The former cabinet minister Michael Gove has been named as the new editor of the Spectator magazine, weeks after the GB News backer Paul Marshall completed a £100m takeover of the rightwing magazine. Gove, who will take over from Fraser Nelson on 4 October, will be joined by the former Daily Telegraph and Spectator editor Charles Moore, who has been named as chair. Nelson, who joined the Spectator in 2006 and became editor in 2009, said in a blogpost that Gove was his “clear successor”, having been tipped as a future editor during his time as a journalist on titles including the Times and as a contributor to the Spectator. By accepting the role Gove has fulfilled a lifelong ambition having first declared his ambition to edit the Spectator during class when he was seven years old in his hometown of Aberdeen. Gove, 57, who stepped down from parliament at the general election, served in the governments of David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
Gove has been given approval from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, which scrutinises any job taken by an ex-minister with two years of leaving government, on the condition he does not lobby government on the magazine’s behalf. A spokesperson for Gove declined to comment. In 2016, Gove was responsible for scuppering Boris Johnson’s bid to lead the Conservatives by announcing his surprise entry into the race. He had been the director of Johnson’s campaign, and had promised to back the then mayor of London’s bid, but decided to run after concluding he could not “provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead”. Boris Johnson has also edited the Spectator, holding the role from 1999 to 2005. Gove’s penchant for enemy-making was also noted by former prime minister David Cameron, who said in his autobiography that “one quality shone through, disloyalty”, the pair having fallen out over Brexit. Former prime minister Liz Truss described him as “that snake” after he undermined her brief 45-day tenure by saying he would not vote for her budget when it was put before parliament. Moore takes over from Andrew Neil as chair. Moore, who has written a weekly column for the Spectator for the last two decades, has been charged with safeguarding the editorial independence and the “soul” of the title. Marshall, a hedge fund tycoon who also owns the UnHerd website, is also in the running to buy the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, with the second-round bids from prospective buyers due to be submitted by the end of this week. After the takeover of the Spectator, Marshall promised that it would remain separate, with independent editorial and governance structures, including the formation of a new board likely to include Conservative politicians. Marshall chairs the holding company but does not have a management position or sit on the board. Commercially, the Spectator is run by Freddie Sayers, the chief executive of Old Queen Street Media, which houses the title and UnHerd, who has also taken the role of publisher. Sayers described Gove as “perfectly suited to the role” in a post on X on Wednesday announcing the appointment. In March, Gove defended Marshall, a former Liberal Democrat who switched allegiance to the Conservatives because he supported Brexit, in the House of Commons during a debate on extremism. Marshall had “liked” a tweet that said it is only “a matter of time before civil war starts in Europe”, and warned that “the native European population is losing patience with fake refugee invaders”. Gove said: “I deprecate the personal attack on Sir Paul,” describing him as “a distinguished philanthropist”. His appointment marks a return to journalism after 17 years as a member of parliament. Gove has worked at the Daily Telegraph, The Press and Journal in Aberdeen and was an assistant editor at the Times. He also spent some time in the 1990s working for the BBC and Channel 4. Nelson said that Gove has asked him to stay on as an associate editor at the Spectator. Gove’s transition from politics to editor has proved a fairly common route over the years. In 2017, former chancellor George Osborne was the surprise hire as editor of the Evening Standard by proprietor Evgeny Lebedev. However, he only lasted three years in the role.