No love lost as Theresa May and Michael Gove square off in fight to replace David Cameron as PM
Conservative rivals were on opposite sides of Brexit debate, although that was merely the latest time they crossed swords.
The last time Theresa May took on Michael Gove, she emerged the winner. Two years after a clash over extremism in schools that contributed to Gove being fired as education secretary, the two are crossing swords again over the prime ministership.
Gove and May are the favourites to succeed David Cameron as Conservative leader and premier after his defeat in the last week’s EU referendum forced his resignation. While they were on opposite sides of the Brexit campaign, both will now be running on a similar platform, committed to respecting Britons’ wish to leave the EU. May has also ruled out an early general election.
I don’t think there’s any love lost between them ... They both look like strong candidates
“I don’t think there’s any love lost between them,” said Andrew Russell, professor of politics at the University of Manchester. “Gove now looks like he might be the Brexit candidate that the defeated Remainers could work with, and I’d always thought that May would be the Remainer that Exiters could get on with. They both look like strong candidates.”
The most powerful woman in government and the longest-serving home secretary in more than a century, May’s steely exterior is often seen as lacking the warmth and popular appeal of politicians such as Boris Johnson. On Thursday, as she made her bid to be Tory leader, she sought instead to turn these into assets, stressing her reliability and focus on getting the job done.
“I know I’m not a showy politician,” she told a press conference in London to whoops of support from some Conservative colleagues. ”I don’t tour the television studios. I don’t gossip about people over lunch. I don’t go drinking in Parliament’s bars. I don’t often wear my heart on my sleeve. I just get on with the job in front of me.”
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While she aligned herself with Cameron in the battle to keep Britain in the EU, May, a known Euro-sceptic, was careful to appear a reluctant Remain supporter, largely absent from the campaign’s televised and public campaign events. By promising she will not consider a second referendum, she hopes to build bridges with those members of her party who actively backed Leave.