Michael Gove made the announcement that he was leaving the political scene and publicly supported Rishi Sunak for the position of future prime minister.
In one last jab at his former adversary, ex-chancellor Boris Johnson, the former cabinet minister promised that Johnson would “put the might of the state at the service of the weakest” and provide the assistance that millions of people were in need of amid the cost-of-living issue.
He also called longtime Boris ally Liz Truss’s campaign a “vacation from reality” in an article for the Times.
He said that her tax cuts would prioritise “the stock options of FTSE 100 CEOs” above the needs of the most vulnerable.
It comes after it was said that if Ms. Truss wins the Conservative leadership contest, the former housing minister will be sent to “political Siberia.”
While at Oxford University, Mr. Gove and Mr. Johnson developed a rivalry that dates back to those years. At the time, the somewhat younger Gove was portrayed as being in awe of the present Prime Minister and as a prominent figure in the “Boris cult.”
However, things went south when he famously scuttled Mr. Johnson’s leadership campaign in 2016 by abandoning him at the last minute and running himself.
He reportedly did this because he was ‘appalled’ by his rivals’ decision to play cricket and throw a wild party after Vote Leave won the referendum rather than working to implement Brexit.
He now claims that he is supporting Sunak because he feels that his time on the frontbench is over.
I don’t anticipate running for office again. However, I had the honour of serving in the government for 11 years under three prime ministers,’ he says.
I am aware of the duties involved. Rishi also has it.