Bottom of the class: Conservative dunce Michael Gove.

Michael Gove reminded us all why he was nicknamed ‘Donkey’ when he appeared on The Andrew Marr Show and stubbornly refused to understand the facts about university education.

The former Education Secretary – ! – could not see how people could benefit from paying for others to enjoy a university education:

(In fact, his words were: “Those that benefit from university education should not have this paid for by those that do not.”)

Mr Gove seemed delighted by his interview, smiling as the credits rolled at the end of the show. He clearly had no idea what would happen next:

The social media fell on him like a tidal wave – or a hunting pack of predatory animals:

https://twitter.com/NameChangeGirl/status/881473904107278337

Gove’s ill-advised outburst came as his party was engulfed by its… third?… public spending controversy in a week.

First we had the discovery of the ‘magic money tree’ in Northern Ireland, where it is providing £1 billion to public services over two years, in a clear bribe to get the DUP to support the Tory minority government.

Then we had the vote on ending the public sector pay cap, which the Tories narrowly won – but on which they now seem to be u-turning, meaning police, nurses and the fire/rescue service may get above-one-per-cent rises after all.

Now, Tory ministers appear to be ganging up on Theresa May, demanding that she give something to young people – possibly in recognition of the fact that Labour has won the youth vote.

Here’s the situation, as it unfolded, in headlines:

So this headline could be very embarrassing for Theresa May in the very near future:

Still, Mr Gove’s sentiments have been echoed by others in the Tory hierarchy. No sooner had we read this…

… than we were subjected to this:

The conclusion: The Tories are in chaos again. And, typically, they are divided between selfishness and self-preservation.

Those who want to axe tuition fees think they can win young voters to their party with such a cynical move.

Those who don’t are echoing Michael Gove’s ignorance; they simply cannot understand how supporting people who are talented but poor helps us all in the long run.

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