‘I Suppose I Better Get Up!’ What Michael Gove Said After Learning Leave Won Referendum

The Brexit vote in last week’s EU Referendum proved to be a shock to most - including for Vote Leave’s Michael Gove.

While Britain vote up to the surprise result, it was in the Gove household where the decision really hit home according to the Tory frontbencher’s wife, Sarah Vine.

Revealing exactly how the day unfolded in her Daily Mail column, she said that she first suspected something unexpected at around 4.45am when she heard voices outside her bedroom window.

She wrote: “I was just drifting back to sleep when my husband’s mobile rang. Fumbling, he picked up the call. I could hear every word.

“‘Michael?’ an excited, if slightly weary, voice said. ‘Michael, guess what? We’ve won!’ Thus began the strangest, maddest and, without a doubt, most surreal few days of my life.”

Abuse: Sarah Vine said she had been targeted by Twitter trolls after the Brexit win (Rex)

And it seems Mr Gove didn’t triumphantly punch the air when he heard his side had won.

She added: “There was a short pause while he put on his glasses. ‘Gosh,’ he said. ‘I suppose I had better get up.’”

Vine said that Remain supporters reacted “bitterly” to their loss on Twitter, adding: “Unlike your average troll, they don’t rely on blunt invective to wound their opponents. Their anger takes the form of keenly worded, rapier-sharp attacks that cut deep.

Winner: Michael Gove was a key member of the Vote Leave team (Rex)

“Almost overnight, those of us on the winning side suddenly found ourselves re-cast as knuckle-dragging thugs, small-minded Little Englanders whose short-sighted bigotry had brought the nation to its knees, while making sweet Italian waitresses cry and stopping small Polish children from going to school.”

However, she described the attacks as “the personal price of my husband standing up for his principles”.

Mr Gove is expected to throw his support behind Boris Johnson for the Tory leadership, following David Cameron’s resignation as Prime Minister just hours after Britain voted for Brexit.

Top pic: Rex