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General election 2024 live: Leaders hit the campaign trail as Michael Gove steps down - BBC News General election 2024 live: Leaders hit the campaign trail as Michael Gove steps down - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
On the topic of Michael Gove's departure, we can now bring you a bit more from inside the party about how his departure is being received. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has kicked off his third full day of campaigning by heading to his Richmond constituency in North Yorkshire where he's spent the morning meeting veterans.
Treasury minister Bim Afolami has insisted it is "not unnatural" for Tory MPs - including high-profile figures like Michael Gove - to be quitting weeks ahead of the general election. At a pub on the High Street, Sunak met a group of eight local ex-servicemen at one of their regular Saturday breakfast meetings.
He told Times Radio it is normal for people "in their 50s or 60s coming to retirement or indeed retiring completely, that they choose to bring their political careers to a close". During the meeting, staff brought over six large breakfasts. The prime minister did not tuck in but carried on sipping from his tea.
Afolami says he had not considered standing down himself, saying the Tory party is "pretty confident" of winning in his Hertfordshire seat, where he has a majority of under 7,000.
"The Lib Dems are strong but, you know, we're confident that we'll hold the seat and we'll beat them," he adds.
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