Weak David Cameron is more ‘Borgen’ than ‘Game of Thrones’

I don’t know if David Cameron was trying to tell us something about Michael Gove’s prospects as chief whip by comparing him to the Hand of the King in Game of Thrones. Things don’t really turn out very well for the hands, generally; Jon Arryn was poisoned, Ned Stark was beheaded, Tyrion ended up in prison and Tywin, well, I wouldn’t want to spoil anything for people still catching up.

Neither can we know if the prime minister is really a fan of the show or referencing it was simply another focus group-led thing, like moving Michael Gove out of education and bringing in lots of women. Most heavyweight commentators have been scathing about the reshuffle, among them Max Hastings, Peter Oborne and our own Charles Moore, spiritual leader of Britain’s 15m conservatives, who has called it the worst in 25 years.

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Rupert Darwall

Labour has walked into a net-zero trap of its own making

I don’t have a fixed opinion of Gove; he seemed to be making the necessary reforms but some very sane and even fairly conservative teachers I know couldn’t stand him.