Michael Gove takes title Lord Gove of Torry, in father’s honour

[Richard R]

Assuming his title has yet to be agreed by those responsible (Garter, Crown Office, etc), there may be some unhappiness about this interview.

From the Times of 24 April 2025:

E X T R A C T

Michael Gove takes title Lord Gove of Torry, in father’s honour

The former Conservative government minister said he wanted to pay tribute to the area where his father ran a fish-processing business

Michael Gove has revealed that he will pay tribute to the working-class community where his late father ran a business when he enters the House of Lords.

The former Conservative cabinet member will take on the title Lord Gove of Torry when he becomes a peer next month.

Gove, 57, disclosed that the title was in honour of the maritime area of Aberdeen where his father, Ernest, ran a fish-processing business…

… Gove, born Graeme Andrew Logan in Aberdeen on August 26, 1967, was taken in and then adopted by Ernest Gove and his wife, Christine. He arrived at his new family with nothing but the clothes he was wearing.

… Gove stood down as an MP last year and was given a peerage in Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list as prime minister…

… When asked what residents of Torry, a proud blue-collar community, would make of his title, he said, “I don’t know. I hope that people will recognise that this is born of affection and respect. Torry as a community has been resilient through thick and thin. One of the things I witnessed was the decline in the fishing trade there. I’m paying my respect to somewhere that’s very special.

“It may be that people are scunnered or pleased.”

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/michael-gove-takes-title-lord-gove-of-torry-in-fathers-honour-s0fql9snt

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Does the person, who is given the peerage, get a say in what their title will be?  Is it "assigned" to them,  or is it some combination of both?

Thanks.

Brooke

[marquess]

They get a say, and what they choose has to be agreed to.

[Jonathan]

"Next month" could also mean next week, so it may be that the title has been agreed and will appear in the Gazette shortly. "Becomes a peer" may be referring to when he takes his seat in the Lords.

There has not previously been a Lord Gove, and as I recently discovered from the discussion about the seminar on "20th Century peerage titles", new peers are no longer permitted to choose "Surname of Somewhere" titles if the surname has not previously been used as a title. I would therefore surmise that his title will not be "Lord Gove of Torry", but rather "Baron Gove, of Torry in the City of Aberdeen".

[John B-H]

On this very new video, professor Robert Hazell explains how peerage titles are decided:  Robert Hazell discusses peerage titles with Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 Live - YouTube.

[Jonathan]

Thank you for the link to the radio clip. I have various issues with what Robert Hazell says, starting with him claiming the presenter could be simply "Lord Chorley" when there have been two of that name already, confusing the territorial part of the title with the designation, including use of the county name after it. He also spent unduly long on how a small number of peers incorporated their forenames, without mentioning that Garter required them first to change their surnames. He also seems unaware of the existence of Walney Island. I look forward to the transcript of the aforementioned seminar, which I expect to be much more authoritative.

[John B-H]

Good comments.

The aforementioned seminar was held in November 2024, but I didn't find a transcript online. But the speaker of the seminar, Dr Duncan Sutherland writes about his subject here:  What's in a Name? How Peers Settled Their Titles in the Twentieth Century - The History of Parliament. I think that Sutherland's text is better and more informative than Hazell's interview.