The lack of a majority government means the Conservatives will probably have to ease austerity plans and boost spending on public services, the newly appointed environment secretary, Michael Gove, has said.



Gove, a surprise addition to Theresa May’s new cabinet, said the party would need to push ahead on Brexit with “the maximum possible consensus”, taking into account the views of remain voters.

Discussions between May’s team and the Democratic Unionist party over what concessions the Northern Ireland party will seek in return for propping up a Conservative government are scheduled for later on Tuesday.

The DUP leader, Arlene Foster, is expected to largely avoid sectarian issues, such as Orange parades, as conditions under which her MPs would provide “supply and confidence” to a minority government, and instead focus on budget-based matters.

The DUP has opposed some austerity measures, including the bedroom tax, and mooted changes to some universal benefits for pensioners, such as the winter fuel allowance.

Asked whether the Conservatives would need to give ground on this, Gove told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that some concessions were inevitable. “We don’t have a majority, and one of the things that I do think that we need to do is to make sure that when we bring forward a programme it commands the broadest possible level of confidence,” he said.

“And we also need to reflect on what the election result told us about the way people want to see the economy managed in the future. I think there is an important balance to be struck, and we need to get on with the job of reducing the deficit so that we do not saddle the next generation with a burden of debt.”

While May’s government would seek sustainable spending, Gove said, “we also need to take account of legitimate public concerns about ensuring that we properly fund public services”.

Asked whether the Conservatives’ loss of a majority in last week’s election could soften Brexit plans, Gove said it was necessary to “proceed with the maximum possible consensus” and to take into account the views of people who voted for the UK to remain in the EU.

Michael Gove arrives for a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

Asked what this might mean in practice, Gove declined to elaborate and refused to say whether he would support any cross-party commission on Brexit: “I don’t think that I should specify, and I don’t want to specify, the means by which we should involve everyone in a conversation.”

Gove was sacked from the cabinet when May entered No 10. The pair had fallen out when they were the education and home secretaries respectively.

Saying he was “naturally flattered” to be asked back into government, Gove said there was no bad feeling between him and the prime minister: “I’m a huge fan of Theresa May’s, and I have been throughout my political career, and I think that she was a great home secretary.”

Gove, briefly and unsuccessfully, challenged for the succession to David Cameron, having suddenly withdrawn his support for Boris Johnson as he did so, scuppering the latter’s chances.



Asked on BBC Breakfast about his relations with Johnson, Gove said: “Boris and I spoke at the weekend and we had a great, friendly conversation. He was kind enough to welcome me back to the cabinet with a very generous tweet. And we were chatting yesterday in the margins of cabinet.”

In another media appearance, on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Gove was asked about a letter written by Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, to May, asking if the media boss Rupert Murdoch had sought Gove’s return to cabinet.

Gove, who writes a column for the Murdoch-owned Times, said: “Tom sees Rupert Murdoch’s hand behind everything. I think Tom believes that Rupert Murdoch picks the England cricket XI and the rugby first XV as well as decide who is on Britain’s Got Talent. This is par for the course for Tom when it comes to political mischief-making.”

In a subsequent interview with LBC, Gove said that now he was back in the cabinet he would be giving up his column for the Times, but might still contribute articles without payment: “I will no longer be writing there for money but if the editor of the Times ever wanted to take an article from me, I would always be happy to oblige.”