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Sadiq offers Gove the trip of his life

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

It’s been quite the few months for Michael Gove. The Tory party’s answer to Angela Rayner yesterday bagged himself another new title: Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government with added cross-government responsibility for levelling up and retaining ministerial responsibility for the Union and elections. 

This comes after a summer where he announced his forthcoming divorce with longtime wife Sarah Vine and was spotted raving in an Aberdonian nightclub at 2 a.m. All this alongside a busy schedule of Whitehall commitments and evening receptions, where Gove is fond of making a joke or two.

But now it seems the Great Poo-bah of the Whitehall jungle doesn’t just get to dish it out; he has to take it too. For last night at his own belated summer bash, Labour mayor Sadiq Khan enjoyed poking fun at the teaching unions’ bête noire. Surrounded by dozens of the lobby’s finest hacks the recently re-elected London chief gave his views on Boris Johnson’s reshuffle, telling attendees: ‘It’s good to see Dominic Raab finally brought to Justice’ before turning his guns on Gove. 

Riffing on the minister’s recent nightclub trip Khan said it was good to see him moving to the ‘Ministry of Sound’ – a nod to the popular establishment once run by Gove’s colleague Lord Bethell – before referencing two further clubs: Fabric, which nearly lost its licence in 2016 for its alleged ‘culture of drugs,’ and well known gay superclub Heaven. Khan told attendees: ‘I can’t wait to take Michael to Fabric, and Heaven’s going to blow his mind’ adding to laughs ‘some of you got that.’

A trip on the town with Michael Gove? Truly a mind-bending experience.

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Steerpike
Written by
Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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