Gove bids to be Tory ‘candidate of change’

Leading Brexit campaigner and contender to become the UK’s next prime minister, Michael Gove, said he did not expect Britain to trigger Article 50, the procedure for leaving the European Union, this year.

In a surprise announcement yesterday, Mr Gove confirmed that he would contest the leadership of the Conservative party.

The former mayor of London, highest-profile figure in the Leave campaign and the most anticipated successor of Cameron, Mr. Johnson, shockingly announced that he would not even run in the race.

Britain’s Treasury chief on Friday abandoned the government’s long-held goal of balancing the nation’s books by 2020, warning that the country’s vote to leave the European Union had sent shock waves and instability through the United Kingdom economy.

The Justice Secretary said: “I took the decision before I went to bed in the early hours”.

Gove said: “Boris is a big character with great abilities and I enjoyed working with him in the referendum campaign, when he campaigned with great energy and enthusiasm”.

Last week the pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar in over 30-years, while Lord Heseltine last week accused Johnson of having “ripped apart” the Conservative party. What is the right thing to do?

Some Conservatives are furious at the betrayal.

Clarke told the BBC “one of the first priorities for a leader of a party and certainly a prime minister is that you should have the trust, as far as possible, of your colleagues”.

He also proposed an end to freedom of movement between Britain and other European countries, as well as introducing an “Australian-style points-based system for immigration” where visa applicants are awarded points for their English and work skills.

Michael Gove today said his bid to become Prime Minister is driven by “conviction” about what is right for Britain.

Gove said he was best-placed to succeed Cameron because he campaigned to leave the European Union, which Britain is now committed to doing after 52 percent of voters backed quitting the bloc in last Thursday’s momentous referendum. “Might have called him a massive child…” “We need a prime minister who recognizes that we’ve got the trump cards”.

Johnson and the Metropolitan Police said they were disappointed by May’s decision and the cannons were used for training purposes only.

The Conservative front-runner, Home Secretary Theresa May, was on the losing “remain” side.

He says that “we will continue to be tough on the deficit but we must be realistic about achieving a surplus by the end of this decade”. Those hopes have evaporated, and there is speculation that he may support Gove in the race.

The recently appointed work and pensions secretary, Stephen Crabb, Liam Fox, who resigned as defence secretary in 2011, and the former City minister Andrea Leadsom are also running.

Notably, the Conservative Party announced that the victor will be chosen by September 9 after members of the party, who are 150,000, vote to choose between two candidates.

Information for this article was contributed by Jill Lawless of The Associated Press.