Michael Gove admits he didn’t want to run for Tory leadership but ‘had to stand up for my convictions’
The Justice Secretary launched his tilt at Number 10 with a dig at his main rival Theresa May for her 'hedging' on Brexit vote
MICHAEL Gove has admitted he didn't want to run for the Tory leadership but was forced to so he could 'stand up for his convictions'.
In a nod to the more flamboyant Boris Johnson, who he knocked out of the race to be Prime Minister, the Justice Secretary mocked his own image by saying: "Whatever charisma is I don’t have it."
And he also landed the first blow on Theresa May, his rival for Number 10, over her failure to back Brexit as he formally launched his bid to replace David Cameron.
The Justice Secretary said on the EU referendum he did not "duck or hedge", in a thinly-veiled attack on the Home Secretary - who was seen as a reluctant supporter of the remain campaign.
He laid out his alternative view for Britain this morning, saying he is "the candidate for change" - in stark comparison with Mrs May, who is pitching herself as the candidate for stability and continuity.
It comes after a day of turmoil in the Tory leadership fight, with Mr Gove’s shock announcement to run sending shockwaves through Westminster.
His decision saw the favourite to be Prime Minster step aside in an extraordinary knifing in the back, which saw him labelled a “c***” by a senior figure in the Boris camp.
And after one of the most brutal political assassinations in decades, Tory MP Jake Berry tweeted in fury: “There is a very deep pit reserved in Hell for such as he”.
Brushing yesterday's recriminations aside, the Justice Secretary said in the wake of the historic vote for Brexit we need to "re-boot and renew our democracy" and called for an end to "politics as usual".
In a speech in central London he vowed to stand up for Britain and laid out a number of policy pledges, and tackled the thorny issue of his decision to stand, which prompted the former London Mayor to stand aside.
In the wake of Mr Cameron’s resignation, he said he knew we” needed a leader who both believed in this new path and who could build and lead a united team to guide us through the challenges ahead”.
He went on: “I believed that Boris Johnson, who had campaigned alongside me with such energy and enthusiasm, could build and lead that team.
“I wanted that plan to work. I worked night and day for it. But I came to realise this week that, for all Boris’s formidable talents, he was not the right person for the task.
“That realisation meant that I once more faced a difficult decision.
“Could I recommend to friends, colleagues and the country a course in which I no longer believed?
“I could not. 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.”
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In a lengthy speech, almost 5,000 words long, he poked fun at his own image and previous comments that he would not run for leader.
Speaking at the Policy Exchange, he said: "I never thought I’d ever be in this position.
"I did not want it, indeed I did almost everything not be a candidate for the leadership of this party.
"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."
He added: "But, at every step in my political life, I’ve asked myself one question: What is the right thing to do?
"What does your heart tell you? However inconvenient, however difficult, whatever personal risks it may entail.
"What is the right thing to do? What does your heart tell you?"
This was how he came to the decision in the end to run for the highest office in the land, he explained.
Michael Gove's key policy pledges
- Spend an extra £100million a week on the NHS
- To fulfil the will of the British people by leaving the European Union, ending the supremacy of EU law and take back control of our democracy
- To take back control of our borders by ending free movement and introduce an Australian style points –based system for immigration to bring the number of immigrants coming to this country down
- To build a more dynamic economy and a society that is fundamentally more fair
- To give shareholders more control over how public companies operate
- To reform the education system and improve Britain’s position in science and innovation
- To build hundreds of thousands of new homes a year
- To make sure every child gets a first-class education
- To make the tax structure simpler and fairer
- To continue his reforms of the prison system
- To get more talented people into public service, including working in prisons and probation, health and social care, providing social housing and running local government
- To be a Prime Minister with a burning desire for change
- To make Britain the most civilised, humane, and progressive country on earth
But former Chancellor Ken Clarke has called on him to “do us all a favour” and stand down in the race to replace David Cameron in a withering attack.
The Tory grandee says Theresa May "has all the abilities" to be the country’s next leader while adding that the Justice Secretary has added an "air of farce" to the contest.
And he said the plots and backstabbing surrounding between him and Boris Johnson were “like the antics of a student union”.
But Mr Gove was given a boost this morning with the backing of cabinet minister John Whittingdale for his campaign.
Despite the knifing of his fellow Brexit-backer’s bid, the Tory heavyweight rushed to Mr Gove's defence.
And the Culture Secretary said it showed the Vote Leave boss was a man of "principle and conviction".
Mr Whittingdale - who campaigned to the leave the EU - said: "I have long been an admirer of Michael Gove who has been a consistently powerful Conservative voice.
“And he has shown he is a man of principle and conviction.
"I believe that he is best able to unite the Conservative party and the country and to ensure that we take full advantage of the new opportunities that are open to us."
But Mr Clarke questioned whether he could command the trust of his colleagues and reunite the party after being seen as the man who torpedoed BoJo's to replace David Cameron.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I do think Michael Gove would do us all a favour if he were to stand down now and speed up the process because I do think one of the first priorities for a leader of a party and certainly for a prime minister is that you should have the trust, so far as possible, of your colleagues.
"I was one of those who personally was appalled by the idea of Boris Johnson being prime minister but I've not fallen out with him personally."
He added: "It's not encouraging that he stood alongside Boris throughout the campaign as his right-hand man, he was publicly declared to be his manager...
"We don't want to add to tragedy too much of an air of farce and for him to emerge now as a prime minister saying 'I'm now going to reunite the party, I now have a clear vision of what I'm going to do', is, I think, unlikely."
He added that following his "public performance", Mr Gove "should be disqualified in this contest".
While refusing to give his full backing to any one candidate, he said Home Secretary Theresa May "certainly has all the abilities".
He said: "She's in the right class of contender. I would like her to spell out carefully a considered and cautious policy position.
"Cautious because it's got to be negotiated and the rest of Europe and actually most British business and all would-be investors in this country are waiting to hear what the British now want to negotiate."
Speaking afterwards the justice minister Dominic Raab, who switched his support from Mr Johnson to Mr Gove, defended his preferred candidate.
However he first acknowledged that his abandonment of the former London Mayor at the 11th hour looks "ugly, horrific and Machiavellian", but said his support "ebbed away" as his leadership abilities and his willingness to build a team behind him were "stress-tested".
He claimed Mr Clarke and Lord Heseltine, who launched a stinging attack on Boris following his withdrawal from the leadership contest yesterday, were attempting to avoid a pro-Brexit leader.
Mr Raab told the BBC: "Of course Michael (Heseltine) and Ken, who didn't support having a referendum, let alone leaving (the EU), it's little wonder they want to knock out the strongest Brexit candidate."
