--- description: Three and counting title: The Many Times Michael Gove Said He Didn't Want To Be Leader image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3f41fcccb51d223/69889a395f570fbfc3b218e7/michael-gove-prime-minister.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Many Times Michael Gove Said He Did Not Want To Be Prime Minister by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 30, 2016 4:41 PM CUT  Justice Secretary Michael Gove leaves his home in Kensington before announcing his intention to run to be the next Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister in London on June 30, 2016. Justice Secretary Michael Gove leaves his home in Kensington before announcing his intention to run to be the next Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister in London on June 30, 2016.Jack Taylor—Getty Images by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 30, 2016 4:41 PM CUT [Michael Gove](http://time.com/4388925/brexit-labour-conservatives-jeremy-corbyn-boris-johnson/ "undefined") effectively scuppered Boris Johnson’s Prime Ministerial ambitions by making a Conservative Party leadership [bid on Thursday](http://time.com/4389417/uk-brexit-boris-johnson-tory/ "undefined"). “I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris \[Johnson\] cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead,” wrote Gove in Thursday’s statement. “I have, therefore, decided to put my name forward for the leadership.” Since the announced resignation of U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, five high-ranking Conservative members like Gove have made their bids [in the party’s leadership contest](http://time.com/4389464/boris-johnson-michael-gove-brexit-vote/ "undefined"). But what has caught everyone’s attention is the number of times the Vote Leave campaigner has insisted that he would never run as leader. Watch the full clip above. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4389872/michael-gove-prime-minister-watch-video-boris-johnson/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4389872/michael-gove-prime-minister-watch-video-boris-johnson/"},"headline":"The Many Times Michael Gove Said He Did Not Want To Be Prime Minister","datePublished":"2016-06-30T16:41:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:59:15.301Z","description":"Three and counting","url":"https://time.com/4389872/michael-gove-prime-minister-watch-video-boris-johnson/","keywords":["United Kingdom"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3f41fcccb51d223/69889a395f570fbfc3b218e7/michael-gove-prime-minister.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3f41fcccb51d223/69889a395f570fbfc3b218e7/michael-gove-prime-minister.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Justice Secretary Michael Gove To Run For Conservative Party Leadership And UK Prime Minister Justice Minister And Leading Brexit Campaigner Michael Gove Leaves Home","caption":"Justice Secretary Michael Gove leaves his home in Kensington before announcing his intention to run to be the next Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister in London on June 30, 2016.","creditText":"Jack Taylor—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4389872/michael-gove-prime-minister-watch-video-boris-johnson/","name":"The Many Times Michael Gove Said He Did Not Want To Be Prime Minister"}}]}] ```