July 1, 2016 9:00am by David Farrar

Gove goes for it

Michael Gove has announced:

I have repeatedly said that I do not want to be Prime Minister.

That has always been my view. But events since last Thursday have weighed heavily with me. I respect and admire all the candidates running for the leadership.

In particular, I wanted to help build a team behind Boris Johnson so that a politician who argued for leaving the European Union could lead us to a better future.

But I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead. I have, therefore, decided to put my name forward for the leadership.

This really heats things up.

The Conservative Party rules are their caucus votes first and the top two candidates then go to a ballot of party members.

It is possible Theresa May and Michael Gove could get the most votes from MPs, meaning Boris won’t even be on the ballot for the members – where he has the most support.

So far the declared (or about to declare) contenders are: