Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and the return of Tory wars

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[/audioplayer]From the moment he took his job, Michael Gove knew that he would make energetic and determined enemies. The teachers’ unions, local councillors and even his own department all stood to lose from his reforms — and all could be expected to resist them. What the Education Secretary did not expect was hostile fire from those who should be his friends.

At the start of the coalition, Gove and Nick Clegg were allies. With a moral passion rarely seen in British politics, they used to argue that social mobility should be the centrepiece of the government’s reform agenda. Two years ago, when many Tories were already cooling on coalition, Gove even requested that the Liberal Democrat David Laws be made a minister at his department. But this alliance is over. For the past few months, Lib Dem attacks on Gove have been as regular as England batting collapses.