When Michael Gove was welcomed back into government this year and appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, some wondered if Boris Johnson was really wise to trust his old nemesis with the serious business of government. After all, Gove both ran against the PM in the recent leadership contest and, infamously, stabbed him in the back after the Brexit vote in 2016.
But if Boris is looking for inspiration about how to handle his colleague, it appears that there are other prime ministers who might be able to help. David Cameron for one apparently distrusted Gove so much he developed his own protocol for managing his Chief Whip.
In a review of David Cameron’s memoir, For the Record, in this week’s Spectator, Jo Johnson reveals that Gove was considered to be the ‘biggest leaker in government’ and was completely ‘distrusted’ when Cameron was in charge of the country.
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