Michael Gove

Michael Gove

Michael Gove is editor of The Spectator.

What does loyalty mean in politics?

From our UK edition

For David Cameron, there were two types of politician. Team players. Or tossers. Although he preferred a slightly saltier description for the latter type. For a year I was the member of his team whose principal job was tosser-hunter. As government chief whip between 2014 and 2015 I was responsible for maintaining parliamentary discipline, unity

Why Nadhim Zahawi (and Reform) are making a mistake

From our UK edition

50 min listen

This week on Quite right!, Michael and Maddie examine Nadhim Zahawi’s dramatic defection to Reform UK and ask whether it strengthens the party’s insurgent credentials or exposes a deeper strategic mistake. Is Reform becoming a genuine outsider movement, or simply a refuge for disaffected Tories? And what does the pattern of Boris-era defections reveal about

Q&A: A Labour rebellion is coming – can Starmer survive?

From our UK edition

30 min listen

This week: Michael and Maddie look ahead to a turbulent political year, asking who will rise, who will fall – and whether Keir Starmer can survive the mounting unrest within his own parliamentary party. With Labour backbenchers showing an increasing willingness to defy the leadership, is a full-blown rebellion inevitable? They also discuss the government’s

‘Boris didn’t care!’: Dominic Cummings on lawfare, lockdowns & the broken British state | part one

From our UK edition

47 min listen

In this special two-part interview, Michael and Maddie are joined by Dominic Cummings. After starting his political career at the Department of Education, Dominic is best known as the campaign director of Vote Leave, the chief adviser in Downing Street during Boris Johnson’s premiership, and one of the most influential strategists of modern times. Whether

Year in Review 2025 – Live

From our UK edition

32 min listen

From scandals and cabinet chaos to Trumpian antics and the ‘special’ relationship that some say is anything but, The Spectator presents The Year in Review – a look back at the funniest and most tragic political moments of 2025. Join The Spectator’s editor Michael Gove, deputy editor Freddy Gray, political editor Tim Shipman, deputy political editor James Heale

With Michael Gove

From our UK edition

30 min listen

Surely needing no introduction to Spectator listeners, Michael Gove has been a staple of British politics for almost two decades. As a Christmas treat, he joins Lara Prendergast to talk about his memories of food including: the ‘brain food’ he grew up on in Aberdeen, his favourite Oxford pubs and the dining culture of 1980s

Q&A: How has being adopted impacted your politics?

From our UK edition

27 min listen

Submit your urgent questions to Michael and Maddie at spectator.co.uk/quiteright. This week on Quite right! Q&A: is demography destiny? With Britain’s birth rate falling, Michael Maddie Grant discuss whether the country is quietly drifting towards decline – and whether immigration, pro-natal policy or something more radical is the answer. Is importing labour a short-term fix

Bondi attack: understanding Islamism & the causes of anti-Semitism

From our UK edition

50 min listen

Michael Gove and Madeline Grant confront the horror of the Bondi Beach massacre and ask why anti-Semitic violence now provokes despair rather than shock. As Jewish communities are once again targeted on holy days, they examine the roots of Islamist ideology and the failure of political leaders to name it. Why has anti-Semitism metastasised across

Q&A: Should Ukraine join the Commonwealth?

From our UK edition

31 min listen

Submit your urgent questions to Michael and Maddie at spectator.co.uk/quiteright. This week on Quite right! Q&A: should Britain reinvent the Commonwealth – and should Ukraine be invited to join? Is the Commonwealth an embarrassing relic… or an untapped strategic asset? Then: what if Jeremy Corbyn had actually won in 2019? Maddie and Michael sketch the

Has Reform peaked? – racism allegations & Farage’s toughest week yet

From our UK edition

45 min listen

After a summer in which Nigel Farage seemed to bend the news cycle to his will, Michael and Maddie ask whether the party’s momentum is slipping. Do the allegations dredged up from Farage’s schooldays mark a decisive turning point – or, perversely, strengthen his outsider appeal? And with questions over Reform’s election spending, defections from

Q&A: Lockdown ‘sins’ & where Conservatism went wrong

From our UK edition

41 min listen

To submit your urgent questions to Michael and Maddie, go to spectator.co.uk/quiteright. This week on Quite right! Q&A: was lockdown the right call – and what did Britain get catastrophically wrong? Michael and Maddie unravel the ‘sins’ of the Covid era, from criminalising everyday behaviour to the rise of snitch culture. Did Sweden show there

Why Rachel Reeves should go & would Corbyn be a better prime minister?

From our UK edition

48 min listen

This week: Rachel Reeves reels as Labour’s Budget unravels – and a far-left Life of Brian sequel plays out in Liverpool. After a bruising seven days for the Chancellor, Michael and Maddie ask whether Reeves’s position is now beyond repair. Did Keir Starmer’s bizarre nursery press conference steady the ship – or simply confirm that

The ‘wickedness’ of Labour’s gender war

From our UK edition

48 min listen

This week: After leaked EHRC guidance threw Labour’s position on biological sex into disarray, Michael and Maddie ask whether Bridget Phillipson is deliberately delaying clarity on the law – and why Wes Streeting appears to be retreating from his once ‘gender-critical’ stance. Is Labour quietly preparing to water down long-awaited guidance? And has the return

Q&A: Is it time to abolish the Treasury?

From our UK edition

36 min listen

To submit your urgent questions to Michael and Maddie, go to: spectator.co.uk/quiteright This week on Quite right! Q&A: Is the Treasury still fit for purpose – or has ‘Treasury brain’ taken over Whitehall? Michael and Maddie dig into the culture and power of Britain’s most influential department, from the Oxbridge-heavy ‘Treasury boys’ to a ‘visionless’

Is Net Zero ‘mania’ over? And Labour’s migration crackdown

From our UK edition

50 min listen

This week: a Commons showdown over asylum – and a cold shower for Net Zero orthodoxy. After Shabana Mahmood’s debuts Labour’s new asylum proposals, Michael and Maddie ask whether her barnstorming performance signals a new star in Starmer’s government – or whether the Home Secretary is dangerously over-promising on a problem no minister has yet

Q&A: Who could replace Keir Starmer?

From our UK edition

32 min listen

To submit your urgent questions to Michael and Maddie, go to: spectator.co.uk/quiteright This week on Quite right! Q&A: Could Britain see a snap election before 2029? Michael and Maddie unpack the constitutional mechanics – and explain why, despite the chaos, an early vote remains unlikely. They also turn to Labour’s troubles: growing pressure on Keir