Michael Gove standing down!

[Westfacing]

Another rat deserting...

Autumnrow - all I claimed for Gove was that he reversed the disgraceful policy of banning books in prisons and implemented some sound policies regarding access to education in prisons. I really do not think he alone can be blamed for the fact that so many prisoners are functionally illiterate, this situation has been extant for decades under multiple governments and politics parties.

I also think that the introduction of systematic synthetic phonics was entirely beneficial. If I were teaching adults to read now (it is great that you help people in prison with their literacy) I would be starting with phonics.

Yes, so was I but apparently Rees-Mogg is a potential Portillo Moment!

@Westfacing I will happily sit chugging caffeine all night on July 4th to watch that moment

Gove was education secretary in Cameron's government and his advisor was Dominic Cummings, who styled himself as the great disruptor, tear it all down, throw everything in the air etc. etc. - it's easy to pigeonhole Cummings as just an arrogant git but I think he's much worse and has a genuine messiah complex.

I think Gove showed his true merit when he distanced himself from Cummings and stopped trying to overcomplicate everything he touched. I'm not a Tory and don't agree with him, but he was an able minister.

He's now left his wife and to coin a phrase "seems to be going through some stuff" - he had been very friendly with Kemi Badenoch but she stopped speaking to him when she set him up with a friend of hers, who he pumped and dumped. Allegedly. Also, at 56 he's probably working on the assumption that the Tories will be out of power for a decade and by the time they get back in he won't be considered for a cabinet post due to his age.

Sorry I didn't mean to be an arsehole to you and I probably was. It's just that when you've met a young 'lifer' in prison who'll likely be out at around 40 years old and unable to function in society, it's depressing to hear that they couldn't engage with the education on offer at all, not even phonics. (And the state of basic let alone SEND education now ... well, don't get me started.)

And being dispassionate about it, pre-Gove, people like Ruth Kelly and Blunkett (Labour) were awful too. I went to a seminar featuring Ruth Kelly once, when she was about the ban the creation of any new community schools. It was a surreal experience. Her own Labour Party members in the room tore her apart. (David Miliband was one of her ministers at the time but she had the top job!!) But we got PFI schools and academy chains anyway.

True but if the 15% of reform voters in my continuancy chose to vote Tory instead then Braverman will stay in as our MP. I'm assuming a lot of those voters are the ones always telling her that she should join the party!

As much as I'd love to see Rees Mogg get hit in the face with a massive defeat, I can't help but wonder if he's also going to stand down at some point in the next few weeks.

I read that many Tory MPs are standing down not so much because they're frightened of not being re-elected - they're terrified they could be re-elected and find themselves part of a tiny group of Tory MPs mostly comprising extremists and nutters.

That sounds about right.

He's apparently very well hung. I'm sure I read that when he worked in journalism his nickname was 'donkey'

Led by Penny 'TWAW' Mordaunt.

Jeremy Hunt might also be a Portillo moment. Quite a few to look forward to 😁

Thank goodness that weasel, MG, is going .

He has damaged our children with his education ideology and the damned awful curriculum.

Thank God! He is responsible for the poor mental health of many teens today. Shame in the bloody weasel!

*on

He's a vile character. Good riddance to the lot of them.

I had to look it up. It's been ten years since he was Education Secretary

Don't blame him as an individual. Blame the whole Tory agenda

When he was education secretary he did a complete overhaul of the curriculum and assessments. We are still dealing with the fallout 10 years later.

Good. That horrid little man is responsible for several awful policies. Hope he goes away and stays away.

so sad to see this man go

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No doubt heading for a couple of lucrative seats on Company Boards, and probably a seat in the HoL.

when were there no books in prisons?

Because, let's be honest, most political brains weren't stupid enough to want Brexit (regardless as to whether they wanted the result honoured, democratically). If you weren't a Brexiter in 2019 you were out.

That's how the likes of Sunak and Hancock got prominent positions in that administration - they'd backed Brexit. Talentless hacks like Schapps and Cleverley passed through all the cabinet roles.

Even Gove and Johnson weren't really Brexiteers - they just moved that way for the political capitol.

There wasn't a complete ban, but the Tory government did put restrictions on items that could be brought in or sent to prisoners.

https://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/insights/blogs/criminal-law-blog/high-court-rules-that-the-restriction-of-books-in-prisons-is-unlawful

You’ve seen the videos of him out clubbing? Hayfever isn’t his only problem.

The thought of his face when in the moment of enjoyment would put you off your dinner!