Michael Gove Quotes & Sayings

The economic basis on which Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish nationalists made the case for separation was based on an oil price much higher than it is at the moment, so there will be no case for it. — Michael Gove

As long as there are people in education making excuses for failure, cursing future generations with a culture of low expectations, denying children access to the best that has been thought and written, because Nemo and the Mister Men are more relevant, the battle needs to be joined. — Michael Gove

I believe that there are better opportunities to keep people safe if we are outside the European Union. — Michael Gove

I found reading Alan Bennett striking because you have this sudden flash of recognition when you read about a boy who has intellectual interests utterly different from his parents. — Michael Gove

Don't belittle the hurt that has been caused by the job-destroying machine that is the European Union. — Michael Gove

The common fisheries policy essentially gave other European Union nations unfettered access to our fish stocks and - I would hope - that if we leave the European Union, we can once more see the ports of Peterborough and Fraserhead and Grimsby flourishing, because we will take back control of our territorial waters. — Michael Gove

I think it's appropriate that we simplify, clarify and strengthen, so instead of this nebulousness, we have clarity and authority invested in teachers once more. — Michael Gove

I put my country and my principles first. — Michael Gove

I remember my mum explaining to me what adoption meant when I was still at primary school. 'Son,' she said to me, 'you didn't grow under my heart, you grew in it'. — Michael Gove

The next leader of this country needs to be someone who believes heart and soul that Britain should be outside the European Union. — Michael Gove

I believed we needed someone who would be able to build a team, lead and unite. I hoped that person would be Boris Johnson. — Michael Gove

Making promises and then saddling yourself with a political system and a political union that means that you cannot deliver those promises, I fear, doesn't contribute to an atmosphere of trust and confidence in politics. — Michael Gove

If I'm the British prime minister I won't be dictated to on the timetable or the manner of the negotiations. — Michael Gove

In England, more than in any comparable country, those who are born poor are more likely to stay poor, and those who inherit privilege are more likely to pass on privilege. For those of us who believe in social justice, this stratification and segregation are morally indefensible. — Michael Gove

The British people rejected politics as usual and government as usual. They want and need a new approach to running this country. — Michael Gove

The British prime minister will want to have a strong and positive relationship with European leaders always. — Michael Gove

I have specifically argued that we need to change our relationship with the European Union by fundamentally reforming not just our relationship but the European Union itself. — Michael Gove

I felt we needed someone to lead this country who believed heart and soul in leaving the European Union. — Michael Gove

I don't think I'm a revolutionary, and I'd certainly be an unlikely one. — Michael Gove

I think the depressing litany of projections about World War Three and global Brexit recession we hear from the Remain side is not the sort of approach we should take into the future. — Michael Gove

People should vote for democracy, and Britain should vote for hope. — Michael Gove

Government has got to invest more money in our NHS. The people who work in it are heroic. They do an amazing job. — Michael Gove

I think more and more respect has been accorded to teachers, and quite rightly so. — Michael Gove

I want people to concentrate not on my job but on their jobs. — Michael Gove

The free market is not a god; we have to do everything we can to make the market competitive. — Michael Gove

I notice that the number of cosmetic-surgery operations has risen by 34 per cent in the past year. Once we subtract Jordan, Jodie Marsh and Michael Jackson from those figures, we can see that demand overall may have stabilised. — Michael Gove

Many more schools can be outstanding. — Michael Gove

Whoever the next prime minister of this country will be, it will be a female prime minister and a female prime minister who has formidable skills and I know whichever one of the two wins they will lead this country well. — Michael Gove

I will put my heart and soul into making sure that the care your son or daughter or mum or dad receives is the same I would want for my own family. — Michael Gove

I have a brother-in-law who lives in Spain. — Michael Gove

The accumulation of cultural capital - the acquisition of knowledge - is the key to social mobility. — Michael Gove

We have the opportunity not just to choose our job or profession, but also to choose the sort of life we want to live and the imprint we will leave on others. — Michael Gove

One of the reasons why Australia and Canada have support for migration is because they control the numbers. — Michael Gove

One of the problems we have is children are not in school long enough in the day and during the year. — Michael Gove

We have a unique chance to heal divisions, give everyone a stake in the future and set an example as the most creative, innovative and progressive country in the world. — Michael Gove

There is no prospect of any of us being able to kick out any of the presidents of Europe; they operate in a sphere and a realm well away from and out of reach of and out of touch with the people. — Michael Gove

I was encouraged to stand for Parliament by David Cameron, and he has given me the opportunity to serve in what I believe is a great, reforming government. I think he is an outstanding Prime Minister. — Michael Gove

Anyone who's working in manufacturing here should know they will have increased opportunities if we leave the European Union. — Michael Gove

If we are to make the most of the opportunities ahead we need a bold break with the past. — Michael Gove

The Government wants to give young people from every community the chance to learn about the heroism and sacrifice of our great-grandparents, which is why we are organising visits to the battlefields of the Western Front. — Michael Gove

A lot of schools benefit from parents who are first- or second-generation immigrants, who expect the best for their children. — Michael Gove

In my view, our immigration policy means that we have some people who can come into this country - who we might want to say no to - and others, who we might want to attract, who can't currently come in. — Michael Gove

Democratic self-government has manifestly brought benefits to India, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, South Africa, South Korea, and scores of nations all making their way in the world. — Michael Gove

I think that what we have heard from the Remain campaign throughout this whole referendum have been dire warnings of the terrible consequences of the British people just taking control of our own destiny.And, the truth is, if we vote to Leave we will be in an economically stronger position. We will be able to take back some of the money that we currently give to the European Union and we can invest it in our priorities. — Michael Gove

I believed and hoped that we would be able to secure a deal with Europe which would enable us to amend free movement. — Michael Gove

I love my parents in the way most children would: for having been there at every point in my youth and childhood, ready to pick me up when I fell and support me when I stumbled. — Michael Gove

It's often the case that successful people invite criticism. — Michael Gove

I believe that the decisions which govern all our lives, the laws we must all obey, and the taxes we must all pay should be decided by people we choose and who we can throw out if we want change. — Michael Gove

The single most important thing in a child's performance is the quality of the teacher. Making sure a child spends the maximum amount of time with inspirational teachers is the most important thing. — Michael Gove

I prefer to take the view of businesspeople who are actually generating jobs and creating wealth. — Michael Gove

Because my parents took a risk on me not knowing a thing about me.They believed that in everyone there is potential - that by believing in someone, loving them, nurturing them, you can bring out that potential. — Michael Gove

The first thing I would like to say is that I don't think folk at Westminster - or for that matter at Holyrood - constitute an elite. They are representatives who are elected and who are at the service of voters who can fire them. — Michael Gove

We need to face the fact that we need more money in order to deliver Jeremy Hunt's absolutely correct drive to guarantee even better standards of care. — Michael Gove

One of the problems we've had is that the ICT curriculum in the past has been written for a subject that is changing all the time. I think that what we should have is computer science in the future - and how it fits in to the curriculum is something we need to be talking to scientists, to experts in coding and to young people about. — Michael Gove

I am in favour of migration; I simply want to control the numbers. — Michael Gove

I think the principal purpose of education is to allow each of us, when we become adults, to shape our own future. — Michael Gove

I wanted to put the national interest before my personal interests. — Michael Gove

The challenges facing Britain required not just a cool head, but a heart burning with the desire for change - not business as usual but a bold vision. — Michael Gove

I will lay out my plan for the United Kingdom which I hope can provide unity and change. — Michael Gove

At the moment, I'm afraid that the discipline system doesn't give teachers the support that they need. One thing that I've been struck by is that the number of violent assaults on teachers increased last year. We need to be clear that teachers have the power they need in order to impose discipline. — Michael Gove

Now that Britain has voted to leave, I think the country deserves to have a leader who believes in Britain outside the European Union and who also has experience at the highest level of government. — Michael Gove

Good schools should be left alone. — Michael Gove

When we vote to leave, I think a majority of people in Scotland will also vote to leave as well. — Michael Gove

Whatever else I know, I know that if you invest love and care in any individual you can help them to make a difference, to write their own life story. — Michael Gove

You wouldn't tolerate an underperforming surgeon in an operating theatre, or a underperforming midwife at your child's birth. Why is it that we tolerate underperforming teachers in the classroom? — Michael Gove

They [British people] told us to restore democratic control of immigration policy and to spend their money on national priorities such as health, education and science instead of giving it to Brussels. — Michael Gove

It's the invincible arrogance of Europe's elites that gets me. These are people who have seen the euro collapse. These are people who are presiding over a migration crisis on their borders, and yet do they ever acknowledge that they need to change? No. They say they need more integration, more of our money, more control over this country. — Michael Gove

I am on the side of the people. — Michael Gove

It is vital that teachers can be paid more without having to leave the classroom. This will be particularly important to schools in the most disadvantaged areas as it will empower them to attract and recruit the best teachers. — Michael Gove

I absolutely think that David Cameron should stay, whatever the result of the referendum, and I hope that he will stay for the full second term which he was elected to serve. — Michael Gove

There are huge challenges ahead for this country but also huge opportunities. We can make this country stronger and fairer. — Michael Gove

Adopting means opening your home, and heart, to a life you've never known. But there is nothing as richly rewarding as being an adoptive parent. — Michael Gove

The people I admire most are those doing outstanding things for the poorest children, such as Michael Wilshaw at Mossbourne academy, Dan Moynihan and all those at the Harris academies, and those at chains such as Ark and the Haberdashers, who are driving up standards in the poorest areas. — Michael Gove

My parents adopted me, and then, by the age of four or five, I was asking all sorts of questions, and they found themselves with a son who was interested in the sorts of things that they valued but weren't natural to them. — Michael Gove

Hanging may seem barbarous, but the greater barbarity lies in the slow abandonment of our common law traditions. — Michael Gove

Boris Johnson is a man of great attributes and great qualities. — Michael Gove

We need a national ambition to build hundreds of thousands of new homes a year, both private and socially-rented - led by someone who will not take no for an answer and who will push for diggers in the ground and homes for all come what may. — Michael Gove

We have, in the E.U., a market rigged in favour of the rich and stacked against the poor, and I think that's wrong. — Michael Gove

Proper history teaching is being crushed under the weight of play-based pedagogy which infantilises children, teachers and our culture. — Michael Gove

With the single exception of Park Lane, every north-south route in London slows traffic to the pace of a wounded gnat with pleurisy struggling with a squaddie's backpack. — Michael Gove

One thing is undeniable. If we are going to continue to have support for migration, we need to be able to control the numbers. — Michael Gove

I have a different starting premise from those 100 academics who are so heavily invested in the regime of low expectations and narrow horizons which they have created. — Michael Gove

I can't influence how other parties choose to vote. — Michael Gove

Barack Obama would never accept a court in Mexico decreeing what the law in the United States would be. — Michael Gove

There are great things that Britain can do in the future as a progressive beacon. By voting Leave, we have that opportunity. — Michael Gove

I see education in the U.K. as a civil rights struggle. — Michael Gove

I'm one of many who have seen their parents and their friends lose their jobs, lose their income, lose their livelihood because of the European Union. — Michael Gove

I'm clear that we do need to improve what's happening in our schools. — Michael Gove

In this fallen world, I suspect we will never achieve perfection. But that won't stop me trying. — Michael Gove

I'm not interested in defending the position of those who already have money, power and privilege. — Michael Gove

I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris [Johnson] cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead. — Michael Gove

I hope that in the days to come, I'll be able to convince my colleagues that I should be one of the candidates that Conservative party members can choose from. — Michael Gove

One of the things I know about the European Union is that the European Union can destroy jobs. — Michael Gove

I am delighted by the support I have received from colleagues. It reflects the optimistic message that I've been putting forward. — Michael Gove

It was a tough choice [of PM]. I voted for a Scotsman. — Michael Gove

Unfortunately, the real achievements of children on the ground became debased and devalued because Labor education secretaries sounded like Soviet commissars praising the tractor production figures when we know that those exams were not the rock-solid measures of achievement that children deserve. — Michael Gove

Life would have been easier for me if I had taken the path of least resistance. — Michael Gove

The First World War may have been a uniquely horrific war, but it was also plainly a just war. — Michael Gove

I'll negotiate with toughness, and with great attention to detail to get the best possible deal for Britain. It's only when we are outside the European Union that we can at last bring those numbers [of migrants] under control in the way that the public want. — Michael Gove

For a few spotty years, I was that tragic geek — Michael Gove