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People think Diane Abbott predicted Michael Gove’s divorce and they are freaking out

<p>Diane Abbott</p>

Diane Abbott

PA

People think Diane Abbott predicted Michael Gove’s divorce and they are thoroughly confused.

Writing on Twitter last week, after Matt Hancock resigned as Health Secretary after admitting to breaking social distancing rules, the Labour MP posted a cryptic message about Gove and alluded that there could be trouble in his marriage that would prevent him from replacing Hancock. She said:

“Back to basics” refers to former Prime Minister John Major, who used the slogan to campaign for ‘traditional values’ in the nineties. But it ended up being used against him whenever anyone in the party was embroiled in scandals, including affairs.

A week after posting the tweet, Gove and Vine announced they are finalising their divorce. A friend of the couple told the PA news agency that the separation was “amicable”. They added that the couple had “drifted apart” and “no-one else is involved”. It must be stressed that nothing untoward about Gove has been announced and there is no evidence to suggest he has been embroiled in scandal.

Nevertheless, predicting a marriage breakdown is pretty bizarre, and reacting to her prescience, people wondered how Abbott knew:

Perhaps some MPs just have psychic powers?

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