The war for Cameron's ear

In 1739, the 'long peace' under Robert Walpole (generally regarded as the first British Prime Minister, serving 1721-1742), dissolved in a welter of recriminations.  Ostensibly, the war with Spain was because an overzealous Spanish coastguard had sliced off part of the ear of British merchantman, Captain Robert Jenkins, whom the Spanish authorities suspected of being engaged in smuggling.  That this incident occurred in 1731 and Jenkins was only ordered to testify before the House of Commons in 1738 (allegedly presenting his severed appendage at the hearing) made it clear that a casus belli was being sought.  It was listed among a whole host of Spanish 'depredations' as British traders sought to break into the Latin American market and the Spanish were determined to maintain a near-monopoly hold of that market.  With commercial clamour and strong trading influences in the House, the Walpole ministry - reluctantly - gave way to war, which soon became continental in scope.  The historian Thomas Carlyle, writing a century later, labelled it "The War of Jenkins' Ear."
If Education Secretary Michael Gove has anything to do with it, this episode will be restored to school textbooks in which it once was taken up fondly by schoolboys (a distant precursor of the Horrible Histories series).  At the moment though, he has suffered a setback but not without taking Home Secretary Theresa May down with him.  Superficially, Gove and his Department for Education determined to pick a fight with the Home Office over the alleged radical Islamic takeover of some schools in Birmingham, alleging complacency until extremism morphed into terrorism.  The Home Office shot back leaking a ministerial letter asserting that the management of schools was Gove's bailiwick and that as his department were in possession of this information for the past three years, it was "scary" how incompetent they were in the Education offices.
All this came to a head on the day of the Queen's Speech, the final one of this parliament, which no doubt was a source of immense irritation to David Cameron.  The prime minister proceeded to knock heads together, making Gove abase himself in public and forcing the resignation of May's right-hand woman (primarily for leaking the letter to the press), illustrating Walpole's prophetic anger, "they're ringing the church bells now, but they'll be wringing their hands before long."
But the Birmingham schools row was the just the excuse.  The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, along with his coterie, must have watched with mounting concern as Theresa May manoeuvred herself into the position of bookies' favourite to replace Cameron as Tory leader and largely under the radar at that, making her seem all the more credible in such a role as she went about her tasks diligently and competently.  Gove, in the Osborne camp, sought to throw a spanner in the works, thereby weakening her in the eyes of Cameron and in the party at large.  Although Gove wasn't expecting such blowback, substantially hurting him as he was already in conflict with Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrat Education Minister David Laws over the provision of school meals and the issue of 'free schools', it aided his cause.  The Machiavellian nature of May's special advisor Fiona Cunningham in leaking her boss' fury (or should that be anti-Machiavellian given the disastrous outcome) and Cunningham's subsequent dismissal was all grist to Osborne's mill, as May emerged out the contretemps worse off than Gove.  As election strategist for the Tories, I can't imagine he would be above a little chessboard powerplay within his party too.  Better to sacrifice a (fanatical) bishop to take down an opposing queen than to be check mated further down the line.  All the while, he keeps his hands clean and so keeps ahead of May in having the ear of Cameron.  Gove may hope this martyrdom helps his chances of becoming Chancellor under 'Prime Minister Osborne' but as the former Selfridges towel-folder has shown in juggling election strategy with the demands of the Treasury, he may get a whiff of Gladstone in his nostrils and hog both roles of PM and Chancellor himself.  That might induce Gove to slice off part of Osborne's ear!