Former British cabinet minister Michael Gove on Friday endorsed Rishi Sunak for prime minister and announced an end of his frontline political career, he said in an op-ed in The Times.
Gove wrote in the op-ed that he thinks Liz Truss' campaign for 10 Downing Street "has been a holiday from reality."
He said Truss' proposed cuts to national insurance would favour the wealthy, and that he cannot see how safeguarding the stock options of FTSE 100 executives should ever take precedence over supporting the poorest in our society.
In contrast, Sunak has the right arguments as they come from his experience of being the chancellor during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gove added.
"Rishi put the strength of the state at the service of the weakest. I know he always will," he said.
Gove said that he knows what the job requires and Sunak has it, dismissing his Conservative colleagues who have predicted Truss to be the winner. He believes that the party members will ultimately back Sunak as he promises only what he knows can be delivered.
"I make my case from my heart too. I do not expect to be in government again," Gove wrote. “But it was the privilege of my life to spend 11 years in the cabinet under three prime ministers.”
Gove was sacked by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July and was replaced by Greg Clark for his role as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
A day after being sacked, Daily Mail reported that Gove will not run to become the next British leader.
(Reuters)
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.