Gove’s articulate and feisty performance at Leveson has won him plenty of friends this afternoon:

Big move by Gove at Leveson today. In a thinned-out field he will become Tory leader-in-waiting.—
Patrick O'Flynn (@oflynnexpress) May 29, 2012

#gove4PM is sure to be trending in Westminster soon after his Leveson performance—
Christopher Hope (@christopherhope) May 29, 2012

@Nero give it time Milo—
James Chapman (Mail) (@jameschappers) May 29, 2012

Gove is the first person to go into Leveson's court room and questioned the entire basis of his ruminations. This is explosive stuff.—
Tim Shipman (Mail) (@ShippersUnbound) May 29, 2012

Gove going up a gear today. Defence of free press against officialdom-loving #leveson is brilliant stuff.—
Iain Martin (@iainmartin1) May 29, 2012

I like Michael Gove. There, I've said it. Don't always agree with him but he is a man of principle. #leveson—
Martin Bright (@martinbright) May 29, 2012

Gove will have won new friends in press today. Editors will have loved his defence of media liberty. Good politics and high principle.—
Tim Montgomerie (@TimMontgomerie) May 29, 2012

michael gove and ed balls appear to have launched de facto leadership campaigns today—
Robin Brant (@robindbrant) May 29, 2012

Blimey. Leadership campaign up and running? RT "@Conor_BurnsMP: Michael Gove is magnificent. Magnificent."—
James Chapman (Mail) (@jameschappers) May 29, 2012

Word is that he would never run against Osborne in a leadership election, but with more performances like today…

Labour’s recently promoted rent-a-quote Lisa Nandy has got into expenses bother before, so Guido is always keen to keep an eye on what she is up to with our money. Contrary to IPSA rules she seems to be openly flouting the ban on First Class travel. Almost every train ticket that she has claimed has been for First Class. Guido wonders what the people of Wigan will make of that…

While there is a loophole that says if a pre-booked First Class ticket is cheaper then that is fine, but Nandy seems to have been buying the tickets at different rates. A pre-booked First Class can be got for £36, yet many of her claims are for £77. The occasional standard ticket has been claimed for £44…

Guido put in a call to one extremely grumpy and rude Nandy staffer who didn’t seem too keen to chat: “We don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t book her travel. What’s you number? I might get her to call you back.” Needless to say the call never came, perhaps Nandy had a train to catch.

Michael Gove to Leveson:

“By definition, free speech doesn’t mean anything unless some people are going to be offended some of the time.”

You’ll want to let those cool…

Via @michaelsavage of the Times.

Professor Tim Bale of Sussex University notes:

“Communist Party of Britain’s income in 2011 was £122,246. Its expenditure? £128,039. Not sure if it met the shortfall by borrowing or cuts.”

Sky’s resident older lady Kay Burley spent most of her interview with the Telegraph’s infamous Bryony Gordon comparing notes:

“Oh, Chuka Umunna is very hot. So if he wants to give me a ring… Oh, he’s old enough. And Andy Burnham. He’s another politician I fancy… Dominic Raab. He is very good looking.”

Though hard luck boys, apparently she will never date a politician. She didn’t rule out climbing the greasy pole herself though – apparently she wants to become a councillor…

“It is the demand of a few right-wing journalists and a few extreme nationalist politicians” say Ken Clarke of an EU referendum. Those extreme nationalist politicians like Zac Goldsmith? Or how about those well know right-wing journalist who ended up as Labour MPs like Ronnie Campbell, Rosie Cooper, Jon Cruddas, John Cryer, Natascha Engel, Roger Godsiff, Tom Harris, Kate Hoey, Kelvin Hopkins, George Howarth, Austin Mitchell and Keith Vaz?

They have all called for an In/Out vote.

One too many at the cricket yesterday Ken?

Tom Watson is looking for MPs who have ever felt intimidated or upset by press coverage to come forward. Presumably his fellow expenses troughers and backstabbers will use this chance to try silence their critics once and for all:

Guido wonders how many MPs ever felt upset and intimidated by the behaviour of the pre-makeover Tom Watson…

The image Craig Oliver was complaining about at length was perhaps a bit more Hammer House of Horror than BBC News, no worse however than anything produced on this blog. ‘Mad’ Frankie Maude’s people told us he was actually quite pleased with his sinister image. Gordon Brown’s fans bitterly hated the Prime Mentalist image, megawatts of pixels were wasted decrying that hugely successful meme.  The Treasury once balked a bit at one of Guido’s portraits of George Osborne. Though admittedly, unlike the BBC, we don’t pretend to be impartial. On balance Guido thinks we saw Craig Oliver and Norman Smith doing their respective jobs…

UPDATE:

Here is the full clip that caused all the trouble:

Video via ConservativeHome

With a u-turn announced last night on the Pasty Tax and the watering down of caravan taxes and secret courts, Guido thought he’d put together the comprehensive one stop guide to Coalition u-turns:

• Rape anonymity
• Selling off the forests
• Vanity photographer on the public payroll
• Scrapping school milk for under-5s
• Scrapping Bookstart
• Scrapping  the Financial Inclusion Fund
• Cutting Housing Benefit for long-term jobseekers
• Immigration target policy reduced to an “ambition”
• Coastguard cuts
• Circus animals ban
• Reduction in BBC World Service cuts
• Cutting support for disabled people in care homes
• Scrapping the Office of the Chief Coroner
• Automatic prison sentences for carrying a knife
• 50% sentence reductions for an early guilty plea
• Scrapping the Youth Justice Board
• Scrapping Domestic Violence Protection Orders
• Plans to introduce unannounced Ofsted inspections
• Watering down of Child Benefit cuts
• Video games tax relief kept after all
• Scrapping NHS targets
• Joint Strike Fighter mess
• Watering down plans to recall MPs
• Rowing back on Secret Courts
• Pasty Tax scrapped
• Caravan Tax watered down

No Plan B though…