Boris Johnson not up to it, says Michael Gove as he enters Tory leadership race
by Estelle Shirbon
2016-06-30 10:51:01.0
LONDON — British Justice Secretary Michael Gove made a surprise announcement on Thursday that he would stand for the leadership of the ruling Conservative Party and to be the next prime minister.
Gove had been widely expected to support former London mayor Boris Johnson for the job.
“I wanted to help build a team behind Boris Johnson so that a politician who argued for leaving the European Union could lead us to a better future,” Gove wrote in a column announcing his leadership bid on the Spectator magazine’s website.
“But I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead.”
The new development follows the leak of an e-mail from Gove’s wife, journalist Sarah Vine, exposing Tory doubts about Johnson.
The Financial Times reported that Vine sent the e-mail to her husband and his media advisers but accidentally copied it to a member of the public, causing embarrassment to Johnson as he prepared to launch his leadership campaign.
In the note sent on Tuesday morning, Vine urged Gove to seek the explicit promise of a job before committing to the Johnson campaign, and to take along political advisers as backup.
“One simple message: You MUST have SPECIFIC assurances from Boris OTHERWISE you cannot guarantee your support,” she said in the e-mail, which was passed to Sky News.
Reuters and Financial Times
Boris Johnson. Picture: REUTERS/PHIL NOBLE
LONDON — British Justice Secretary Michael Gove made a surprise announcement on Thursday that he would stand for the leadership of the ruling Conservative Party and to be the next prime minister.
Gove had been widely expected to support former London mayor Boris Johnson for the job.
“I wanted to help build a team behind Boris Johnson so that a politician who argued for leaving the European Union could lead us to a better future,” Gove wrote in a column announcing his leadership bid on the Spectator magazine’s website.
“But I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead.”
The new development follows the leak of an e-mail from Gove’s wife, journalist Sarah Vine, exposing Tory doubts about Johnson.
The Financial Times reported that Vine sent the e-mail to her husband and his media advisers but accidentally copied it to a member of the public, causing embarrassment to Johnson as he prepared to launch his leadership campaign.
In the note sent on Tuesday morning, Vine urged Gove to seek the explicit promise of a job before committing to the Johnson campaign, and to take along political advisers as backup.
“One simple message: You MUST have SPECIFIC assurances from Boris OTHERWISE you cannot guarantee your support,” she said in the e-mail, which was passed to Sky News.
Reuters and Financial Times
