Gove pitches himself as the liberal candidate in the Tory leadership race

Michael Gove’s positioning in the Tory leadership race became clearer last night. In conversation with Fraser Nelson at a Spectator event, Gove made clear that he would be prepared to extend the Brexit deadline beyond 31 October if there were negotiations going on that would lead to a better deal. He argued that Sinn Fein’s poor recent election results meant that there was more chance of getting the devolved institutions up and running in Northern Ireland if Stormont had a far greater role in the administration of the backstop, which would allay some of the DUP’s concerns:

‘I think that there are ways in which we can work with the Irish government in order to ensure that we either need never go in. Or, if we are in, that it can very quickly be superseded and I’ve had conversations with people on different sides of the Irish border. I believe there is room for movement…

If we get the institutions back up and running in Northern Ireland the nationalists will be involved in the administration of Northern Ireland.