| Michael Gove MP | |
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|
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2007 |
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| Leader | David Cameron |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | David Willetts |
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Member of Parliament
for Surrey Heath |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 5 May 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Nick Hawkins |
| Majority | 10,845 (22.7%) |
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| Born | 26 August 1967 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Vine |
| Alma mater | Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford |
| Profession | Journalist |
| Religion | Church of England |
Michael Andrew Gove (born 26 August 1967) is a Conservative politician, journalist and author in the United Kingdom. He is the current Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Surrey Heath since 2005. He has been called a "one-man think-tank"[1].
Contents |
Biographical
Early life
Gove was born in Edinburgh. At four months old, he was adopted by a family in Aberdeen, where he was brought up. His adoptive father was a fish merchant and he still works part-time in the fish-processing business. His mother worked as a lab assistant at the University of Aberdeen and with deaf children for Aberdeen District Council.[2] He was educated in Aberdeen at schools in the state, and independent sector, specifically at Robert Gordon's College. He later studied at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, (1985-1988) where he served as President of the Oxford Union, returning in 1993 to serve as Chief Adjudicator at the World Universities Debating Championship.
Journalist
Gove joined The Times in 1996 as a leader writer and has been comment editor, news editor, Saturday editor and assistant editor. He has also written a weekly column on politics and current affairs in the newspaper and contributed to the Times Literary Supplement, Prospect magazine and The Spectator. He has written a sympathetic biography of Michael Portillo and a critical study of the Northern Ireland peace process, The Price of Peace, for which he won the Charles Douglas-Home Prize.[3]
Previously, Gove had worked for the BBC's Today programme, On The Record, Scottish Television and the Channel 4 monologue programme A Stab In The Dark, alongside David Baddiel and Tracey MacLeod. He is a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze and Newsnight Review on BBC2.[2]
Michael Gove was instrumental in the launch of the new centre-right magazine Standpoint, and serves on its advisory board.
He played the school chaplain in the family comedy A Feast at Midnight,[4] which was released in 1995.
Personal life
He is married to Sarah Vine, a writer on The Times, and has two children, a daughter, Beatrice, and a son, William;[5].
Gove's wealth is estimated at £1m.[6]
Member of Parliament
Gove joined the Conservative Party at university and was secretary of Aberdeen South Young Conservatives. He has helped write speeches for various cabinet and shadow cabinet ministers, including Peter Lilley and Michael Howard. He applied for a job at the Conservative Research Department, but was told he was "insufficiently political" and "insufficiently Conservative", so he turned to journalism.
Gove was previously chairman of Policy Exchange, a right-wing think tank launched in 2002. As Conservative candidate in the safe seat of Surrey Heath, he entered Parliament in the 2005 general election.
In parliament, most of his questions are about Children, Schools and Families, Education, Local Government, Council tax, Foreign Affairs, and the environment.[7]
Gove is seen as part of an influential set of young up-and-coming Tories, sometimes disparagingly referred to as the 'Notting Hill Set', which includes David Cameron, George Osborne, Edward Vaizey, Nicholas Boles and Rachel Whetstone. They are perceived as modernisers in social issues and humanitarian interventionist in foreign policy. Michael Portillo has predicted that Gove will one day lead the Conservative party. When Cameron was elected leader in December 2005, he appointed Gove the housing spokesman shadowing the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Shadow Cabinet
On 2 July 2007, Gove was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (a new department set up by the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown) shadowing Ed Balls, a key supporter of Brown.
Bi-partisanship
He has suggested that senior members of the Labour party, whom he perceives might become isolated should their party move further to the left, may be offered a role in a future Conservative Government.[8]
Expenses claims
Michael Gove reportedly claimed £7,000 for furnishing a London property before 'flipping' his designated second home to a house in his constituency, a property for which he claimed around £13,000 to cover stamp duty. It is also alleged that Gove claimed for a cot mattress, despite children's items being banned under the Commons rule. Gove said he would repay the claim for the cot mattress, but maintained that his other claims were "below the acceptable threshold costs for furniture".[9]
Political views
Liberty
Before becoming a candidate, Gove had expressed the view that the state should not generally interfere in domestic affairs. He campaigned for greater personal freedom, opposing the introduction of ID cards, and wrote that "Section 28 is a nonsense".[10] He shared a flat with Conservative Ivan Massow who later defected to Labour over Section 28 and Nicholas Boles, and said "The only sustainable ethical foundation for society is a belief in the innate worth and dignity of every individual."[11]
Education
As shadow secretary of state for children, schools and families, he has advocated the introduction of a Swedish-style voucher system, whereby parents can choose where their child should be educated, with the State paying what they would have cost in a state-school.
Foreign policy
He has criticised anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism and several United Nations peace processes.[citation needed]
A self-identified neo-conservative, he called for early intervention against Saddam Hussein and stated in October 2004 of Tony Blair: "I can't hold it back any more; I love Tony!" He is a signatory of the Henry Jackson Society, which advocates an active approach to the spread of democracy throughout the world.
He was a proponent of the view that the invasion of Iraq would bring peace and democracy both to Iraq and the wider Middle East [12]. In December 2008 Gove wrote that declarations of either victory or defeat in Iraq in 2003 were premature, and with the benefit of hindsight "The liberation of Iraq has actually been that rarest of things – a proper British foreign policy success. Next year, while the world goes into recession, Iraq is likely to enjoy 10% GDP growth. Alone in the Arab Middle East, it is now a fully functioning democracy with a free press, properly contested elections and an independent judiciary... Sunni and Shia contend for power in parliament, not in street battles. The ingenuity, idealism and intelligence of the Iraqi people can now find an outlet in a free society rather than being deployed, as they were for decades, simply to ensure survival in a fascist republic that stank of fear. "[13]
He has been accused of harbouring hostile attitude towards Islam and Muslims after his book Celsius 7/7,[14] despite distinguishing between 'the great historical faith' of Islam which he claims has 'brought spiritual nourishment to millions', and Islamism, a 'totalitarian ideolog[y]' which turns to 'hellish violence and oppression' like the 20th century ideologies of National Socialism and Communism.[15]
He has mourned the First World War as a great tragedy, in which not only did millions die, but the old, largely liberal, tolerant and materially progressive order perished.[16]
Political philosophy
During the 2008 Conservative Party Conference, he argued that Edmund Burke (a philosopher who commented on organic society and the French Revolution) was the greatest Tory ever.
Conversely, asked about those who believe 'Marx was right all along', he argued that Marxists were guilty of ignoring the systematic abuses and poverty of centrally planned economies.[17] and expressed his hatred of Eric Hobsbawm, saying that "only when Hobsbawm weeps hot tears for a life spent serving an ideology of wickedness will he ever be worth listening to."
Bibliography
- Michael Portillo: The Future of the Right (1995). ISBN 1-85702-335-8
- The Price of Peace (2000). ISBN 1-903219-15-9
- A Blue Tomorrow - New Visions for Modern Conservatives (2001) (ed. with Edward Vaizey and Nicholas Boles). ISBN 1-84275-027-5
- Celsius 7/7 (2006). ISBN 0-297-85146-2
Notes
- ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/william_rees_mogg/article4842222.ece
- ^ a b http://www.michaelgove.com/about/michaelgove.php
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/review/panel/2043945.stm
- ^ A Feast at Midnight (1995) - Full cast and crew
- ^ Conservative Party website,
- ^ Samira Shackle, Stephanie Hegarty and George Eaton The new ruling class New Statesman 01 October 2009
- ^ Michael Gove MP, Surrey Heath (TheyWorkForYou.com)
- ^ Gaby Hinsliff Gove invites key Blairites to join a future Tory cabinet The Observer 28 September 2008
- ^ Hope, Christopher. "Daily Telegraph: Michael Gove (11 May 2009)". Telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5305434/Michael-Gove-flipped-homes-MPs-expenses.html. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
- ^ When the straight and narrow is the wrong path | Michael Gove - Times Online
- ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/michael-gove-the-modest-moderniser-944074.html
- ^ Times Online | News and Views from The Times and Sunday Times
- ^ http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/12700/Michael-Gove-Triumph-of-freedom.4812256.jp
- ^ http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article645300.ece
- ^ Michael Gove, Celsius 7/7 2006 pvii
- ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/michael_gove/article5067844.ece
- ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/michael_gove/article5019248.ece
External links
- Michael Gove MP official site
- Conservative Party - Michael Gove MP official biography
- Michael Gove's column in The Times
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Michael Gove MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Michael Gove MP
- The Public Whip - Michael Gove voting record
- Open Directory Project - Michael Gove directory category
- Policy Exchange official site
Offices held
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Nick Hawkins |
Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath 2005–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by New Office |
Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 2007–present |
Incumbent |
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