Michael Gove received a surprising amount of support from the opposition benches when he unveiled his GCSE reforms in the Commons on Monday. Among those Labour MPs saying they welcomed his proposals were David Blunkett, Barry Sheerman and, most unexpectedly, Diane Abbott, who said that they would particularly benefit working-class and black minority ethnic children. ‘Mr Speaker, I’m in love,’ said the Secretary of State for Education. ‘The honourable lady is absolutely right. If I had been a member of the Labour party, I would have voted for her as leader.’
Listening to this exchange, I couldn’t help but turn this hypothetical on its head: if Michael Gove had been a member of the Labour party, would Diane Abbott have voted for him as leader? The honourable member for Surrey Heath is often talked about as a future leader of the Conservative party. But in many ways he’d make a better leader of the Labour party.
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