Social media has made a viral moment from parliament. In it, an enraged Michael Gove tells the Commons that “the hostile government was invented by a Labour home secretary”. Of course, we know that this statement issued on 14 March during his statement on Homes for Ukraine, the government’s scheme to welcome more refugees to the UK couldn’t be further from the truth.
His first absurdity is his self-righteousness. His rant begins with the words, Look: This, as older readers may recall was a Tony Blair trick. Code for, I am a straight type of guy and I am going to level you here. What follows is simple common sense. As he starts to get into his stride the communities secretary starts to smack on the dispatch box. He says that they will disagree politically on all matters. However, I’ve had it up to now with people who suggest that this country is not generous. He hits the box seven more times for the last clause. While we all use physical gestures to emphasize points at times, this can lead to the abuse of inanimate objects that are perfectly innocent.
Oh, and that’s the third clue Gove wants us all to believe he really, truly means this. His rage has reached its peak. (Can we just ignore the partisan nonsense, and continue delivering? hes turning puce. It’s not good for his blood pressure.
However, Gove can mean all this. But it isn’t true. This country has not been generous in this crisis as well as those that preceded it. The UK has accepted fewer Ukrainian refugees than any of its neighbours and a much smaller number than those further east. A large part of our political discourse has been focused over the last few decades on stopping small boats of desperate people crossing the Channel. They have been threatened with the Royal Navy by the Home Secretary. That’s not generous.
The most obvious lie in Goves rant is his assertion that the hostile environment was created under Labour’s home secretary. It wasn’t: The policy was implemented by Theresa May on 2012. Gove seems to think that it was a Labour immigrant Minister, the serially gaffe-prone Liam Byrne who introduced the policy. The phrase was first used.In 2007, hostile environment
But as horrendous as May’s governments record sometimes was, there is a huge difference between speaking the words and making it policy. Rishi Sunak may be credited for being a tax cut chancellor. Even though he’s happily raising everyone’s taxes, it is worth giving him credit. (Indeed the Joe Ava Evans is a politics correspondent AskThe relevant question is whether Goves misdirection counts towards misleading the House.
Goves rant is simply based upon a completely false premise. It assumes that Labour politicians motivated partisanship are the only people who mean-spiritedly suggest that the government is not trying its damnedest. There is ample evidence that the government does not try its best to assist refugees. Someone close to Home Office is BriefingUnchecked refugees pose a security threat; Downing Street and that department are trying to share the blame. We have also done more than that. PollingTo show that anger and disappointment are not confected by Labour, but felt by the public. It is not the job of the opposition to criticize the government. Ministers are under fire for their partisanship.
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Goves rant has one major flaw. He describes Labours partisan nonsense in a very accurate way. This government is skilled at finding the dividing lines that put Labour on the wrong side of the debate, but not when it comes down to actually governing or implementing policy.
Goves’ rage may have been real or contagious. If Goves really wants to criticize a party more focused than on delivering, he should look at his front bench.
[See also: The Home Office no longer knows how to be anything but cruel]
