‘Boring is back’, Michael Gove says after surprise Cabinet return

Mr Gove, who made a return to Cabinet yesterday as Levelling Up Secretary, spoke at the London Press Club Awards on Wednesday

Michael Gove returned to Cabinet as Levelling Up Secretary (James Manning/PA) (PA Wire)

Michael Gove has said that “boring is back” during a speech in central London after making a widely unexpected return to government.

Mr Gove, who returned to Cabinet yesterday as Levelling Up Secretary, spoke at the London Press Club Awards about how he believed the arrival of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister would bring to an end the chaos of recent months.

In his speech, he said he was “grateful” for the fact that Mr Sunak on Tuesday stressed “that after 12 months of turbulence, after a rolling news buffet, an all-you-can eat story extravaganza, that boring is back”.

The former journalist had been set for a role at Times Radio, before being offered a return to Government after the exit of Liz Truss.

He was dramatically sacked by Boris Johnson over the summer as the then-prime minister’s administration collapsed.

Reflecting on the non-stop political drama over the past year, he told the room: “Now is the time I think for, certainly on the part of Government, nerves to settle. For us to get back to the business of Government in a quiet way.”

He would, he joked, apologise to the media for the Government’s “utter determination to try to be as dull as possible”.

In the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Sunak reintroduced a ban on fracking that had been scrapped by his predecessor, Liz Truss.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson gave confirmation after Mr Sunak was pressed on the issue at his first Prime Minister’s Questions.

The PM said he “stands by” the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto and insisted his Government will deliver on what was agreed at the UN Cop26 Glasgow climate talks.

Earlier, a minister suggested Suella Braverman would not be investigated over alleged security breaches and violations of the ministerial code.

Cabinet Office minister Will Quin told parliament that even if Rishi Sunak appoints a new independent adviser, it would “not be proper” for them to probe “events in the last administration”.

It came after Mr Sunak went head-to-head with Sir Keir Starmer at his first PMQs as prime minister.

Sir Keir then grilled Mr Sunak about his appointment of Suella Braverman as home secretary, accusing him of doing a “grubby deal” with her to secure her support.