UK Government source jokes that Michael Gove will be ‘demoted’ from local government to Welsh Secretary
Michael Gove will be ‘demoted’ from the office in charge of local government to Welsh Secretary if he doesn’t stop his political manoeuvres within the cabinet, a UK Government source has warned.
In a sign of the Welsh Secretary job’s perceived lack of prestige within the Cabinet, a UK Government source briefed the Mail on Sunday that Michael Gove could end up at the Wales Office if he attempted to wrangle the job of Home Secretary.
“Michael’s last attempt to brief himself a promotion saw him demoted to local government,” the source said.
“If he keeps on at this rate he will be at the Welsh Office before the end of summer.”
The reply comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is rumoured to be considering a reshuffle after the local elections in May.
UK Government sources had briefed that Home Secretary Priti Patel could be one of those moved, with Michael Gove taking her place. It was suggested however that the source of these rumours may have been Michael Gove himself, who is currently the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
The current Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart, responded to the news: “I always suspected that Michael Gove was after my job!”
Twitter user GutoA responded: “Good to know that your colleagues consider the Welsh Office to be the butt of jokes and lower in prestige than local government. Weird you find that funny though.”
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As usual, we (Cymru and the people who live here) are the punchline and it is indicative of how they think of us in Westminster politics.
I agree. But think of it this way.
What is the Welsh Secretary for? Latterly, s/he has merely been Westminster’s (wo)man in Cymru as opposed to Cymru’s (wo)man at Westminster.
S/he is already half redundant now we have a Parliament. Let’s make sure that when Simon Hart(less) gets his P45, he will be the last of them.
‘A UK Government source’ or rather a nameless Tory coward has belittled the Welsh office and the Welsh secretary laughs along with it rather than taking the opportunity to endear himself to us. The Tories yn Y Senedd should be up in arms about this but I’ll bet they’re chuckling along too. Never mind, May 5th is almost upon us when we have the opportunity to punish them for their absolute contempt at the ballot box.
Nah…If he was in serious trouble he’d be sent to the naughty step – also known as the Northern Ireland Office 😀
Someone has been watching too much Yes Minister …
These days I watch the live version
Westminster is beyond satire. Indeed.
Who would want to be Secretary of State for Wales? The post will be gone before the last high street bank becomes a Starbucks
Here we go again. More Wales baiting from this Tory idiocracy in Whitehall, so they think. But the last laugh is on them, to use an idiom, as the white elephant Welsh Office is a joke these days Post-Devolution, so that Conservative clown Michael Gove would fit in just right.
To be fAir he woulD do a good job. We need something to help shake off the malaise of the lab- plaid coalition
Now, that actually IS a joke.