Waiting in the art deco corridors of the Royal Institute of British Architects’ central London HQ for a tardy Michael Gove to unveil a much-delayed National Planning Policy Framework, one journalist remarked to another that it would not feel like Christmas without a major policy announcement from the divisive secretary of state. 

Indeed, it was around this time last year – while trying to secure support for his Levelling Up and Regeneration Act – that Gove announced his intention to make housing targets for local authorities advisory rather than mandatory. 

In the end, yesterday’s speech at 99 Portland Place was a classic of the Govian genre, complete with stirring allusions to Britain’s past greatness, regular jabs at his Labour opponents and a general disregard for any vested interest that might think he has taken the wrong tack.