Tory grandee Michael Gove said he had to “smile” and “hope for the best” when Rishi Sunak revealed his decision to call the general election.
Speaking on stage in London at the first live show of Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction tour, the former cabinet minister described how he was called into the then prime minister’s office half an hour before the full cabinet to be told the news.
But despite his own reservations, only defence secretary Grant Shapps told Mr Sunak: “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
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Telling the story to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, Labour peer Harriet Harman and Conservative peer Ruth Davidson, Mr Gove said: “The were mounting rumours the day before, various meetings had been cancelled.
“I couldn’t quite believe it would be because we were going to call a general election. There were suggestions that there might be another reshuffle.
“But I knew, not for certain, but I knew 99% when I got a call around lunchtime asking me to come in to see Rishi at 3.45pm before the vabinet that was occurring at 4.15pm.
“So I knew then if he wanted to see me… the rumours that had been gathering force throughout the day were almost certainly true.”
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Mr Gove – who served as Mr Sunak’s Levelling Up secretary before standing down ahead of July election – said he entered the room alongside five other cabinet ministers: then chancellor Jeremy Hunt, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden, business secretary Kemi Badenoch, Scotland secretary Alister Jack and Mr Shapps.
But asked why he didn’t join his colleague in trying to dissuade the prime minister, he said: “If a friend tells you that he’s getting married and you think ‘oh my god, not him, not her’, but they already say we’ve booked the church, we’d like you to be best man or be maid of honour, at that point you feel you have got to smile and hope for the best, believe it will work out.
“But to be fair, Grant was the only one in the room who said ‘I don’t think this is a good idea’. He said so in a very polite, very measured way.
“And then subsequently… in cabinet itself, Esther McVey and Chris Heaton Harris thought it wasn’t a good idea.”
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Mr Gove said that, looking back with hindsight, “lots of us were going to lose our seats whenever the election was called”.
He added: “Everyone in hindsight can say it was a mistake and I personally, probably out of selfish reasons because there was some legislation I wanted to get done, would have delayed in the hope that something might have turned up.
“But even if I disagreed that it was absolutely the optimum moment, cut the guy some slack. He’s our leader, let’s hope it works out.”
Beth Rigby tried to push the long-serving minister – and once leadership hopeful himself – on who should replace Mr Sunak as the leader of the party, but he kept his cards close to his chest.
However, he did reveal which musicians he compared each of the remaining candidates to.
“Obviously Tom Tugendhat would be James Blunt,” said Mr Gove. “James Cleverly, I think, would be Ed Sheeran.
“I think that it would be the case Kemi [Badenoch] would be either Taylor Swift or Beyonce.
“And I think Rob Jenrick would be Stormzy.”
Missed tonight’s show? Don’t worry! There are still three more dates to go on the tour:
• Salford – Monday 16 September, Lowry Quays
• Liverpool – Sunday 22 September, St George’s Hall
• Glasgow – Thursday 26 September, The Glee Club
You can get your tickets by clicking here.
And don’t forget to listen to this week’s podcast, which will be published here on Friday morning.