Michael Gove

Whichever way you look at it Michael Gove is one of the more contentious figures in the British political firmament. As Secretary of State for Education, teachers and trade unions roundly despised him, accusing him of creating a climate of bullying and intimidation, and passing votes of no confidence in him at their annual conferences. As Secretary of State for Justice, he provoked the lawyers of the Criminal Bar to stop taking new work in protest at his insistence they work for lower fees. Others, however, regard Gove as a visionary and reformer, and one of the most talented politicians of his generation. Combining socially liberal views with a neoconservative outlook on Britain's place in the world, this adopted son of a fish processor and a lab assistant, who was schooled by the state, stands proudly out from the Eton-educated ranks of his front-bench colleagues.This unofficial biography takes a profound look at one of the most intriguing characters in contemporary British politics and asks: does he want to, and could he become, Britain's next Prime Minister?