Kemi Badenoch cannot “outdo Reform” in terms of anger, former Tory Cabinet minister Michael Gove has said, as he backed the Conservative leader.
The former Conservative Cabinet minister also said that he considered Donald Trump’s arrival in the White House to have been “a good thing” having backed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris at the presidential election.
Speaking to GB News’ Chopper’s Political Podcast, Gove said that Badenoch – whose leadership has so failed to boost the party’s popularity in the polls – had to come to a “mature judgement” to stop people being lured over to Nigel Farage’s party.
Gove claimed Badenoch has a harder time than Margaret Thatcher who became Tory leader 50 years ago. He said: “Margaret Thatcher never had that rival on the Right that Kemi does.
Michael Gove issued the Tory leader a warning
GB NEWS / PA
“So it’s important that the Conservative Party makes a mature judgment about how to deal with Reform.
“That judgment has to be you can’t out do Reform in terms of the anger that they articulate. And there’s a lot of legitimate anger out there, where you can do better than Reform is in the answers to the difficult questions we face.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Michael Gove joined Christopher Hope on Tuesday
GB NEWS
“And my analysis is that the policies that Kemi put forward the other week, particularly on immigration, particularly on indefinite leave to remain, were the most detailed propositions to some of the problems that we face, that any party leader has put forward so far.”
Speaking to the podcast on Tuesday before President Donald Trump labelled Ukraine’s elected President Zelensky a dictator, Gove – who previously endorsed Kamala Harris in the US presidential election – said he would now vote for Trump.
He said: “If I’d had my time again, I would erase that judgment because I think Trump has been a net positive.”
He added: “I do worry about Ukraine. I do worry about the position there. But I also think that the problems that we had with Ukraine set in well before Trump’s position in the White House.
“And I hope that Boris [Johnson] is right, that Trump will be able to secure a deal which actually allows a Ukraine to rearm, to reinforce, to rebuild. Let’s see.
“But in other areas, in tackling what one might call work politics and getting greater efficiency within government, in making sure that we move away from some of the politically correct obsessions of the past, Donald Trump and the associated vibe shift have been a good thing.”
Listen to Chopper’s Political Podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on GB News’ YouTube channel.