Leaked papers today revealed that a Conservative association wanted a visit from a senior party figure as long as it was “not Michael Gove”.
The snub to the Education Secretary was all the more stinging because Tory members went on to agree that “Boris would be good”.
It is the latest twist in a bitter rivalry between Boris Johnson and Mr Gove as they seek to position themselves in the long race to decide the next Conservative leader.
Earlier this month the pair locked horns after Mr Gove was allegedly overheard saying the Mayor had no “gravitas” and “was unfit to lead the nation”. The leaked papers seen by the Standard today are a copy of minutes from a meeting of Crawley Conservatives in December last year.
After covering local party finances and the re-selection of sitting MP Henry Smith, the minutes go on to discuss senior Tory figures.
They read: “[A member] requested that top Conservatives visit Crawley — not Michael Gove, or certain others; although it was agreed that Boris would be good.” The papers will encourage Mr Johnson’s supporters who claim that the Mayor enjoys popular support. His feud with Mr Gove flared up two weeks ago when reports emerged that the Education Secretary had allegedly disparaged Mr Johnson while speaking with guests at a dinner.
It was reported that he said: “Boris is incapable of focusing on serious issues and has no gravitas. He isn’t a team player and plays to the gallery the whole time.
“The whole Boris routine will wear thin with the electorate very quickly if he became PM.”
The attack — which was said to have left Mr Johnson “puzzled and hurt” — followed separate reports that the Education Secretary would back Chancellor George Osborne as next Tory leader.
Mr Johnson’s supporters accused Mr Gove of becoming “a soldier” for Mr Osborne in the Conservative leadership wars.
