LEVELLING-UP secretary Michael Gove has laughed off a joke made by a colleague about his use of cocaine.
Policing Minister Chris Philp said that Mr Gove would be “excited” by the seizure of a £200 million shipment of cocaine at a charity event for Crimestoppers on Sunday.
This morning in an interview during Breakfast on GB News, he said: “Chris was giving a witty after dinner speech. And my view is that if we were to ban people making jokes about politicians, then it would be a sorry, sorry state.
“So, Chris is a deft and witty speaker and as far as I was concerned, the appropriate response was for everyone either to smile wryly or to laugh heartily.”
Mr Hunt also spoke to GB News about the new energy price cap which is set to be announced today saying: “The important thing, of course, is that as Jeremy Hunt the Chancellor explained in the Autumn Statement that the Government is there in order to ensure that people are supported with their energy bills this autumn this winter and into the New Year.
“It’s a shared challenge that all of us have. We all know that the reason why energy prices have skyrocketed, it’s thanks to the ripple effects of Putin’s invasion.
“The government is stepping in using taxpayers’ money to help people through this particular difficult winter. But it’s also the case that all of us can reduce our energy usage by following certain basic principles.
“The best advice out there comes from the energy companies from independent voices, but the government is also playing its part encouraging all of us to do what we can in order to keep our bills lower than they would otherwise be.”
As if he had turned his boiler down, Mr Gove said: “I have, yes. I’ve tried to make sure that it’s a quick shower first thing in the morning and I personally do everything I can to conserve energy costs.
“But I also recognise that you know, people like me, cabinet ministers, are in relatively comfortable circumstances. So we have to be careful in giving advice to other people, because we recognise that there are people in much tougher and more straightened circumstances.
“That’s why Jeremy is providing the support that he is, in order to ensure that this winter, vulnerable people are protected.”
On the rebellion of MPs against local authority housing targets, he said: “We all know that the current planning system needs to change and MPs want to make sure that when we have new houses, they’re built in the right places.
“They also quite rightly want to make sure that we prioritise development on brownfield land and that when new houses are built, that the infrastructure is there, the additional schools, hospitals, roads, and so on. So I think those MPs who’ve signed this amendment simply want to work with the Government in order to ensure that as we reform the planning system, that we take account of their community’s concerns, and also their concerns about the environment.
“Their approach is a constructive one and I want to work with them in order to get this legislation.”
He added: “Irrespective of the polls, it’s just absolutely a moral issue that we need to make sure that there are more people who are living in homes that they can own more people who are renting living in warm, decent, safe and secure homes.
“So there are a variety of changes that we’re making in order to both increase the number of homes that have been built and also to ensure that people in rented accommodation have their rights protected.”
Mr Gove told GB News: “I want to work with people across the House of Commons in order to improve the situation for people who want to get on the property ladder, and people who are renting as well.
“So I work with the Labour MPs and others on issues like improving the rights of renters and I also work with Conservative MPs and indeed others in making sure that our planning system works better.
“And again, I think it’s understandable that people who are looking for new development in their constituencies, want to make sure that local communities have control over that development. That’s completely understandable, totally right and I want to work with MPs from every party in order to make sure that we’ve got the right system.”
Asked if the Home Secretary was doing her job, he said:, “I think Suella is doing a good job. Yes, actually, I believe that Sella is doing what is necessary in order to ensure that we can have effective and appropriate border controls and deal with the question of asylum and migration.
“I saw that there was an exchange between Suella and conservative backbench colleagues, I think it was the case that Suella explained the situation clearly. There are, as we know, routes, which the UK generously maintains to allow people from Ukraine, from Hong Kong, from Afghanistan to come here and British people have opened their hearts and their homes to people fleeing persecution in those areas.
“But we also have to maintain control. There is a balance here. One of the reasons why we can be generous towards people fleeing persecution in those areas is because the British people have the reassurance of knowing that they have a Home Secretary who outside the European Union will ensure that we don’t accept free movement that we do police our borders.”
He added: “Yes, I think we’re all agreed that the most important thing to do is to ensure that there is democratic control of who comes here. Again, the important thing here is to be flexible.
We’ve accepted a significant number of people here from Ukraine and I think most people would agree that that was right, that when you have a situation, as we do with that terrible conflict as a result of Putin’s aggression, then people have voluntarily opened their homes to welcome people here….
“And that means that the last 12 months have been for all of us, a year in which the British people have shown their generosity. And again, the figures on migration will change year to year but my own view, the government’s view, is that we need to get it down to a sustainable level over time.”
