Michael Gove on being fired by Boris, battling with The Blob and the day he almost quit politics.

Our guest for this episode of Crisis What Crisis? is one of Britain’s best-known politicians, Michael Gove. A man who has held numerous jobs in Cabinet, working under four Prime Ministers – he is of course now the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. For well over a decade, Michael has been at the heart of a series of political crises, including the forming of the Coalition in May 2010 (when we worked together), Brexit, the pandemic, and more recently the aftermath of the Liz Truss experiment. In the moments of relative calm, including four years as the Education Secretary, Michael has built a reputation as a politician who gets things done. A fierce intellect coupled with a brilliant sense of humour makes him one of politics’ most engaging and effective operators. Adopted as a baby, Michael grew up in Aberdeen. Like so many other politicians, including Boris Johnson, he found professional success first as a journalist at the BBC and the Times before deciding that reporting on Westminster was not enough for him. Michael has a reputation as one of politics’ most courteous individuals, but at times, often at times of crisis, he has also shown himself to put it (as he would, politely) as someone capable of ruthless decision-making. Full episode transcript available at: https://www.crisiswhatcrisis.com/podc... Michael’s Crisis Comforts: 1. Scotland. I do feel calmer when I get back home. It’s not just seeing my mum, wherever you grew up frames you. So Aberdeen - whether it’s in a nightclub, a pub or walking on the beach. 2. Exercise. I do like dancing but I also like running - I’m not very fast, I’m not very good, I’m not an athlete, but any sort of exertion that takes you out of yourself… going for a run even if it’s just half an hour, just helps to clear your head. 3. A glass of red wine. It has to be after six o’clock in the evening, normally it’s much later. And there’s a particular type of Bordeaux wine - Saint-Julien. Links: Michael’s website: https://www.michaelgove.com/ Michael’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaelgove?s=20 Michael’s Facebook:   / gove2019   Host – Andy Coulson CWC production team: Louise Difford, Ed Isaacs and Jane Sankey With special thanks to Global KEY MOMENTS 2:22 – Welcome Michael Gove 4:00 – The Blob 10:17 – Coalition Government 13:35 – How do you operate? 16:31 – Getting the right people in the room 19:52 – Cancelling the school building programme 25:11 – The allure of the Justice Department 28:55 – Upbringing 36:15 – “What on earth are you doing going into politics?” 40:00 – Expenses scandal 48:31 – Leveraging polarisation 49:43 – Friendships in politics 55:00 – Fixing PMQs 56:50 – Weaponising reasonableness 59:15 – Pulling the pin on the crisis grenade 01:02:07 – The art of political firing 01:04:55 – Frankenstein’s Prime Minister 01:07:02 – Testing the leadership proposition 01:16:20 – Crisis Comforts