Gove leaking supporters to Johnson after cocaine scandal leaves him ‘stuffed’

MICHAEL GOVE is “stuffed” because he has failed to make up ground in the wake of his admission to taking cocaine, one of his own supporters said.

The MP told The Daily Telegraph that the Environment Secretary’s campaign has been “incredibly flat” and they are considering voting for Boris Johnson in the next round.

The Telegraph understands that at least three of Mr Gove’s supporters are considering defecting and backing Mr Johnson on Tuesday. It came after Mr Gove secured the support of 37 Tory MPS, just two more than the number who had already publicly declared that they are voting for him.

Mr Gove’s team insisted that there was “all to play for” and said he was within “touching distance” of Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, who was in second place with 43 votes.

However, one of Mr Gove’s supporters said: “Michael is stuffed. He’ll probably survive another round but go no further. He hasn’t recovered from last week. The momentum is not going to be with him now. His campaign has been incredibly flat. I have had lots of doubts and they have been increasing in the last 10 days.”

The MP raised particular concerns about Mr Gove’s Brexit position. The Environment Secretary has said that Brexit may have to be delayed beyond Oct 31 to prevent a no-deal exit.

“We need a hard deadline,” the MP said. “It [Michael’s position] smacks of continuity May. I’ve had a chat with

‘Gove hasn’t recovered from last week. The momentum is not going to be with him now’

Boris and said I should have supported him in round one. I’m probably likely to go for him in the next round.”

However, a source on Mr Gove’s campaign said: “Everyone had written us off. People said we were going backwards, in fact we gained support. We are in touching distance of second. All to play for.”

Another MP who is supporting Mr Gove said they believe he can take votes off Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, and Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary. “If you don’t believe in Boris being the solution to our problems then the only person that can beat him is Michael Gove. Several of the Hunt people are realising that at the moment. We are going to pick up significant numbers from Javid. There will be some from Leadsom, Harper and Mcvey.”

Another supporter of Mr Gove who has committed to backing him in the second round said that they were “neutral” about his prospects. They said they wanted to see how he and other Tory leadership contenders fare in the second round of voting on Tuesday before deciding whether to support him.

“I’m neutral as far as his chances are concerned,” the MP said. “He has had a lousy week with all the coke stuff. But there’s also the point that it’s an old news story. I would be surprised if over the next few days he doesn’t start picking up support.”

Mr Gove said in the wake of the vote: “I would like to thank everyone who supported me from across the party and beyond. I now want to make sure that we have a proper debate about ideas. I believe I’ve the policies that can transform this country for the better and the experience of delivery that can make sure we have a brighter future.”