Someone mentioned in the comments the other day that David Aaronovitch was leaving the Guardian and the Observer to join The Times and indeed a quick Google confirms that to be the case.
As a Guardian reader, I find this rather sad but of course in the internet age, he will only be a click away.
Despite everything and perhaps due to the lack of competition, the Guardian does remain the house journal for what remains of a left in Britain, so it is a blow to lose Aaronovitch from its op-ed pages. It is the second such coup for The Times following Julie Burchill’s departure.
There are other Guardian columnists who do not conform to what is virtually ‘a party line’ on the big issues of the day. I enjoy reading Roy Hattersley – one of the few democratic socialists one can find in the British media, Jonathan Freedland writes many thought-provoking pieces and isn’t afraid to ask his readers challenging questions while Timothy Garton-Ash has the rarity of being in favour of globalising democracy.
Update: My ill-informed speculation here about who might replace Aaronovitch was a waste of time. Simon Jenkins is moving in the opposite direction.
Not much chance of “the muesli going down the wrong way” with him.
