The merry-go-round in the political lobby will start cranking itself up again with the news that the political editor of the Sunday Times David "Crackers" Cracknell is leaving to join ailing lobbying company LLM, part of the Financial Dynamics Group. He will take on the new role of Chairman, reporting to FD's CEP Charles Watson. LLM has seen a string of departures this year, with one of its co-founders, Jon Mendelsohn becoming Head of Fundraising for the Labour Party. The LibDem candidate in the Bromley by-election has also moved on.
Political Editor of the Sunday Times is one of the plum jobs in the lobby. It would be invidious of me to tip who might get it, so let's do it! If I were the editor of the Sunday Times (and that is a delicious thought, is it not?) my shortlist would consist of Francis Elliott, Ben Brogan, Fraser Nelson, Colin Brown and Patrick O'Flynn. Which, of course, guarantees none of them stand a chance.
11 comments:
No women Iain?
I nominate Kirsty Walker and Caroline Macleod.
Barnacle Bill will dust off his old pith helmet, ferret out his trusty old Remington portable, and report immediately for duty at The Sunday Times.
What about Marie Woolf Iain? She's joining the Sunday Times later this month as Whitehall and Associate Editor. Would make sense for her to step into DC's job and leave Alan Schofield as Whitehall when Isabel Oakeshott returns from maternity leave.
Brogan or Nelson would be very interesting though.
The Sunday Times is broadly supportive of the Tories, so I wouldn't want one of the the three NL stooges from The Times (Tim Hames, Philip Webster and Tom Baldwin).
More to the point, The Sunday Times has degenerated into a substandard rag that should go from hot-off-the-press directly into recycling. Its front page is perennially ill-founded tittle-tattle and its inner pages are truly dreadful. A political editor alone will never resurrect it. It needs a new Editor. And fast.
Political Editor of the Sunday Times may be a plum job, but it's a tiddler besides Political Editor of the Daily Mail, so I can't see Brogan doing it.
Fraser Nelson would be very interesting but would he really want the hassle?
Colin Brown is a top journo but very much associated with the old left, which wouldn't necessarily sit easily with Murdoch and Co.
Francis Elliott would be in many ways the logical choice having done the Sunday beat successfully for many years, but he's only recently moved over to the daily lobby which suggests he might not necessarily be keen on going back so soon.
Agree with anon 2.24 that Marie Woolf makes the most sense.
Step forward, Ben Brogan !
Fraser Nelson might have a chance, but he is Scottish, for heaven's sake...
Er...isn't Ben Brogan Scottish as well?
So could there be any connection between Crackers leaving and Marie Woolf arriving as assistant editor (politics), which outranks political eidtor? Could there?
I would hate to see Ben Brogan leave the DM,but it would enable his excellent deputy to take a step up. James Chapman the deputy there is great.
goodbye to the Boy David, no tears will be shed
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