faltering

Wow. Another high-profile Tory MP!

Michael Gove to stand down at general election in blow to Rishi Sunak amid record Tory MP exodus
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/michael-gove-stand-down-general-election-2024-tory-mp-exodus-rishi-sunak-b1160163.html

<words>
cite
toll - Is this meaning? [Collins]A toll is a total number of deaths, accidents, or disasters that occur in a particular period of time.
public office - it needs to be elected [Collins]Some one who is in public office is in a job that they have been elected to do by the public.
espouse
faltering < falter
levelling up - I cannot find the definition in Collins. Collins is conservative. Cambridge has more new words. "level up" sounds a Japanese-English word, but it looks computer games made the word more common.
[Cambridge](POLITICS UK)to increase pay, living standards, the number of jobs, etc. in areas of the country where they are lower than in others, so that all areas are more equal
[quote]set out the levelling up vision which is so important for our country[unquote]
[quote]enabling me to deepen and intensify the levelling up programme[unquote]
surpassing (accent) - sur-pA-ssing
whistlestop/ whistle-stop [Collins]If someone, especially a politician, goes on a whistle-stop tour, they visit a lot of different places in a short time.
deluge (pronunciation)
up for

The reason of his stepping down is this:
[quote]A constituency-level poll by YouGov last month projected Mr Gove was on track to keep his Surrey Heath seat by a margin of just one per cent, with the Conservatives on 33 per cent and the Liberal Democrats 32 per cent.[unquote]

Tory Boy looks like Gove, but rather Mogg
Tory Boy at breakfast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ewcWGlnrkA
Tory Boy at Party Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWSr1Aw0EBA
Tory boy at the job centre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oQ_tbf6j2A

But the towards the end of the article, it says about Rishi, not Gove.

Rishi Sunak scores own goal with football gaffe on campaign trail in Wales
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/general-election-2024-rishi-sunak-gaffe-south-wales-euros-football-b1159818.html
The self-described “massive football fan”...Titanic Quarter...
He's broke... just repeating "our plan is working"...Poor Rishi...