Remembering the journalist John Thompson, who turned down the editorship of The Spectator

John Thompson, who died last week at the age of 93, could have been editor of The Spectator if he had wanted. He was offered the job in 1970 by its then proprietor, Harry Creighton, but with typically good judgment he declined. Creighton, a jovial, rumbustious manufacturer of machine tools, fired two editors, Nigel Lawson and George Gale, before making himself editor in their place. One of his reasons for doing this was almost certainly to save money; for the magazine was in steep decline and its losses were growing. An editor’s salary was a useful saving. So if John Thompson had taken the job, he would doubtless have eventually been fired as well. Nevertheless, many journalists would have jumped at the chance to edit such a famous title, even if it meant working for an overexcited and unpredictable employer. Not John, however, for whom fame, social cachet and the perks that came with an editorship meant nothing at all.