Michael Gove gets editor job after being spotted with Oxford University lecturer

The former Conservative cabinet minister stepped down from Parliament at the general election and will become the magazine’s new editor at the start of next month.

This comes after the 57-year-old was seen attending an evening event held by The Spectator alongside Dr Lola Salem of the University of Oxford.

Mr Gove recently split from his wife Sarah Vine, divorcing in 2022 after 21 years of marriage with the journalist.

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Michael Gove has been appointed as the new editor of The Spectator. Michael Gove has been appointed as the new editor of The Spectator. (Image: Lucy North / PA Wire)

Specialising in opera, Dr Salem teaches French at Wadham College as well as tutoring music at Oriel College.

According to her profile on the Oriel website, her research concerns “opera, performers, and other material conditions related to creativity during the long seventeenth century.”

Freddie Sayers, publisher of The Spectator and the chief executive of new owner OQS says that Mr Gove is “perfectly suited to the role”.

The former politician, who served in the governments of David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, was a journalist before he became an MP.

He will take up the job after final approval from Acoba, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.

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The University of Oxford.The University of Oxford. (Image: NQ)

Acoba indicated later on Wednesday that it does not believe the appointment will “raise any particular concerns under the Government’s rules”.

But it added: “The committee reminds you that it is your responsibility to manage the propriety of any work undertaken with The Spectator.

“In particular, as a former Cabinet minister, you must be careful not to offer any unfair insight as a result of your access to information and potential influence in government – which the conditions below seek to mitigate.”

Mr Gove is expected to take the role from October 4, after completing a three-month waiting period since last being a Cabinet minister.

The position is currently held by Fraser Nelson, who will step down “after 15 incredibly successful years”, Mr Sayers said in a message posted on X.

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Mr Nelson will “continue to write for The Spectator and will become Associate Editor”, Mr Sayers said.

Earlier this month, it was confirmed that the magazine had been bought by GB-News backer Sir Paul Marshall for £100 million.

The Spectator is one of the world’s oldest politics and current affairs magazines, established in 1828 in London’s Old Queen Street.

Mr Sayers said that the job of editor of The Spectator “requires a rare breadth of intellectual interests and depth of journalistic experience”.

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Michael Gove was a journalist before his political career.Michael Gove was a journalist before his political career. (Image: James Manning / PA)

“Alongside his political and journalistic nous, Michael brings a love of books, philosophy, art, opera and a mischievous sense of humour.

“He is perfectly suited to this role, and I can’t wait to work together to bring The Spectator to new audiences.”

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