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Spectator
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Being stalked by a murderer was just one of life's problems
Private Eye asked last week: Which of Michael Gove's luckless staff at The Spectator will be assigned to review this grisly account of their editor's marital woes? Reader, it's me! I'm happy to do this, though, because I have an interest in how to be a political wife (I am married to Alex Burghart MP), and perhaps have something to learn here, though I'm struggling to understand, eek, 'lesson seven': Realise… that when you step over the salt circle into the five-pointed star coven of politics, you have ceased to become a person. You are now a c**t. There's a feeling that the author still has a touch of PTSD. Readers with expectations of schadenfreude will not be disappointed. Sarah Vine shoots thunderbolts. She writes like she's just sat down at your kitchen table, poured herself a big glass of vino and let fly. It takes huge skill to blow off copy like this, accurately channelling the voice of Middle England, and since 2012 she has been a prize-winning columnist on the Daily Mail. But the Cameron elite could not understand her popular touch or value what she did, and when they took different sides over Brexit they fell out forever. We find her here looking back over the wreckage: 'This is my story, written with no fear, no favour – and, frankly, no fucks left to give.' The mood is quite Thelma & Louise. Scorched tyre tracks are left across David Cameron for his shock resignation the morning after the referendum ('what a massive man-baby'), as well as for offering the Goves an Admiralty flat that they could not accept ('another dick-move, Dave'). Theresa May is branded 'utterly graceless'; the journalist Emily Sheffield is told that 'not everyone has a baronet for a daddy'; and even Vine's own father is thanked for 'fucking me up so brilliantly'. But she never turns on Michael, 'the best ex-husband a girl could ever ask for'. She does tease him throughout, though. He is her 'goofy, incorrigible genius', unable to ski when they met on a group skiing holiday; legendarily clever, although not always gifted with foresight – she rags him for having written Michael Portillo: The Future of the Right. One gets the sense she was fun to be with, while also fiercely loyal. She eye-rolls, yet there's more than a hint of pride when she recounts how, while she was in labour with their first child for 23 hours, her husband spent the entire time reading Robert A. Caro's biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, only once complaining about the discomfort of his given seat, a bean bag. But when the Daily Telegraph drip-fed leaked MPs' expenses claims, aiming to damage Gove, she saw red. She would never work with the editor Will Lewis again, branding him 'the man who tried to ruin us', and noted the hypocrisy of Andy Coulson, too, later imprisoned for 18 months for phone hacking, yet hanging Gove out for claiming allowable expenses. Vine felt, during her husband's anguish, her 'tiger wife' awakening. 'From this point on, I became obsessed with convincing people to see Michael as the kind, serious, intellectual, public-spirited campaigner that I knew him to be.' She describes her father, a Welsh Del Boy-type, as Roger the Dodger, Mr Boom 'n' Bust – yet she has surely inherited a touch of his risky charisma. She rolls like a fighter, carelessly swaggering et tu, Pontius Pilate at David Cameron and gaily mixing metaphors: '…the potassium-on-water conflagration that happened when politics and media collided – would ultimately be the grim reaper of all that had come before'. When Vine started work at the Daily Mail in 2012, Samantha Cameron felt betrayed. The truth was that at the paper I was her and her family's staunchest advocate. I was forever putting my neck on the line to defend the Camerons, both politically and personally… What annoyed me even more was the notion – unspoken but very much implied – that I should somehow act as an unpaid spokesperson for the Cameron government, that I should be a sycophant and courtesan. Some of Vine's anecdotes are so vivid, we feel we are there. During dinner at the Johnsons' house in Islington, Boris and Michael discussed whether or not to join the Leave campaign, thrashing out the implications over slow-cooked shoulder of lamb: Timescales, economic consequences, trade options, regulations, Northern Ireland: these were all in the mix. Boris sought the counsel of various third parties – a cabinet minister, a lawyer – barking loudly into his mobile (on speakerphone) in between mouthfuls, Michael listening in and occasionally contributing. Meanwhile, Vine, Marina Wheeler and Evgeny Lebedev were left making conversation 'in stage whispers'. Vine writes candidly about money worries and feelings of social inadequacy – difficult topics, bravely broached. She puts herself down wittily throughout. The stock image of a collapsed woman on the cover has a jokey deadpan feel, but there is a genuine undertow of sadness. At times one cannot believe what the Gove family endured during frontline political service. The angry dinner lady, sending their young son to the back of the line because he was a Gove. The jolly-looking 18th birthday card with a badge that their daughter Bea excitedly opened, only to find it contained a death threat for her father. And the knowledge, gleaned by security services from phone locations, that the murderer of David Amess MP trailed the Goves around, spending days lingering on the street where they lived. Politics gets the blame for a lot of the fall-out: Ultimately, I don't think many couples would have survived what we went through… George and Frances did not; Boris and Marina did not; Kate Fall and her husband did not; Matt Hancock's marriage did not. The mechanisms by which these marriages fell apart may all be different. But there is one common denominator: politics. Vine says that the Turkish Delight the White Witch offers Edmund in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe represents the intoxicating taste of political power: Power is the ultimate drug. Those who are hooked on it will, like any addict, go to almost any length to get their fix, prioritising it above all else – friends, family, colleagues. She might have added that the power of the press, her own personal creative outlet and addiction, can be just as damagingly sweet.
Indianapolis Star
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Center Grove softball will 'sleep at night knowing we gave it everything we had' in 4A state final
WEST LAFAYETTE – Center Gove kept doing the right things in Saturday's Class 4A state championship game vs. Crown Point. There were the series of sure-handed plays behind starting pitcher Riley Fuhr, who was perfect in her five innings of work; the way they battled at the plate, coming back from multiple 0-1 and 0-2 counts against Crown Point ace Paige Liezert; center fielder Mae Munson's ninth-inning throws to third and home — the list goes on. "We'll sleep at night knowing we gave it everything we had," coach Alyssa Coleman said. Unfortunately for the Trojans, not enough breaks went their way. Liezert stranded the bases loaded and maintained the scoreless stalemate in the bottom of the eighth with her 15th strikeout of the game. IHSAA softball state finals: Scores, photos, complete coverage 'It all means so much': Lizzy Sinders caps Clay City career at state with dad as coach, sister as AD. Both of Munson's throws to third and home were on target, but on both occasions, Lexi Smith jarred the ball loose (unintentionally) as she slid into the fielder's tag. The umpire was ready to emphatically call Smith out at the plate, but had to quickly change course when the ball popped free. "The more I turned, the more she pushed it out and it just fell out of my glove," senior catcher Madisyn Tharpe said. Crown Point added another run in the ninth, then Liezert worked around a two-out double to complete the four-hit shutout of Center Grove and secure the Bulldogs' first state championship since 2017. Final score: 2-0. "This group's been great. They know each other. They respond to each other. And they did a really great job of picking each other up (during the game)," Coleman said. "That's how we've gotten here. It hasn't been the coaches pushing something. The girls have just molded together. It's been a lot of fun to watch." No single play defined Saturday's game, the first inning of which took place Friday before inclement weather forced play to be suspended. Liezert was unbelievable. A dazzling flourish to her breakout junior campaign, she scattered four hits across nine innings, totaling 16 strikeouts, issuing only two walks and throwing 103 of her 158 pitches for strikes. The Trojans — who made solid contact on only a handful of occasions — loaded the bases in the third and eighth innings, but were unable to come through. They finished with seven runners left on base. "She had a very good pitch sequence," said senior first baseman Sydney Herrmann, the 4A Mental Attitude Award recipient. "She was keeping us off-balance with the rise ball and she was also getting that river pitch (pitches off the plate), which was hard for us to barrel up to." Leizert said her rise ball is her best pitch, then mixed in her changeup — "It showed up today," she noted — to further keep CG off-balance at the plate. "And then just trusting coach Angie (Richwalski) with her scouting report, knowing the weaknesses in their swings and knowing where I have to pitch the ball," she continued. "That helped keep me at ease." Just as no single play defined the final score, the heartbreaking finish will not define Center Grove's 2025 campaign. This year's team was responsible for securing the softball powerhouse's first state finals berth since 2019 and 14th overall, winning 20 games against an absolutely loaded schedule, then navigating a postseason path that began with a run-rule win over Decatur Central, then continued with wins over Franklin Central, Avon, Terre Haute North and Floyd Central. This group got closer as the season progressed, Munson said, calling it the seniors' favorite season. "Best teammates, best bonds, best everything," she smiled. 'This team has had so much great chemistry and love for each other," Herrmann said as she fought back tears. "That's what I'll always remember.' 'This team, it just makes me feel at home," Munson added. "I feel like I have peace with myself, just being around everybody. I can count on everyone to be there for me if I need it, every single person. Even the coaches, too. … When it comes down to it, especially personally and not just softball, they're my best friends, too.' The seniors — Munson, Tharpe, Herrmann, Addison Richards, Hayden Baird, Brooke Carlson and Ana Powell — were responsible for maintaining the impossibly high standard of Center Grove softball during their four seasons, guiding the program to 91 wins, a state runner-up finish and last year's run to the semistate finals. "They're amazing, aren't they?" Coleman said. "I couldn't ask for a more enjoyable year with them, just watching them evolve, work together and lead the way they did — I mean, truly, we got here. This is an accomplishment. It stings right now, but there's so much to be proud of." Asked what it has meant to be part of this program, Herrmann said no team has ever pushed her more to be a leader or a better athlete or a better person. "This team has shown so much love and support to all of us. It truly just means the world to us." "This has been such a memorable time in our lives," Tharpe smiled.
Gulf Today
03-06-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
Calling Cameron ‘man baby' for resigning over Brexit
We hardly need reminding that Brexit is barely living up to the ideal of the buccaneering 'global Britain' we were promised. Right now, it's more like a clown show. Leaving the European Union was the malign gift that keeps on giving. It has caused the social and economic damage we see around us, cramping living standards, public services, and even the defence of the realm for want of the prosperity we once took for granted. It has had a baleful effect on investment and growth, and left Britain a meaner, poorer, grubbier place. Indeed, it may well be said that Brexit broke Britain, and created a new wave of grievances for Nigel Farage to exploit. It's his Ponzi scheme. So won't someone spare a thought for those who got us into this mess? Those like Michael Gove, and his now-former wife Sarah Vine, who has written a memoir of her life as a Westminster Wag. Always a fluent writer, trenchant and not especially likeable, Vine makes it clear in the extracts published thus far that not only did Brexit break Britain, it also broke her and Gove's somewhat one-sided and demi-mercenary 'friendship' with David and Samantha Cameron. It doesn't seem to have done much good to the Goves' own relationship, either (albeit as only one of the many strains inherent in being a political couple). At any rate, Vine still despises Cameron. This is personal. Her illusions about the true nature of their friendship were shattered when she felt the 'abyss of class' between them. Gove was havering about which side to back in the EU referendum, torn between his genuine Euroscepticism (unlike Boris Johnson's) and the loyalty he felt to his party leader. Cameron, pink-faced and charming but always with the whiff of Flashman about him, barked at Vine to 'get her husband under control': 'Sarah, I'm fighting for my political life here.' But it's political contempt, too, that Vine feels, so she also charges David Cameron with cowardice — being a 'man baby' when he lost the Brexit referendum and immediately resigned as prime minister. As she puts it: 'What an impossible, irresponsible child, throwing his toys out of the pram because he hadn't got his own way. It felt a bit like he would sooner bring the country down than let Leave have its victory. Et tu, Pontius Pilate.' Fair? Certainly, it was childish. But in many ways, it feels like it no longer matters. Aside from a brief and, in the end, futile return as foreign secretary under Rishi Sunak, Cameron's political career was over the moment David Dimbleby declared 'We're out' on the television. Same for all of them. Gove is now an elder statesman, a peer and editor of The Spectator, and a one-time Svengali to Kemi Badenoch – but his party is in the toilet. A return to power for any of the people concerned looks about as likely as Elvis Presley being found alive on the moon. The chumocracy was as broken by Brexit as was Britain. Johnson, never that close to Gove, fell out with him shortly after the referendum vote, when Gove stabbed him in the front during the post-Cameron leadership election. Only George Osborne seems to have emerged from it all without serious PTSD. For what it's worth, it seems to me that Cameron did certainly break his promise to the British people — that whatever the result of the referendum, he would carry on as prime minister. But on that grim June morning when everything changed, that felt like a ridiculous idea. It was his referendum. It was his idea. Osborne had cautioned against it, and Gove might have preferred that it hadn't happened, because, in the end, it finished off his chances of ever getting the top job, and of his missus becoming Britain's 'first lady' as opposed to just First Lady of Fleet Street. It would have been impossible for Cameron to carry on and negotiate Brexit. Farage would have claimed he wasn't a 'true believer' (correct, obviously), and Cameron would never have been safe from Johnson's unquenchable ambition. Sean O'Grady, The Independent
Daily Record
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Michael Gove admits he felt 'mortified' after video of him dancing in Aberdeen nightclub went viral
The Record first reported how the former senior Tory Cabinet minister was spotted pulling some questionable dance moves in a bar in Aberdeen back in 2021. Michael Gove has admitted he felt "mortified" after a video clip of him dancing in a late night bar in Aberdeen went viral. The Record first reported how the former senior Tory Cabinet minister was spotted pulling some questionable dance moves at the Bohemia club in the Granite City back in August 2021. Clips shared with the Record showed the then 54-year-old two-stepping, arm waving, hip jolting and head banging with fellow ravers, who allegedly bought the top-earning politician drinks all night. The now ex-Tory MP is originally from the Granite City and was back in his hometown enjoying a night on the tiles. It came a few months after it was announced he was divorcing from his journalist wife, Sarah Vine. One onlooker at the time said they "couldn't believe what she was seeing" when the "merry" politician "rocked up" to the watering hole just before closing time. Gove has now looked back on the incident in an interview with Tatler. He told the magazine he was out with an academic friend in Aberdeen when the clip was filmed. Gove said: "We were having a nightcap in a pub, and there was a club upstairs. And I thought, whyyyy not? "Aberdeen, in my mind, is safer territory.' I remember the next morning waking up and thinking: 'oops'. "And then during the day, it became clear that pictures had been shared, and feeling mortified that afternoon. Gove added the best place to boogie for him now is "at home". The former MP added: "There are many more embarrassing or foolish situations in which I found myself. "I've been called all sorts of names, often with justification, and that is the choice I made. I remember a friend of mine once said, 'Michael, you know, it's like joining the mafia. This is the life we choose. You are a made man in politics, suck it up.' And I thought that is fair enough." The Record previously reported how that when last orders were announced at the popular pub, punters urged a suited, solo Gove to join them upstairs at a nightclub, Bohemia. Ravers headed to club night Pipe, dubbed 'an unpredictable mix of the most high energy UK and global club music scenes'. Living up to its description, scenes of Gove clumsily bouncing and bopping along to heavy techno beats were caught on camera in a series of hilarious clips. "He was still there when I left at 2.30am," an onlooker added.
Straits Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
New Govt's top priority is to secure for Singapore an assured place in a changed world: PM Wong
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam (second from right), flanked by PM Lawrence Wong and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, presiding over the swearing-in ceremony of Singapore's new Cabinet at the Istana on May 23. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH New Govt's top priority is to secure for Singapore an assured place in a changed world: PM Wong SINGAPORE – The new Government's first priority is to secure for Singapore an assured place in a changed world, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. With major world powers reassessing strategies and shifting positions to gain the upper hand, competition is intensifying and smaller nations risk being caught in the crossfire, or being cut out of the conversation altogether, he warned. 'Singapore will not stand still. We cannot afford to be passive. We must be clear-eyed, proactive and adapt nimbly to the shifting dynamics,' he said on May 23, at the swearing-in ceremony of his new Cabinet at the Istana. In a world that is more uncertain and unpredictable than before, the conditions that once underpinned success are shifting, he said. 'The rules-based international order, which formed the foundation for peace, security and free trade, is fraying. 'Multilateral cooperation is giving way to a tangle of bilateral and transactional deals, where might often makes right.' He added: 'Our goal is not just to navigate this uncertain world, but to help shape it for the better – by working with like-minded partners, upholding shared principles and values, so that small nations too have a place under the sun.' This will be done on several fronts. The Government will deepen Singapore's relations with the major powers, especially the United States and China, he said. 'We will stay friends with both, without being caught in their rivalry. We will engage openly and honestly with each, in a consistent and principled manner. 'Where our interests align, we will work with them. Where they do not, we will stand firm and protect Singapore's security and sovereignty.' The Republic will also strengthen its ties with friends near and far, while seeking new ones in parts of the world such as Africa and South America where it does not yet have much presence, PM Wong added. 'In a world of shifting alliances, we will be a steady and constructive partner – one willing and able to contribute to peace and stability, to advance dialogue and fraternity, and support a rules-based global order.' The Government will also have to steer the economy through the challenges ahead, and update its economic strategies for the new landscape. This will include creating good jobs and remaining competitive, as well as helping businesses and households. The Government will work with tripartite partners to development a new economic blueprint for the next phase, said PM Wong. 'We will work closely with NTUC to support our workers and jobseekers, so that every Singaporean who is prepared to work is able to secure a job and progress in their careers,' he added. In addition, the Government will press on with the Forward Singapore agenda, to refresh and strengthen the social compact. Beyond immediate concerns, the Government will also prepare Singapore for the future. It will accelerate the nation's transition to cleaner energy and create smarter, more connected and greener homes for all Singaporeans, he said. 'Above all, we will work shoulder to shoulder with all Singaporeans to write this next chapter of our nation's story,' said PM Wong. The new Government will continue to engage Singaporeans from all walks of life, and actively involve them in creating and implementing solutions. 'This is how my team and I will govern – in partnership with Singaporeans. Everyone will have a say in shaping our way forward and building our shared future,' he said. The team is not afraid of differing views – it welcomes constructive debates that will push it to think harder, plan better and serve Singaporeans more effectively, he added. 'But at the same time, we must always respect one another, and remember that even with our differences, we share more in common with each other.' The election outcome reflects the collective desire of Singaporeans, said PM Wong. 'In these uncertain times, you understood what was at stake – our vulnerability and our future,' he said. 'You chose leaders you could trust, a Government you could rely on, and a steady course for our nation's next phase of development.' PM Wong had on May 21 announced a slew of changes to the Government's top leadership, bringing in fresh faces who will have fresh perspectives and ideas, as well as having experienced ministers with steady hands. It was his first big overhaul of the Cabinet since assuming the role of head of Government in May 2024, and after he had led the ruling People's Action Party to a convincing majority at the May 3 polls, with 65.57 per cent of the vote. The international community and investors would have taken note of the election outcomes, he said. 'They would see a nation that is united – standing firmly behind its leaders, and placing confidence in a Government with the strength and security to secure Singapore's place in an unpredictable world.' 'The outcome leaves no room for doubt – no one in the world can question the resolve of Singaporeans and the Government they have chosen,' he said. 'This is a clear advantage for Singapore, especially in the conduct of our foreign policy.' President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who presided over the ceremony, also spoke about the global challenges ahead. Small states like Singapore will feel the weight of the geopolitical cross-currents more than most countries, he said. 'Our well-being has always depended on a stable, rules-based international order. That order is unravelling, forcing us to adapt and find new ways to remain in control of our destiny, and hold together as a people with our values intact,' he said. 'There is no telling whether this global disorder will eventually subside. But there is no returning to the world we knew over our first 60 years of nationhood.' PM Wong noted that history has not been kind to small nations like Singapore. 'We have always been vulnerable, caught between the interests of greater powers. Yet for 60 years, Singapore has defied the odds,' he said. This was not due to good luck, but Singaporeans' courage, conviction and collective will, he stressed. 'As long as we continue to believe in ourselves, have faith in one another, and work together, we will endure. 'Singapore will endure. So be it SG100, or even beyond, there will still be Singaporeans – standing strong and free,' said PM Wong. 'And not only will we survive – we will prevail.' Goh Yan Han is political correspondent at The Straits Times. She writes Unpacked, a weekly newsletter on Singapore politics and policy. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
