Michael Gove is the new editor of The Spectator

It’s a time of new beginnings here at The Spectator after Sir Paul Marshall’s historic £100 million bid for the magazine. As we plan for further growth, I’m delighted to announce two major appointments: Charles Moore is to become our new chairman and Michael Gove is to succeed me as editor.

There’s never a good time to leave a job like mine but, after 15 years and a new owner with big ambitions, there is an obvious time. In many ways, Michael is the clear successor. He’s a first-class journalist who took a detour into politics and not (as so often happens) the other way around. He was my news editor when I was a young reporter at the Times and even then he was writing Spectator cover stories and being tipped as a future editor. His hinterland, love of mischief, intellectual depth, energy, sense of humour and – most importantly – fondness of good writing make him perfect for the job.

Having known him for so long, I know (for example) that he first declared his ambition to edit The Spectator in an Aberdeen classroom at the age of seven. Now, aged 57, he has made it. He might have taken a circuitous route but his experience, combined with his journalistic skills and the quality of The Spectator team around him, will make for quite a potent combination. Perhaps most importantly, he’s also from the north-east of Scotland.

Charles was made editor of The Spectator aged 27, went on to edit the Daily Telegraph and has written a weekly column in the magazine for 20 years. His remit as chairman will be to safeguard editorial independence. He is perfectly suited to this role. When it looked like the Emiratis had bought The Spectator, Charles was denouncing the deal long before anyone else. This showed not just his courage but his principles: he stood up for the publication’s readers (and its freedom) even if that meant confronting powerful new owners. I can think of no one better suited to The Spectator chairmanship.

There’s also a third element here. When I was offered the editorship in the summer of 2009, I was staying with my friend Freddie Sayers in Sweden. I’ve been comparing notes with him ever since. As I leave the job, there’s also a certain symmetry to the fact that Freddie will be masterminding our expansion as publisher of The Spectator and chief executive of Old Queen Street Media (which also owns UnHerd). The success of our American and Australian editions – as well as our broadcasts, emails and first-class online commentary – has the basis of something that can be far bigger. That’s how Sir Paul sees it and Freddie will now be leading the work to make it happen: in our magazines, broadcasts and online.

Michael will now be working with a Spectator team that took this magazine’s value from £20 million when I became editor to £100 million today. This increase, unseen by any comparable publication anywhere in the world, is the work of their hands.  They are the best in the business, not just in the quality of what they commission and edit but in their unmatched ability to innovate and to protect and project The Spectator’s voice. Michael has asked me to become an associate editor. I’ll keep writing and will stay a member of The Spectator family. And the best thing about this job? The honour of working for you, our readers. Our success has been extraordinary, but you have brought us every bit of it. Being able to meet so many of you at our events over the years has been a constant reminder of what makes The Spectator different, what it means to so many people. I can hand the editor’s pen over safe in the knowledge that The Spectator is in good, confident hands – and now has the leadership to start what should be the most successful chapter in its long history.