Michael Gove Quotations

Children in dysfunctional homes at risk of abuse are kept in danger for too long because politically correct rules mean we won't challenge unfit parents.

As long as there are people in education making excuses for failure, cursing future generations with a culture of low expectations, denying children access to the best that has been thought and written, because Nemo and the Mister Men are more relevant, the battle needs to be joined.

You wouldn't tolerate an underperforming surgeon in an operating theatre, or a underperforming midwife at your child's birth. Why is it that we tolerate underperforming teachers in the classroom?

Learning a foreign language, and the culture that goes with it, is one of the most useful things we can do to broaden the empathy and imaginative sympathy and cultural outlook of children.

One of the problems we've had is that the ICT curriculum in the past has been written for a subject that is changing all the time. I think that what we should have is computer science in the future - and how it fits in to the curriculum is something we need to be talking to scientists, to experts in coding and to young people about.

It's often the case that successful people invite criticism.

It is literally the case that learning languages makes you smarter. The neural networks in the brain strengthen as a result of language learning.

The big shift in approach on education that we are taking - which is different from what happened before - is that we trust teachers and we trust heads.

One of the problems we have is children are not in school long enough in the day and during the year.

I was a union member in my youth as well and I went on strike, and I don't think it solved anything. It only made the situation worse for everyone involved.

Children themselves know they are being cheated. Ultimately we owe it to our children. They are in school for 190 days a year. Every moment they spend learning is precious. If a year goes by and they are not being stretched and excited, that blights their life.

The single most important thing in a child's performance is the quality of the teacher. Making sure a child spends the maximum amount of time with inspirational teachers is the most important thing.

In this fallen world, I suspect we will never achieve perfection. But that won't stop me trying.

It's critical that children spend time before they arrive in school in a warm, attractive and inclusive environment, where they can learn through play, master social skills and prepare for formal schooling.

Proper history teaching is being crushed under the weight of play-based pedagogy which infantilises children, teachers and our culture.

I'm a decentralizer. I believe in trusting professionals.

The accumulation of cultural capital - the acquisition of knowledge - is the key to social mobility.

Unfortunately, the real achievements of children on the ground became debased and devalued because Labor education secretaries sounded like Soviet commissars praising the tractor production figures when we know that those exams were not the rock-solid measures of achievement that children deserve.

I think more and more respect has been accorded to teachers, and quite rightly so.

Teachers themselves know if there's a colleague who can't keep control or keep the interest of their class, it affects the whole school.

A coalition with Tories and Liberal Democrats together is a golden opportunity to create the sort of planning reform that means not only can we have more environmentally sensitive planning, but we can have more homes and more schools.

I'm clear that we do need to improve what's happening in our schools.

My sister and I know our lives could have been different - radically, unthinkably, irretrievably different - if we had not been adopted. We might have found ourselves in homes without love, stability or kindness. We might have found ourselves in care for much longer, without the secure attachment that being cradled in a mother's arms brings.

I think it's appropriate that we simplify, clarify and strengthen, so instead of this nebulousness, we have clarity and authority invested in teachers once more.

Labor, under their current leadership, want to be the Downtown Abbey party when it comes to educational opportunity. They think working class children should stick to the station in life they were born into - they should be happy to be recognized for being good with their hands and not presume to get above themselves.

You know, you don't see hospital consultants going on strike, and I don't believe that teachers and headteachers should. It's within their rights, it's a civil right, but I think it is wrong in terms of the reputation of the profession.

What we're doing now is we're saying that individual schools can spend the money on their own priorities, so that head teachers can decide what's truly important, because the big shift in approach on education that we're taking - which is different from what happened before - is that we trust teachers and we trust heads.

There is a slam-dunk case for extending foreign language teaching to children aged five. Just as some people have taken a perverse pride in not understanding mathematics, so we have taken a perverse pride in the fact that we do not speak foreign languages, and we just need to speak louder in English.

Well I've been crystal clear that we should not have schools which are set up by extremists whether they're Christian fundamentalists, Islamic fundamentalists or any other sort of outrageous and beyond the pale organization.

At the moment, I'm afraid that the discipline system doesn't give teachers the support that they need. One thing that I've been struck by is that the number of violent assaults on teachers increased last year. We need to be clear that teachers have the power they need in order to impose discipline.

It is vital that teachers can be paid more without having to leave the classroom. This will be particularly important to schools in the most disadvantaged areas as it will empower them to attract and recruit the best teachers.

Whoever the next prime minister of this country will be, it will be a female prime minister and a female prime minister who has formidable skills and I know whichever one of the two wins they will lead this country well.

I'll negotiate with toughness, and with great attention to detail to get the best possible deal for Britain. It's only when we are outside the European Union that we can at last bring those numbers [of migrants] under control in the way that the public want.

In order to be able to reduce migration we need to be outside the European Union.

I will do everything that is required in order to bring immigration down to a level that is manageable, that the public believe is right.

Boris Johnson is a man of great attributes and great qualities.

I believed we needed someone who would be able to build a team, lead and unite. I hoped that person would be Boris Johnson.

I felt we needed someone to lead this country who believed heart and soul in leaving the European Union.

It is a belief in human potential that has guided me through my time in Government.

Because my parents took a risk on me not knowing a thing about me.They believed that in everyone there is potential - that by believing in someone, loving them, nurturing them, you can bring out that potential.

Whatever else I know, I know that if you invest love and care in any individual you can help them to make a difference, to write their own life story.

We need a national ambition to build hundreds of thousands of new homes a year, both private and socially-rented - led by someone who will not take no for an answer and who will push for diggers in the ground and homes for all come what may.

I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris [Johnson] cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead.

I will take all the steps necessary to give the NHS at least another £100million per week by 2020.

I will put my heart and soul into making sure that the care your son or daughter or mum or dad receives is the same I would want for my own family.

We need to face the fact that we need more money in order to deliver Jeremy Hunt's absolutely correct drive to guarantee even better standards of care.

The British prime minister will want to have a strong and positive relationship with European leaders always.

If I'm the British prime minister I won't be dictated to on the timetable or the manner of the negotiations.

The British people voted for change.They sent us a clear instruction that they want Britain to leave the European Union and end the supremacy of EU law.

It was a tough choice [of PM]. I voted for a Scotsman.

I think that the message I have of optimism and hope about Britain's bright future outside the European Union is shared by many Conservative members and voters - indeed by a majority of the country.

I hope that in the days to come, I'll be able to convince my colleagues that I should be one of the candidates that Conservative party members can choose from.

Now that Britain has voted to leave, I think the country deserves to have a leader who believes in Britain outside the European Union and who also has experience at the highest level of government.

I am delighted by the support I have received from colleagues. It reflects the optimistic message that I've been putting forward.

I will lay out my plan for the United Kingdom which I hope can provide unity and change.

I want there to be an open and positive debate about the path the country will now take. Whatever the verdict of that debate I will respect it.

The challenges facing Britain required not just a cool head, but a heart burning with the desire for change - not business as usual but a bold vision.

They [British people] told us to restore democratic control of immigration policy and to spend their money on national priorities such as health, education and science instead of giving it to Brussels.

The British people rejected politics as usual and government as usual. They want and need a new approach to running this country.

There are huge challenges ahead for this country but also huge opportunities. We can make this country stronger and fairer.

We have a unique chance to heal divisions, give everyone a stake in the future and set an example as the most creative, innovative and progressive country in the world.

With the single exception of Park Lane, every north-south route in London slows traffic to the pace of a wounded gnat with pleurisy struggling with a squaddie's backpack.

One of reasons I was able to go to university was because of the sacrifices my family made.

Turkey will "inevitably" join the EU in our lifetime unless we vote to leave.

Ever since going up to university, I have accumulated new debt, and new means of becoming indebted.

Adopting means opening your home, and heart, to a life you've never known. But there is nothing as richly rewarding as being an adoptive parent.

If we are to make the most of the opportunities ahead we need a bold break with the past.

I notice that the number of cosmetic-surgery operations has risen by 34 per cent in the past year. Once we subtract Jordan, Jodie Marsh and Michael Jackson from those figures, we can see that demand overall may have stabilised.

I will ensure we honour the instructions the British people have given us. I argued for specific changes in the referendum campaign, I believe in them, I will deliver them.

The current leadership of the Labor party react to the idea that working-class students might study the subjects they studied with the same horror that the Earl of Grantham showed when a chauffeur wanted to marry his daughter.

When I talk to teachers they tell me the things they'd most like from any government are a reduction in bureaucracy, support to help ensure good discipline and a reformed Ofsted.

The promise to leave the European Union, end the supremacy of EU law and take back control of our democracy. With my leadership, it will be delivered.

I have a different starting premise from those 100 academics who are so heavily invested in the regime of low expectations and narrow horizons which they have created.

The promise to take back control of our borders. I will end free movement, introduce an Australian-style points-based system for immigration, and bring numbers down. With my leadership, it will be delivered.

Many more schools can be outstanding.

The promise to use the money we currently send to Brussels and invest it instead on the priorities of the British people - principally in the NHS - and to cut VAT on domestic fuel. With my leadership, it will be delivered.

One of the things I know about the European Union is that the European Union can destroy jobs.

I know what it's like to see someone lose their job as a result of the European Union. I saw my father lose his job, I saw his business go to the wall, I saw 24 people who he employed also lose their jobs.

My father had a fishing business in Aberdeen destroyed by the European Union and the Common Fisheries Policy, the European Union.

If we leave the European Union, yes there will be bumps in the road, inevitably, but we will be in a better position to deal with them.

I think that what we have heard from the Remain campaign throughout this whole referendum have been dire warnings of the terrible consequences of the British people just taking control of our own destiny.And, the truth is, if we vote to Leave we will be in an economically stronger position. We will be able to take back some of the money that we currently give to the European Union and we can invest it in our priorities.

Our most important public service will always be the NHS. And I want to say something clear and unambiguous about the future of the health service.

I love my parents in the way most children would: for having been there at every point in my youth and childhood, ready to pick me up when I fell and support me when I stumbled.

Government has got to invest more money in our NHS. The people who work in it are heroic. They do an amazing job.

You come home to find your 17-year-old daughter engrossed in a book. Which would delight you more - if it were 'Twilight' or 'Middlemarch?'

The common fisheries policy unfortunately led to the devastation of fishing in Scotland. My dad had to close his business. As a result something that he been built up by by grandfather and maintained by my dad disappeared. So my dad suffered.

The reason I entered politics was a belief that the people of this country - having achieved so much that was good and noble in our past - had the potential to do amazing things in the future.

Let me first of all congratulate both of the candidates who have made it through - both Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom are formidable politicians and they have fought great campaigns and they deserve to be in the final two.

I remember my mum explaining to me what adoption meant when I was still at primary school. 'Son,' she said to me, 'you didn't grow under my heart, you grew in it'.

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.

Why ... do the myths of America the Hateful take such powerful hold? Because anti-Americanism provides a useful emotional function which goes beyond logic and reaches deep into the darker recesses of the European soul. In centuries past those on the Left who wished to personalise their hatred of capitalism, who sought to make it emotionally resonant by fastening an envious political passion on to a blameless scapegoat people, embraced anti-Semitism. It was the socialism of fools. Which is what anti-Americanism is now.

The first four months of my life were spent in care, before I was adopted by my wonderful parents - my mum and dad - Ernie and Christine. They went on to adopt my sister, who is profoundly deaf, and invested both of us with a love and support that informs everything I do today.

For a few spotty years, I was that tragic geek