(Bloomberg) -- Former Conservative minister Michael Gove has been named as the new editor of The Spectator, less than a month after hedge fund manager Paul Marshall agreed to buy the politically influential British magazine for £100 million ($131 million).
Gove, a former journalist who once ran to be Prime Minister, will replace Fraser Nelson on Oct. 4, according to Old Queen Street Media, a company owned by Marshall. In 2016, Gove was a proponent of the successful referendum campaign for Britain to leave the European Union — a cause supported by Marshall.
It marks the end of an era under Nelson, who has led the right-leaning magazine known as the “Tory bible” since 2009. He presided over a broad church of columnists ranging from Matthew Parris, from the centrist section of the party known as one-nation conservatives, to more controversial and right-leaning writers such as Douglas Murray.
Nelson will continue to write for the magazine as associate editor.
Leadership Race
The appointment will give Gove a prominent voice after Tory members decide who will be the next leader of the UK opposition, with the outcome of the vote expected on Nov. 2. As one of the world’s oldest weekly magazines, The Spectator is highly influential among Conservative politicians and party members.
The Conservatives were in power from 2010 until June this year, when they suffered a thumping general election defeat to Labour.
A Brexit-supporter who also styles himself as socially liberal, Gove has historically been seen as a close ally and vocal supporter of Kemi Badenoch, one of the remaining four candidates to be the next Tory leader.
Gove previously competed in a leadership race himself, challenging Boris Johnson to become Prime Minister in 2019. Gove withdrew from the race after admitting to taking cocaine years earlier, paving the way for Johnson to enter Downing Street.
Johnson also edited the Spectator from 1999 to 2005.
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