GOVE’S PLANS FOR CHANGE
Michael Gove has not been far from government front benches since 2010. A departmental fixer, he is frequently ushered in to pick up the pieces left by predecessors.
As Justice Secretary, following Chris Grayling’s clumsy and, in the end, loathed reign, Gove addressed issues of court fees and the contentious ‘books into prison’ policy. When he went into Environment, Gove dealt with microbeads, animal welfare, single-use plastics and, unlike other senior Tories, he also made warm noises about Extinction Rebellion.
Less popular with rank-and-file teachers during his time at Education, Gove’s role as an architect and advocate for Brexit made him a divisive figure again.
Since last September he has taken charge of his biggest department to date. He is Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Oh, and he’s also Minister for Intergovernmental Relations. That’s a lot.
Given the breadth of it all, can the fixer hope to fix much this time round? And with the clouds gathering around Boris Johnson, will Gove make it a hat-trick of leadership bids? He sat down with The Big Issue to discuss.
