大象传媒

1. He wanted to repay his adoptive parents by doing something worthwhile

He was brought up in Aberdeen by two adoptive parents who “made big sacrifices” for him. He felt that he needed to prove to them that these sacrifices “were not in vain”, and that meant “as well as being a decent son, I could also repay them by doing something worthwhile with my life.”

2. Inequality fires him up

Previously citing his adoption as a factor in his restless political career, Mr Gove tells Nick that the overriding factor that drives him is inequality. This was brought home to him when he was shadow education secretary and he was looking at the pupil outcomes at a failing school. He realised that – in a parallel life – he could have been among those who were disadvantaged academically.

“I think that it’s wrong when individuals are denied the opportunity to make the most of their lives,” he says, “we have an obligation to those whose circumstances have meant that they haven't had the chance to flourish.”

3. He doesn’t believe in unfettered capitalism…

Mr Gove doesn’t see his beliefs about inequality as incompatible with capitalism, and he says that he is a “fundamental believer in free markets.” However, he recognises that unrestricted capitalism can result in monopolies and oligopolies and “squeezing out the little guy”, and that this works to the detriment of “the consumer, the citizen, [and] the individual.”

4. He believes that history helps explain the polarised political climate

Since he brainstormed how to "detoxify" the Tory brand with David Cameron prior to the 2010 election, politics has arguably become even more polarised. Mr Gove points to the financial crash of 2008 and the subsequent policy of austerity as a principal driver, but also to Brexit, lockdown and social media as all having played a role. He sees these developments as cyclical to some extent, likening the upheaval of social media to the arrival of the printing press and of pamphleteering. “It's not historically unprecedented when you have a big media change to have a slightly more, heated political culture,” he notes.

5. He believes that both Muslims and Jews need reassurance

An author of a book about extremism, Mr Gove believes that the climate brought about by the conflict in the Middle East requires a careful distinction between “a perfectly legitimate criticism of Israel and its government” and “something that is antisemitic.” Declining to be drawn on Suella Braverman’s description of pro-Palestinian marches as “hate marches”, he does however say: “there are some people on those marches who are undoubtedly saying hateful things. My advice to anyone would be these marches are not the best way of making sure that we can move towards peace and deal effectively with hate.”

On dealing with hate, Mr Gove offers observations on the two communities affected by events in the Middle East. “There is still more that we need to do in order to give comfort to and to support the overwhelming majority of British Muslims to recognise that Islam is a force for good,” he says. On the anxiety experienced by Jewish communities, he adds: “it is an ironclad rule of history that if a Jewish community feels unsafe, that that is a warning sign to a country like nothing else.”

6. He has not read Nadine Dorries’ book

Nadine Dorries’ much talked about new book, The Plot, has a pointed passage on Michael Gove that identifies him as the focal point of “manipulation and manoeuvring”, quoting one source as saying “he binds all the dark arts people together.”’

“It's very flattering,” he responds “she makes me sound a bit like Severus Snape! I haven't yet read the book, and so I won't pass comment on it until I do - I may not even after that. All I would say is that Nadine is a gifted writer, a committed minister, and she's a fighter for what she believes in, and, you know, I wish her well.”

7. He admits Boris Johnson was a “polarising character”

When he ran for Conservative leader in 2016, Mr Gove said that Boris Johnson “cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead.” He now acknowledges that Johnson is a “polarising character” but one that he liked working with. “I prefer to think of the good that he did,” he says, “his personal warmth and generosity, and also the fact that on COVID in general and the vaccine in particular... in response to aggression in Ukraine, he had a drive and a passion to do the right thing.”

8. He won’t be doing Strictly after politics

Determined to carry on in government “for as long as Rishi will have me”, Mr Gove doesn’t indicate what his post-politics plan might be. He does, however, rule out Strictly, despite his fancy footwork at a nightclub in Aberdeen, caught on a clip that went viral on social media. “I don't think I could ever come close to emulating Krishnan Guru-Murthy or Ed Balls or any of the other top Strictly stars,” he says.