Gove and Gramsci ...

... are the two big Gs of the thinking wing of the modern Conservative Party.

Here is a cracking Ditchley Lecture by Gove, entitled the Privilege of Public Service, but much more interesting than that sounds. I do not agree with all Gove says, but he is reassuringly intelligent and sensitive in his thinking. It is worth a read (particularly if you are in the Civil Service - your career path could well change).

The thinking Right (NB not an oxymoron) has the advantage over the thinking Left not only of being familiar with the intellectual landscape of its opponents - hence Gove's knowledge of Gramsci - but also of being unashamed about appealing to its opponents' holy cows. (And why not? Once an impressive left-wing achievement or person becomes old enough, it/s/he becomes another National Treasure.) So Gove appeals to FDR as a touchstone throughout his speech. Here is using FDR to remind us in London about Leavers:

"Almost every arm of Government, and those with powerful voices within it, seemed estranged from the majority in 2016. That is not to say those people’s views were not honest, principled and public-spirited. It is just to observe that a view, a perspective, a set of beliefs, which the majority, albeit slight, held in this country were rarely heard within Government. FDR asked his Government to remember the Forgotten Man. In the 2016 referendum those who had been too often forgotten asked to be remembered."

Gove is a confident thinker too, which makes his writing more interesting than most politicians. "My first attempt as Education Secretary at a new history curriculum was deeply flawed ... My cancellation of the Brown government Building Schools for the Future programme was a political fiasco ... My proposal to bring back O-Levels strained the bonds of the 2010-2015 coalition and had to be abandoned ...". He adds "buts" to all of these, but even so, it refreshing - and a sign of confidence - to see a politician set out failures as plainly as this.

I would be interested to know how much of what he says would prompt vigorous disagreement from a Starmer-type Labour Party. Possibly very little. Gove (and one detects the work of Cummings too - feel free to play "DARPA" and "Bayesian" bingo) might be writing the future of sensible centrism in this country. I rather hope so.