A word about my new job

As CoffeeHousers may have heard, I am succeeding Matt d’Ancona as editor of the magazine. It’s a huge honour and an awesome task – but one made a lot easier by what he has accomplished in the role.

The magazine passing 75,000 circulation is only the most visible aspect of a job well done on levels that editors seldom get credit for. Matt was, quite simply, the best boss a political editor could ask for: always supportive and keen that I pursued whatever line I wanted, even if it meant contradicting what was on the leader page. There are numerous others who will testify to his support, his eye for new writers, and the faith he’d place in little-known names (as he did when appointing me in Apr 2006).

But perhaps his biggest legacy will be what you’re reading now – because, without Matt, there would simply have been no Coffee House.