- Gove and Osborne attended the Cliveden Literary Festival in Maidenhead
- Environment Secretary is named in press reports as a possible new Chancellor
- The claims come after furious speculation about the fate of Philip Hammond
Michael Gove was tipped as the next Chancellor today just hours after he was spotted gossiping with the last man to hold the post.
The Environment Secretary was cited by unnamed ministers in multiple press reports today as pressure continued to build on the incumbent Chancellor Philip Hammond.
Mr Gove was pictured drinking and talking with George Osborne – who now edits the Evening Standard – at the Cliveden Literary Festival last night.
Michael Gove was tipped as the next Chancellor today just hours after he was spotted gossiping with George Osborne (pictured) the last man to hold the post
Mr Gove and Mr Osborne were at the Cliveden House Literary Festival in Taplow last night (pictured)
The pair are rare among senior Conservatives for not having fallen out over Brexit despite fighting at the top of the opposing campaigns.
They were pictured together in Germany enjoying a trip to the Opera in August.
The new images could fuel speculation Mr Gove is in line for a move to No 11 Downing Street at the expected reshuffle.
Both the Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph quoted unnamed ministers floating the idea today, revealing a desire for a pro-Brexit chancellor ‘who is inventive and proactive.’
Mr Gove and Mr Osborne are rare among senior Conservatives for not having fallen out over Brexit despite fighting at the top of the opposing campaigns
Mr Gove was pictured drinking and talking with George Osborne at the Clivden Literary Festival last night (pictured)
Moving Mr Gove to the Treasury has also been endorsed by Conservative Home, an influential site for Tory members.
The reports come after a new week of bitter Cabinet infighting over Brexit and after public calls for Mr Hammond to be fired.
It also follows claims Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson should be sacked for his own dissent.
Moving both men would allow Prime Minister Theresa May room to completely overhaul her Government from the top down.
But the move would not come without extreme political risk in the aftermath of the general election result that left her clinging to Downing Street.
The reshuffle, which could come in less than a fortnight in the aftermath of next week’s EU summit, will be the clearest signal of Mrs May’s true strength since June 8.
The new images could fuel speculation Mr Gove is in line for a move to No 11 Downing Street at the expected reshuffle