Cameron and Gove’s friendship under strain over EU referendum
The Justice Secretary is torn between loyalty to his friend and leader and his Eurosceptic beliefs
DAVID CAMERON has personally appealed to his friend Michael Gove not to campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, but the Justice Secretary could still back “Brexit”.
In a recent conversation between the two men, who have been close since before Mr Cameron became Tory leader in 2005, the Prime Minister made clear that he wanted Mr Gove’s support for an “In” vote.
But Mr Gove is wrestling between his natural sense of loyalty to his friend and leader and keeping faith with his own deeply held Eurosceptic beliefs.
One ally of the Justice Secretary said he was genuinely undecided and would wait for the final shape of Mr Cameron’s new deal for British membership, which is expected to be finalised at a summit in Brussels this month.
It comes as Downing Street sources let it be known that they are resigned to losing another charismatic Eurosceptic minister to the Leave campaign.
Priti Patel, the employment minister, has been privately clear that she is reluctant to compromise her anti-EU belief.
The fate of Cabinet ministers is an overriding preoccupation for Mr Cameron. With final negotiations taking place in Brussels over the detail of his renegotiation agreement, it is a highly sensitive time for his plan to hold an In/Out referendum in June.
Mr Cameron is certain to back the campaign to keep Britain in the EU.
However, he has promised to respect the views of established Eurosceptic ministers and will allow them to break the convention of “collective responsibility” in order to campaign for Britain to exit the EU. But Mr Gove’s endorsement would be a huge coup for the Leave campaign. His friend and former adviser, Dominic Cummings, is the campaign director for Vote Leave, one of the two major “Brexit” groups.
The two are believed to be in regular contact and Westminster sources have suggested that Vote Leave members are hopeful that Mr Cummings could deliver Mr Gove to their cause.
One government source said: “Michael and the PM have spoken about this. The hope is that Michael’s loyalty to the Prime Minister will win out.
“But he’s genuinely torn and it could go either way.
“If he does back the Leave campaign, he won’t lead it. That would make the relationship very difficult.”
Another source said: “The worst case would be that Gove does go with Leave but he wouldn’t lead their campaign.”
However, Mr Gove’s allies recall how ruthless Mr Cameron was when he decided in 2014 to sack Mr Gove as Education Secretary, a portfolio he held in Opposition and to which he was personally committed.
A spokesman for Mr Gove said: “Michael’s position has not changed – he supports the Prime Minister’s strategy to renegotiate our relationship with the European Union. “As he has said before, it would be premature for anyone to make a judgment before the deal is concluded. Like the Prime Minister, he has not ruled anything out.” Mr Cameron publicly maintains that if he does not get the deal he wants from Brussels, he could still vote for Britain to leave the EU. However, Eurosceptic Cabinet ministers believe that Mr Cameron has made up his mind in favour of the UK remaining in Europe. Ministers expected to join the Leave campaign include Chris Grayling, the leader of the House of Commons, Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, John Whittingdale, the Culture Secretary, and Theresa Villiers, the Northern Ireland Secretary.
Downing Street privately accepts that Mr Cameron will lose the Tory employment minister, Priti Patel, to the Out campaign.
Ms Patel was formerly a supporter of the Referendum Party and is highly rated by the Prime Minister’s allies for her polished performances in television interviews.
One Whitehall source even suggested that Ms Patel could see her career enhanced if she chooses to back the Leave campaign, speculating that she would receive “a full Cabinet job” in a “reconciliation reshuffle” that is expected to follow the referendum in the summer.
This would be a remarkable rise in her fortunes, after Mr Cameron’s earlier suspicions that she was not loyal to his leadership.
After Theresa May, the Home Secretary, signalled that she would back Mr Cameron’s “Remain” campaign, Ms Patel would be the highest-profile woman to campaign for Brexit.
Another minister who has caused anxiety in Downing Street is Sajid Javid, the Business Secretary. Seen as a close ally of George Osborne, Mr Javid has been increasingly critical of the EU and recently went out of his way to insist that he had not decided to support Britain’s continuing membership.
There has also been renewed speculation about the role of the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who has sounded deeply sceptical over the Prime Minister’s deal. Out campaigners complain that he is “flirting” with their cause but fear he will be too cautious to join the Leave effort.
Mr Cameron is rumoured to be considering Mr Johnson for the role of Foreign Secretary, after his mayoral term ends in May.
Mr Cameron is under pressure to agree to take part in a televised debate during the referendum campaign.
However, Remain campaigners are drawing up a longer list of top politicians they want to make the case for keeping Britain inside the EU. The list is believed to include Anna Soubry, the small business minister, who once famously took on Nigel Farage for spreading “fear” during a TV debate.
The official leader of the Remain campaign, Lord Rose, has been criticised for underwhelming media performances. Last month the former Marks & Spencer boss repeatedly failed to give the correct name of the campaign group he leads – Britain Stronger in Europe – during a TV interview.
‘The hope is that Michael’s loyalty to the Prime Minister will win out. But he’s genuinely torn’ ‘As he has said before, it would be premature to make a judgment before the deal is concluded’