Gove in from the cold
Even Boris hails return of his nemesis as Remainers win top Cabinet jobs
MICHAEL Gove made a dramatic Cabinet return last night as Theresa May tried to shore up support across all wings of the Conservative Party.
Mr Gove, who was sacked by Mrs May for disloyalty last year, was appointed as Environment Secretary, in a limited reshuffle that underlined the Prime Minister’s weakened state.
The decision brings one of the cheerleaders for Brexit back to the heart of government, although the PM also handed out promotions to several pro-Remain ministers.
In another significant move, the Eurosceptic minister Andrea Leadsom was moved to be the Leader of the Commons, where she will be responsible for stewarding the complex Brexit legislation through Parliament.
Some ministers are reported to have urged Mrs May to soften her stance on Brexit in the wake of last week’s election result.
But a Government source last night said the appointment of Mr Gove and Mrs Leadsom should be seen as a ‘statement of intent’ of the PM’s determination to deliver on Brexit. The return of Mr Gove completes a remarkable political recovery for the former education and justice secretary, who was accused of disloyalty last year after he destroyed Boris Johnson’s leadership hopes by launching a withering attack on his personal qualities.
Sacking him from the role of justice secretary last year, Mrs May is said to have told Mr Gove: ‘I have been talking to colleagues and the importance of loyalty is something on people’s minds. I’m not saying there is no way back or that you’ll never serve in my government, but it would perhaps help if you could demonstrate that loyalty from the back benches.’
Mr Johnson last night indicated he was willing to bury the hatchet, posting a message on Twitter saying: ‘It’s a GOVErnment of all the talents. Welcome back to Michael!’
Mr Gove said he was ‘ flattered’ to be offered the Cabinet post where he will oversee the complex transition of the farming and fishing industries to a post-Brexit world and take responsibility for strategy on cutting the pollution caused by diesel cars.
But there were also significant promotions for leading proRemainers. Mrs May’s university friend Damian Green, who was a board member at the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign, was appointed as First Secretary of State, effectively making him deputy prime minister.
Former Europe minister David Lidington was promoted to Justice Secretary. And David Gauke, another prominent Remainer, was promoted to replace Mr Green at the Department for Work and Pen- sions. Mrs May, who attended church with her husband Philip yesterday morning, said the makeup of the Cabinet ‘reflects the wealth of talent and experience across the Conservative Party’.
She added: ‘This is a Government that is going to be governing for everyone, we want a country that works for everyone. Bringing that talent together to ensure that we can get on with the job of delivering a successful Brexit but also deal with some of the challenges that people see in their everyday lives, like dealing with the need for more housing, like ensuring that we have proper mental health legislation that is going to support people, and providing that technical education for young people.
‘I’m pleased that people from across the party have agreed to serve in my Cabinet and we’re going to be getting on with the job of government.’
In the run-up to the election, Mrs May planned a wide- ranging reshuffle, including the removal of Chancellor Philip Hammond, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid and Justice Secretary Elizabeth Truss.
But in the wake of last week’s election result she was forced to scale back her plans dramatically. No senior ministers were sacked and only a handful were moved.
Miss Truss was demoted but still holds the key role of Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Jeremy Hunt, who was under pressure as Health Secretary, kept his job.
The return of Mr Gove comes despite bad blood between him and Mrs May in the past. The pair clashed bitterly over tackling extremism when they were in government under David Cameron.
Two years ago, the Trojan horse affair over the alleged infiltration of Birmingham schools by Islamist fanatics saw ‘ sources close to Gove’ accuse the Home Office and its security chief, Charles Farr, of failing to ‘drain the swamp’ of extremism in Britain. In response, the Home Office published confidential Cabinet correspondence attacking Gove for failing to act on warnings on Birmingham schools.
‘Despite bad blood in the past’