Treachery? I did it out of conviction, insists Gove
MICHAEL Gove yesterday rejected claims that he was a traitor for destroying Boris Johnson’s career, insisting that he was driven by ‘conviction, not ambition’.
Launching his shock leadership bid a day after forcing the former London mayor out of the race, the Justice Secretary denied his decision to stand was as a result of ‘calculation’.
He even claimed: ‘I did almost everything I could not to be a candidate for the leadership of this party.’
Mr Gove began his official campaign yesterday with the bizarre admission that he had little charisma or glamour – but that despite these ‘limitations’ he had decided to stand.
But MPs lined up to criticise Mr Gove and he was roundly attacked on Twitter.
Even though he has only been a candidate for little over 24 hours, Mr Gove unveiled a swathe of policies, including a pledge to spend £100million extra per week on the NHS.
He said the money would come from the amount saved from UK contributions to the EU – but critics pointed out that the figure was much less than the £350million painted on the side of the Vote Leave bus during the campaign.
Mr Gove promised a crackdown on City greed and a new ‘push for diggers in the ground’ to build hundreds of thousands of homes – potentially putting the countryside at risk.
He said his Scottish background – he grew up in Aberdeen with his adoptive parents – gave him the best chance of saving the Union, even though most voters north of the Border plumped for Remain.
Mr Gove described himself as Scottish and British, and insisted he would ‘renew and reboot’ the Union by treating all parts of the UK with respect.
‘I am someone for whom the Union is not a constitutional abstraction but who I am. I am Scottish and British,’ he said.
‘This referendum has led to questions about how we stay together in one United Kingdom – and for me, in every sense, this is about family.’
He pledged to bring immigration down, although he would not set a target or a timescale.
Mr Gove’s launch was, however, dominated by accusations that he had treacherously moved against Mr Johnson after having worked alongside him for years.
He is also unpopular with many Tory MPs for taking a leading role in the Brexit campaign despite having previously promised David Cameron he would not do so.
Supporters fear he could go the
‘Whatever charisma is, I don’t have it’
way of Michael Heseltine, who wielded the dagger against Margaret Thatcher but did not win the leadership, with MPs going on to coalesce around the more unifying figure of John Major.
Mr Gove is also distrusted because he has said numerous times before that he does not want to be Tory leader. But yesterday he said he decided to stand because it was ‘the right thing to do’. He continued: ‘I never thought I’d ever be in this position. I did not want it. I was so very reluctant because I know my limitations. Whatever charisma is, I don’t have it – whatever glamour may be I don’t think anyone could ever associate me with it.
‘But – at every step of my political life – I’ve asked myself one question: what is the right thing to do? What does your heart tell you?’ Describing his thoughts after deciding Mr Johnson was not up to the job of prime minister, he said: ‘I had to stand up for my convictions. I had to stand up for a different course for this country. I had to stand for the leadership of this party.’
Mr Gove added: ‘All my political career, I’ve been driven by conviction, not ambition.’
To derisory laughter in the room, he said: ‘I stand here not as a result of calculation. I am standing with a burning desire to transform our country.’
He said he would wait until at least next year to kick-off the twoyear process of negotiating the UK’s withdrawal from the EU by invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
Mr Gove was attacked on Twitter yesterday – on the same day as he decided to join the social networking site for the first time.
He was hit by a string of abusive messages, including ‘venal backstabbing liar’ and a ‘Quisling’.
Tory MP Nadine Dorries, a prominent backer of Mr Johnson, tweeted: ‘I am astounded to discover some MPs are backing Gove.
‘Clearly, honesty and honour are not a consideration for some.’