Sorry, Gove. You’re not our kind of cove!
Boris’s revenge as Brexiteer who betrayed him is blackballed from Beefsteak gentlemen’s club
MICHAEL GOVE has been effectively ‘blackballed’ from one of London’s most exclusive gentlemen’s clubs – as revenge for destroying Boris Johnson’s Prime Ministerial hopes.
The former London Mayor’s loyal father, ex-Euro MP Stanley, led the successful revolt to block Gove from joining the Beefsteak Club.
Boris already belongs to the 140year-old establishment, with his father a member of the club committee which vetoed Gove’s application.
Gove’s allies claim he was told he could be let in next year after a ‘cooling off period’.
However, other sources say the ban is ‘indefinite’ because of the way he knifed fellow Brexiteer Johnson following their referendum victory three months ago. Hours before Johnson was due to begin his
Members call all of the waiters ‘Charles’
campaign to replace David Cameron, Gove launched a rival power grab, forcing Johnson to pull out.
Gove last week admitted he was wrong to have betrayed Johnson, although Boris’s allies have never forgiven him.
The male-only Beefsteak Club – founded in 1876 and situated near Leicester Square – still upholds its traditions. All the waiters are referred to as ‘Charles’, so members don’t have to worry about remembering their names.
Its previous members have included Sir John Betjeman, Edward Elgar and Tory Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.
Gove, whose membership had lapsed, wanted to rejoin now he had time on his hands after losing his Cabinet job.
He had hoped to join other Tories in the Beefsteak, including Eurosceptic MPs Iain Duncan Smith, Bill Cash and former Chancellor Lord Nigel Lawson. Brexit Minister Lord George Bridges, a close friend of Gove, is also a senior member.
The bid to get Gove back in was led by his friends, Right-wing journalists Bruce Anderson and George Trefgarne, a Beefsteak committee member and son of Conservative peer Lord Trefgarne. They scored a victory when the club agreed Gove would not have to seek a fresh nomination, having been a past member. But they came unstuck when the club committee met two weeks ago.
Trefgarne argued in favour of Gove, but Boris’s father Stanley, 76, objected.
To spare Gove the shame of being officially ‘blackballed’ it was agreed not to throw out his application, but place it on hold. In the eyes of his Beefsteak critics, it was tantamount to the same thing.
However, Gove also has powerful friends at the club. One said last night: ‘If they ban him I will resign my membership’
Blackballing refers to a traditional way of deciding applications to join gentlemen’s clubs. Members are invited to place a black or white ball into a box, without revealing how they have voted. A single black ball can be enough to cause refusal.
Mr Gove and Mr Johnson Sr were unavailable for comment last night.