ASKING locals in Torry what they thought of Michael Gove naming himself the Lord of the area yielded one response more than any other: “Who?”
The Tory minister-turned-Spectator editor may have been hoping for more recognition in the area he’s chosen to link to himself as he enters the House of Lords. But on the streets of Torry, a working-class community on the south side of Aberdeen, familiarity with Gove was in short supply.
But there were those who had heard of him – and the news of his peerage. Unfortunately, they had little good to say.
“I ken Michael aye,” one local said. “He’s a twat.”
Another had a similar attitude to the former MP, telling The National that his choice of title was a “complete joke”.
“He’s not the Lord of Torry. Not at all,” they added.
Gove’s adopted father Ernest had run a fish processing business in the area until the 1980s – and more than one of the Torry residents who had heard of Gove also knew the family.
Their business hit the headlines in 2016 after Gove, advocating for Brexit, claimed that EU fishing policies had “destroyed” it – only for Ernest to tell the Guardian that had not been the case.
Speaking to The National, residents questioned why Gove would associate himself with the area at all, given that he had only what they saw as a tenuous connection to it – and had spent almost 20 years representing Surrey Heath in southern England.
“I don't know what he's doing, to be honest with you,” said one woman. “He's never done anything for Torry. We’ve never seen him round here.”
Another echoed the sentiment, saying it was “presumptive” for Gove to have taken the name, while a third said the title “would be alright if he lived in Torry, if he was brought up in Torry, or if he spent more time in Torry”.
If Gove was banking on his Aberdonian roots softening the reception, it doesn’t seem to have worked. Instead of stirring local pride, the title appears to have inspired only confusion – and the occasional expletive.
There were rare notes of optimism. One woman suggested that the former MP becoming “Lord Gove of Torry” might at least “bring more attention to the problems and needs of this community”.
Asked if Gove had done anything for Torry, she added: “No. Not yet, but who knows, maybe now.
“Hopefully it’s not just a gimmick, playing on that Aberdonian side of him. But who knows.”
When Gove revealed that he would take the “Lord of Torry” title last month, he told the Press and Journal his choice would divide locals, leaving them either "scunnered or pleased".
But for the former MP, that’s proving wishful thinking. The area did not seem divided – and we couldn’t find a single Torry local who was “pleased”.
