Business Breakfast with Michael Gove and James Harding raises vital funds

^{Michael Gove supports Jewish Care at 103rd Business Breakfast}

^{120 guests attended Jewish Care’s Business Breakfast at Claridges this morning raising over £46,000. These funds will help the largest health and social care charity for the Jewish community in London and the South East to continue to provide vital services to thousands of people, from the age of 11 upwards, who rely on its support each week.}

^{Lord Leigh, Chair of the Business Group Committee, welcomed guests to the breakfast, emphasising the importance of their support.}

^{“This year continues to be an incredibly difficult time for the Jewish community with rising antisemitism both in the UK and globally. The demand for Jewish Care’s services is increasing, whilst government funding is shrinking. The rise in employers’ national insurance by £1.1 million, together with the increase in the cost of living and the growing pressure for end-of-life, dementia care and mental health services, means Jewish Care must raise £20 million this year to continue to provide the very highest quality support and Jewish care to our community.}

^{“For our Holocaust survivors it’s been particularly painful to see the rise in antisemitism – and our Holocaust Survivors’ Centre and community centres have become a safe haven for them – where they can proudly be Jewish. For those living in areas where they no longer feel safe because of the threat of antisemitism, they can proudly feel safe in sharing their Jewishness with us. These most essential services I’ve mentioned, and many more that reach out to those living with loneliness and isolation, receive no government funding at all.”}

^{James Harding, journalist and author, Editor-in-Chief of The Observer and Founder of Tortoise Media, was in conversation with Michael Gove, Editor of The Spectator. The former Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath and UK Government Cabinet Minister across five government departments for more than a decade, Michael Gove was made a peer in May 2025 in Rishi Sunak’s honours list. James Harding previously served as Director of News and Current Affairs at the BBC from 2012 to 2018 and was also Editor of The Times from 2007 to 2012.}

^{Their conversation covered Glastonbury and the importance of understanding rising global antisemitism. They also touched on the highs and lows of the term of office of The Prime Minister, with Michael Gove paying dues to The Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP’s “steady hand on foreign policy” and for Kemi Badenoch, since she became Leader of the Conservative Party, he shared that “the best things she has done we’ll be here until the noon because I think on the big judgements she’s been proven right. The biggest thing she has got right is something that hasn’t even surfaced yet – she is serious in bringing this country’s economy back into balance. And I predict now, that in September of this year there will be a bond market crisis afflicting this country.”}

^{Discussing the disturbing events at Glastonbury this weekend, Michael Gove said:}

^{“There has been condemnation and a legitimate debate about whether Kneecap and Bob Vylan should have been invited to play at Glastonbury. There is a current debate about whether as soon as Bob Vylan said what he said the BBC should have immediately let the speakers go dark. But for me the broader question is why is it that Bob Vylan and Kneecap are playing in front of thousands of young people who responded with the ecstatic adulation that they did? I think it speaks to a broader problem in British and in Western society at the moment. Why is the militant expression of hatred metastasised in that way? I think there are a variety of factors, they are nuanced and complex, but we need to analyse them effectively in order to counter them in the most powerful way.”}

^{Speaking after the breakfast, Gove commented, “I am proud to support Jewish Care in its vital work, especially at a time when the need for assistance within the Jewish community who rely on the charity is greater than ever and when we are also witnessing a deeply concerning rise in antisemitism, globally and across the UK.”}

^{Lord Leigh said, “I would also like to say a huge thanks to Michael Gove and James Harding for their support and for taking the time to speak with us, sharing a thought-provoking discussion. The support and generosity of our guests is greatly appreciated and will help us to continue to touch the lives of 12,000 people each week in the Jewish community with warmth and care.”}

^{The breakfast concluded with Michael Gove drawing the raffle for tickets to the Last Night of the Proms kindly donated by supporters.}

^{Ellisa Estrin, Jewish Care Director of Fundraising & Marketing, added, “We are so grateful to all of our guests who have helped to raise over £46,000 for our core services. I would like to thank Lord Leigh and the Business Breakfast Committee for their continued support and commitment at our 103rd Business Breakfast, along with Michael Gove and James Harding, without whom, we could not have raised the funds this morning to help ensure that we can be there for those in our community who need us most.}

^{“Over the next decade, the number of people in the Jewish community who will need dementia care will increase by 25%, more people will need end of life care than ever before, and the number of young people and adults who are living with mental illness and distress is sadly rising as well, whilst facing a national crisis in mental health service provision and older people’s social care.”}