I had a Twitter thread planned on Michael Gove and Green Brexit, so quick, before anything else happens...
There was some speculation yesterday that despite being the only loyal (so far) and strategically capable high profile Brexiter Gove had not got a promotion in the reshuffle.
In Westminster Kreminology this is a snub and proof May still does not trust him, because everyfuleknows Defra is a tiny and unimportant little department. It is, of course, highly possible Gove sees it this way too.
But this misunderstands both a) the huge importance and power of Defra at any time, and b) the specific importance and power of Defra at this crucial time.
Reality is that as Brexit Secretary all the big decisions are ultimately going to fall to Number 10. Am sure becoming Foreign Secretary is something to which all politicians aspire, but it with Trump, Russia, and the EU all applying pressure it looks like a hospital pass.
As Environment Secretary Gove has genuine control over one of the parts of Brexit where we know powers are definitely coming back. Agriculture and Fisheries also impact everyone in some form and have huge cultural and political cachet. He is actually taking back control.
Moreover, Gove's Green Brexit plan - the promise of changing subsidies so landowners are incentivised to care for the environment - has the potential to redefine the very look, feel and daily experience of this United Kingdom.
How many politicians get to say that? This is a genuine legacy opportunity. The kind of stuff that politicos who don't make it to Number 10 rarely get the chance to deliver. Yes, Gove might yet end up as PM, but this is not an opportunity to be sniffed at.
It's also a chance to really take on vested interests. And in this case the vested interests are not underpaid teachers or parents sick of their children's exam stress, but grouse moor owners and subsidy-farming oligarchs.
And that's just the start. Imagine getting Brexit done and then both reforming the management of the UK's environment and delivering a 2019/20 Environment Act that weaves together Net Zero goals, clean air, action on soils, new National and Marine Parks, climate resilience, etc.
Hard to think of a better shot at a genuine positive legacy within government currently, and that is what Gove has been given. It may count for naught in the current climate and there is every chance none of this materialises, but what an opportunity...
