Michael Gove had a point, up to a point. People don’t trust all experts the way they once did, and can be suspicious of their role in public policy. Experts themselves bear some responsibility for this. So too does irresponsible political rhetoric. Whatever the reason, throwing out the baby with the bathwater, simply dismissing the role of expertise tout court, is both wrong-headed and dangerous.

First things first. Gove deserves not to be misquoted. What he was trying to say, before being interrupted by Sky’s Faisal Islam, was that "I think the people of this country have had enough of experts with organisations from acronyms saying that they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong’". Yet there is ample empirical evidence that he might have got this wrong. Research by Natcen found that 68 per cent per cent of people trust the Office for National Statistics (acronym ONS) to produce reliable statistics.

That being said, Gove clearly touched a nerve. Anecdotal evidence from conversations at public events round the country reveals a certain frustration with what is seen as the arrogance of experts. As Lee Jones has argued, it is the presumption of authority based on expertise that galls. And this is not helped when experts such as Mark Carney declare publicly that "We are not going to take instruction on our policies from the political side".