Why Michael Gove worries about Britishness | Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty

Why This Matters

Key context: <p>For more than three decades, Michael Gove has been a leading figure in British Conservatism. As a journalist, government minister and now editor of the Tory bible, the Spectator, he has helped shape the right even as it has moved further rightwards. In the latest episode of Radical Thinking, Gove joins Aditya Chakrabortty to discuss the future of the right, his record on Brexit and austerity, and the Spectator’s position on Islam.</p><p><br>Aditya’s suggested reading:</p><ul><li><p>To read the fruits of Michael Gove’s dalliance with the Marxism Today gang, look up his essay in a 1998 collection called The Moderniser’s Dilemma: Radical Politics in the Age of Blair.</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>For a slalom ride through Michael Gove’s years in power, read <a href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v41/n17/richard-j.-evans/the-demented-dalek">The Demented Dalek</a> by the historian Richard J Evans in the London Review of Books.</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>To learn more about what’s become of the British right, there’s a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/12/tory-leadership-jenrick-tugendhat-cleverly-badenoch">column by me </a>for the Guardian.</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Phil Burton-Cartledge examines why Britain's most successful political party is now failing in his book <a href="https://guardianbookshop.com/the-partys-over-9781839760372/">The Party’s Over: The Rise and Fall of the Conservatives from Thatcher to Sunak</a>.</p></li><li><p>Phil also writes a very good blog on British politics, which keeps a close eye on how each party is trying to marshal a coalition of voters. <a href="https://averypublicsociologist.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-clear-blue-water-strategy.html">Here</a> he is on Kemi Badenoch.</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Geoffrey Wheatcroft offers an entertaining short narrative in <a href="https://guardianbookshop.com/bloody-panico-9781804295755/">Bloody Panico!: or, Whatever Happened to The Tory Party</a></p></li></ul><ul><li><p>For more on the economics of the Cameron years, <a href="https://foundationaleconomy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/wp87.pdf">this paper</a> examines how the Tories failed to move the UK away from being a country of renters towards a country of makers. Two of its authors will join us for a podcast later in the series.</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>And if you want to read how Brexit may have cost the UK 8% of GDP, read <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w34459?st_source=ai_overview">this paper</a> based on data from the Bank of England.</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Finally, on the Spectator, read Nesrine Malik’s recent column in the Guardian: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/20/islamophobia-spectator-britain-oldest-political-magazine">Why has Britain’s oldest political magazine become such a rabid cheerleader for Islamophobia?</a></p></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2026/oct/17/why-michael-gove-worries-about-britishness-radical-thinking-with-aditya-chakrabortty">Continue reading...</a> This development from The Guardian highlights ongoing changes in the sector.