, having received 37 votes. He received 41 votes in the second ballot, and by the third ballot had 51 MPs backing him. The fourth ballot saw him gain 61 votes, moving him into second position. In the last ballot, he had 75 votes and was voted out – losing by only two toJeremy Hunt, the eventual runner-up.[213]
Writing inThe Sunday Times on 28 July 2019, Gove said that a no-deal Brexit was "a very real prospect" and one that the Government was "working on the assumption of".[219][220] He said in August that it was "wrong and sad" that the EU was "refusing to negotiate" over a new withdrawal agreement.[221] That month, an official Cabinet Yellowhammer document leaked, predicting that a no-deal Brexit would lead to food, medicine, and petrol shortages. Gove said the leaked dossier outlined a "worst-case scenario".[222] Interviewed in September 2019, Gove declined to say whether the Government would abide by legislation designed to stop a no-deal Brexit.[223]
In 2019,LBC'sIain Dale placed Gove third in a list of that year's "Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives".[224] During the2019 Speaker of the House of Commons election, Gove nominated Labour MPChris Bryant to replaceJohn Bercow.[225] Gove helped to prepare Johnson for the2019 general election debates by playing the role of the Labour leaderJeremy Corbyn.[226] He offered to stand in for Johnson during a Channel 4 debate on environmental issues but the editor ofChannel 4 News said the debate was only open to party leaders.[227] At the 2019 general election, Gove was again re-elected, seeing his majority cut to 18,349, and with a decreased vote share of 58.6%.[228]
During the firstCOVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Gove generated confusion after saying onITV'sGood Morning Britain that children with separated parents were not allowed to move between their parents' homes. He later apologised and clarified that what he had said was not the case.[231] When Johnson was self-isolating after having been tested positive forCOVID-19, Gove stood in for Johnson briefly from 27 March 2020 at the daily briefings of the pandemic,[232] until Gove self-isolated himself after a family member developed COVID-19 symptoms.[233]
In May 2020, Gove was criticised[234] after his wife Sarah Vine shared a bookcase picture "as a very special treat for my trolls" which featured a book by theHolocaust denierDavid Irving, and a copy ofThe Bell Curve, which controversially claims that intelligence is highly heritable and that medianIQ varies among races.[234][235] Another book in the photograph wasThe Strange Death of Europe byDouglas Murray,[234] which, according toThe Guardian, citesEnoch Powell and argues for protecting white Christian Europe from "outsiders".[236]
After Johnson said that the UK had ended trade talks with the EU in October 2020, Gove said that the door was "still ajar" if the EU made changes over issues including fishing access and that "We hope the EU will change their position and we are certainly not saying if they do change their position we can't talk to them".[237]
Gove was part of a committee of Cabinet ministers, comprising Johnson,Rishi Sunak, andMatt Hancock, that made decisions on the COVID-19 pandemic. He was chair of the COVID-19 operations subcommittee.[238] In aCOBR meeting he chaired on 24 November 2020, he agreed, with the leaders of the UK's devolved governments, to a set of rules governing social mixing for the whole of the country over the Christmas period. It allowed for up to three households to form a "bubble" from 23 to 27 December,[239] but was cancelled for London andSouth East England, while being limited to a single day for the rest of England, after the discovery of amutant COVID-19 strain.[240]
Under the terms of England'sall-tier COVID-19 restrictions in December 2020,pubs were only legally allowed to servealcoholic beverages with asubstantial meal. Gove initially said that this did not includeScotch eggs, which he defined as a "starter" on multiple occasions; however, he later backtracked and said: "I do recognise that it is a substantial meal."[241]
In May 2021, Gove attended the2021 Champions League Final inPorto with his son, supportingChelsea; following his visit he was alerted by theNHS Test and Trace system of his potential exposure to the disease, and that he would need to self-isolate. Rather than isolating for the normal ten-day period, Gove was able to take part in a pilot scheme designed to investigate the efficacy of testing, which required him to undergo testing every day for a week.[246][247]
In a case brought to theHigh Court of Justice by theGood Law Project in June 2021, Gove was found to have acted unlawfully when the Government awarded a COVID-19 contract without a tender to a polling company owned by long-term associates of his andDominic Cummings, then Johnson's chief adviser.[248][249] On appeal, theCourt of Appeal overturned the High Court's finding of unlawful bias.[250]
In July 2021, Gove worked part-time inGlasgow as part of the Government strategy to strengthen the Union.[251][252] The next month, he was filmed dancing "merrily" at Bohemia nightclub in Aberdeen. He had allegedly tried to avoid a £5 entrance fee by stating he was the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Friends of Gove denied he had attempted to avoid paying.[253]
Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: 2021–2022
In October 2021, while walking on Horseferry Road in Westminster, Gove was accosted byCOVID-19 anti-lockdown protesters. As the protesters attempted to surround him, he was protected by police officers and escorted to a nearby building.[256][257]
In December 2021, Gove was part of a trio of Cabinet ministers that self-isolated after meeting Australian Deputy Prime MinisterBarnaby Joyce, who was later diagnosed with COVID-19.[258]
Gove launched awhite paper on levelling up on 2 February 2022.[259] The paper included plans to increase public investment across the UK and expanddevolution in England.[260] It was reported that parts of it had been copied fromWikipedia.[261]
During theRussian invasion of Ukraine, Gove announced his intention to draft plans to allow Ukrainian refugees to be housed inRussian oligarchs' homes in the UK.[262] He later announced theHomes for Ukraine scheme, which would arrange for British households to take in Ukrainian refugees.[263]
The Daily Telegraph journalistMatthew Lynn attacked Gove's record in government, describing him as the "driving force behind a whole series of terrible policy mistakes". In particular, Lynn identified Gove's resistance to new skyscrapers in London, his changes to the rules concerning the rental sector to make it harder for landlords to evict tenants, and his opposition to a fracking trial as damaging the economic growth prospects for the UK.[264]
On 6 July 2022, Gove was dismissed by Johnson for alleged disloyalty, after visitingDowning Street to tell him to resign, during theJuly 2022 Government crisis.[265][30] A Downing Street source reportedly described him as a "snake" following the sacking.[266]
Following the election ofLiz Truss, Gove variously backed and criticised the prime minister on Chancellor of the ExchequerKwasi Kwarteng's controversial reforms to taxation.[270] According to theThe Sun's political editor, Truss floated the possibility of appointing Gove asBritish Ambassador to Israel orChina in an attempt to neutralise his influence within the Conservative Party.[271]
On 25 October 2022, following the accession of Rishi Sunak to the prime ministership, Gove was reinstated to his previous roles of Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations.[274][275] Gove had previously said that he did not expect to serve in government again.[276]
In February 2023, following thedeath of Awaab Ishak, a two-year old child living in a mould-hit flat, the Government announced that it would implement "Awaab's Law", requiringsocial housing providers to remedy reported damp and mould within certain time limits. Gove made the announcement as he met with Awaab's family inRochdale.[278]
In 2023, theNew Statesman named Gove as the sixth-most-powerful right-wing figure in the UK, describing him as a "great survivor" and retaining extensive influence over the potential future leaders of the Conservative Party, even as he "hints" at quasi-retirement.[279] In March 2024, he chaired the inauguralEast-West Council in London.[280]
Retirement from the Commons and return to journalism
In September 2024, Gove was appointed editor ofThe Spectator by the magazine's new proprietor,Sir Paul Marshall. He took on the role at the start of October.[284]
In October 2024, Gove presented a five-part series forBBC Radio 4 calledSurviving Politics with Michael Gove, in which he spoke with politicians from different parties about how to deal with the job when things get tough.[285] Since September 2025,[286] he has presentedThe Spectator podcastQuite Right!, with journalist Madeline Grant.[287]
In April 2025, it was announced that Gove would be created alife peer as part ofSunak's resignation honours list.[288] On 13 May 2025 he was createdBaron Gove,ofTorry in the City of Aberdeen.[289] Torry was where Gove's adoptive father, Ernest Gove, was born.[9] He wasintroduced to the House of Lords on 22 May 2025.[290]
Gove is considered socially liberal in some areas, such as his support forsame-sex marriage.[291] He has expressed his view that the state should generally not interfere in domestic affairs and has campaigned for economic freedom in certain matters. Gove has argued that "the only sustainable ethical foundation for society is a belief in the innate worth and dignity of every individual".[62]
In remarks prepared for the 2020Ditchley Lecture, Gove portrayed what he saw as the malaise of modern society as leading to populism, because the non-intellectual classes "chose to opt for polarised identity politics rather than stay with broad-based national political movements" instead of choosing to follow the politics of diversity, inclusion, and identity politics they were force-fed by the elites. He praisedFranklin D. Roosevelt as a model for his renewal ofcapitalism and he imagined the construction of inclusive societies with the deconstruction ofWhitehall. Gove stressed "basic writing, meeting chairing and time management skills" for all policy civil servants. He ended with a paean to his purpose in public service: "to tackle inequality".[292][293]
Gove has described himself as "a proudZionist",[294] and supports theUnited Jewish Israel Appeal's fundraising activities.[295] In 2019, he spoke of his desire to "celebrate everything that Israel and the Jewish people have brought to the life of this world and hold it dear to our hearts".[296]
Gove was a member of the winning team in Grampian Television's quiz showTop Club,[297] and played the school chaplain in the 1994 family comedyA Feast at Midnight.[298][299]
Gove was previously in relationships with political adviserSimone Finn[304] and historianAmanda Foreman.[305] He metSarah Vine in 1998, when he was comment editor and she was arts editor atThe Times.[306] They married in October 2001[307] and have two children.[308] In July 2021, a joint statement on behalf of Gove and Vine said that they had agreed to separate and were in the process of finalising their divorce.[309] In January 2022, they were granted adecree nisi on the grounds of Gove's unreasonable behaviour.[310] As of 2025, the divorce had not been finalised, with the delay attributed to bureaucratic reasons.[311]
^Gove was initially appointed as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. On 19 September 2021, the department was renamed the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and his title changed accordingly.[1]
"Michael Gove criticised over racist and homophobic language in student speeches".BBC News. 14 September 2021. Retrieved15 October 2024.We are at last experiencing a new empire, an empire where the happy south stamps over the cruel, dirty, toothless face of the northerner. At last Mrs Thatcher is saying I don't give a fig for what half the population is saying, because the richer half will keep me in power. This may be amoral. This may be immoral. But it's politics and it's pragmatism.
"Michael Gove signals end for specialist schools".Evening Standard. 12 April 2012.Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved5 July 2021.The schools, which Tony Blair created to end the era of "Bog standard comprehensives", each receive about £130,000 a year on top of their normal budgets.
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Life Peerage,Baron Gove,ofTorry in the City of Aberdeen (2025)[9]
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