UK: Former minister Michael Gove endorses Rishi Sunak for PM

The race to become the United Kingdom’s next prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party has come down to foreign secretary Liz Truss and former finance minister Rishi Sunak. Sunak received the endorsement of former British cabinet minister Michael Gove over the weekend, adding to the figures whose support Sunak has received.

Gove voiced his support for Sunak in a piece he wrote for The Times, which was published over the weekend. Gove said Sunak presented the right arguments, citing Sunak’s experience as the country’s finance minister during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gove added that he knows what the job of being prime minister requires and that Sunak can do it.

“Rishi put the strength of the state at the service of the weakest. I know he always will,” said Gove, who added that Conservative Party members would ultimately back Sunak, citing that the former finance minister pledges only what he knows can be delivered.

Gove, who was dismissed by Boris Johnson back in July, added that he does not expect to be involved in government again. Gove was replaced by Greg Clark as the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities.

As for Truss, Gove described the top diplomat’s campaign as a “holiday from reality.” Gove said Truss’s proposed cuts to the national insurance would only favor the wealthy and that safeguarding the stock options of FTSE 100 executives should not come first over supporting low-income communities.

Friday last week, Sunak said Russia should no longer be allowed to attend the upcoming G20 Summit in Bali in November until Russia stops its war on Ukraine. This comes as Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping were set to attend, according to the adviser to the Indonesian president.

“Our G20 partners and allies have a collective responsibility to call Putin’s abhorrent behavior out. Sitting round a table with him isn’t good enough when he is responsible for children being killed in their beds as they sleep,” said Sunak’s spokesman. “We need to send a strong message to Putin that he doesn’t have a seat at the table unless and until he stops his illegal war in Ukraine.”

Truss’s campaign referred to her comments in July when she said it would be important to confront Putin on the matter in the midst of allies such as Indonesia and India.

Indonesia has come under pressure to withdraw its invitation to Putin but has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend as well.