He has served under four of the last five Tory premiers. So who better to address revellers at the ConservativeHome Christmas shindig than Michael Gove? This evening the Levelling Up Secretary took to the stage to deliver the canapé equivalent of a state of the nation address. And, in true Gove style, he began by heaping praise on his hosts. ConservativeHome, he noted, was founded in 2005 and as such has now ‘been going for more than 18 years – it’s older than many members of the House of Lords!’
Having noted the attendance of several high-profile journalists and assured the crowd that he never spoke to the denizens of Fleet Street, it was time for Gove to turn his attention to his own party and the, er, somewhat unfriendly fire that has been exchanged in recent months:
‘Conservative coalition always changes over time, but the conservative coalition that Boris has secured for us is a coalition that we need to keep in mind as we go into the next election,’ Gove warned – fitting on the night that Rishi Sunak faced his first defeat in the Commons.
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