'Oh, so that's who Richard Morris is..." Lord Hattersley on The Daily Politics

'An influential activist' - The Guardian

'Iain Dale, without the self loathing' - Matthew Fox in The New Statesman

'
You are a tinker...' - Tim Farron

Wednesday 19 March 2014

Who will be the 'Out of Europe' candidate in the next Tory Leadership battle?

Iain Martin - who is an excellent and thought provoking Twitter follow btw, if Twitter is your thing - posed the following question last night.


And I wonder if I don't know the answer.

Michael Gove.

Firstly: is he in the 'out of Europe' Brigade? Well, I rather think so... he certainly seems on the sceptical side...



‘It’s ridiculous,’ splutters Gove, as he reflects on the prime minister’s inner circle. Four of this group went to just one private school: Eton College


Now, of course, many had interpreted this, not as a move by Gove for himself but as a support for his friend George Osborne's leadership ambitions, Osborne having 'only' been to St Pauls (unlike Old Etonian, Boris). 

But while Gove himself frequently rules out any future leadership bid, one can't help but wonder if the Warsi incident the other night - not just the photo opportunity but her words as well - were part of a campaign to position Gove as the alternative to the establishment.


"Michael was making an incredibly serious point that it can't be right that the 7% of kids who go to independent school end up at the top tables, not just of politics, but banking and law and every other profession, and that what Michael wants to create is a first class, world class state system which means that in future years you will have more pupils from state schools, people like me, around the cabinet table, and in that I fully support Michael Gove."

And anyway, as well know, a denial of leadership ambitions often means nothing in politics...

So. Gove vs Osborne vs. May vs. Johnson




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