Since the revelation that Gove was sniffing lines of cocaine whilst writing lines attacking middle-class cocaine use, rival campaigns are now trawling through Gove’s Times articles looking for interesting policy positions. One that was passed to Guido is particularly appealing and would likely go down a treat with a large segment of the Tory membership. “Bring back hanging”, a classic vote winner with Tory members if there ever was one!

Under the caption “Michael Gove prefers hanging to hounding” he was trenchant on the issue, citing the arguments of “impeccable liberals” to bolster his argument:

My support for hanging does not, however, depend simply on respect for democracy. Reverence for life, liberty and the law springs from the State taking its responsibilities seriously. The finality of the punishment should focus not only criminal minds, but those of lawmakers and enforcers, who must ensure that the system is applied with scrupulous fairness.

Gove concluded his argument with his preference for “a fair trial, under the shadow of the noose.” Given Gove’s continuing reverence for life, liberty and the law his position is presumably unchanged. Unfortunately for someone who prides himself on his effectiveness as a minister he didn’t deliver on the policy when he was Justice Secretary. Now he’s “ready to lead” and emphasising his ability to get things done, child murderers and cop killers know what they will face from Prime Minister Gove…

N.B. The Times article is now offline, so Guido has re-uploaded it for co-conspirators: Gove on Hanging