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Harry Fletcher
May 11, 2022
Michael Gove tells people to ‘calm down’ in Scouse accent in bizarre ...
Indy
Michael Gove has just provided us with one of the strangest mornings of political interviews we’ve seen for some time.
The Minister for Levelling Up appeared on both BBC Breakfast and Sky News on Wednesday, and gave us everything from 40-year-old sitcom references to strange American accents and awkward explanations about post-Brexit pledges.
Gove was appearing on BBC Breakfast to discuss the cost of living crisis and was asked about the rumours that the government could introduce an‘"emergency budget" to help people.
He said: “...That doesn’t amount to an emergency budget, which is what some people immediately thought that it did.
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“It is an example of some commentators chasing their own tails about a statement that is commonsensical, turning into a major, capital letters, news story,” he added, slipping into a strange American accent.
Gove then made a reference to the Harry Enfield comedy sketch characters the Scousers, whose catchphrase was “calm down, calm down”, out of nowhere.
Is the cost of living crisis just a joke to them?\n\nThis is not a serious Government.\n\nWe need an Emergency Budget right now.pic.twitter.com/7bNa3EJiSQ— Angela Rayner \ud83c\udf39 (@Angela Rayner \ud83c\udf39) 1652253522
“In fact, when the treasury say ‘calm down’, then people instead of recognising that they’ve over inflated the story in the first place, then say ‘this is clearly a split’.”
The bizarre interview has, unsurprisingly, attracted a lot of criticism on social media, with Angela Rayner leading the reactions.
Also, nothing says you're in touch with young impoverished families more than referencing a comedy sketch which only those over 40 are going to understandpic.twitter.com/S8xzonymJc— The Sun Apologies (@The Sun Apologies) 1652253018
Is Michael Gove alright?pic.twitter.com/Ze9TSZHhdj— Kevin Schofield (@Kevin Schofield) 1652251421
“Is the cost of living crisis just a joke to them?” Rayner wrote. “This is not a serious Government. We need an Emergency Budget right now.”
“Also, nothing says you're in touch with young impoverished families more than referencing a comedy sketch which only those over 40 are going to understand,” another added.
He also appeared on Sky News, and was grilled by Kay Burley about an interview he gave back in 2016 in which he pledged that the UK after Brexit would cut VAT on fuel bills.
#KayBurley: You said that after brexit we would cut VAT on fuel bills\n\nMichael Gove: I said we could... cutting VAT would help the Duke of Devonshire\n\n#KayBurley: So why did you say this if it wasn't a good idea\n\nMichael Gove: It's not a priority during the cost of living crisispic.twitter.com/8VJHO9VKhP— Haggis_UK \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa (@Haggis_UK \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa) 1652250268
When asked why the government hadn’t done so, despite Gove pledging to do it back in 2016, things got a little awkward as he tried and failed to convince Burley that it is “not a priority during the cost of living crisis”.
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