Jonathan Isaby to join ConservativeHome from The Telegraph

Tim Montgomerie writes:

"I am delighted to announce that Jonathan Isaby will be joining ConservativeHome.  Jonathan was offered the post of co-editor yesterday by Stephan Shakespeare, ConservativeHome's publisher, and he has accepted.  164 applications were received to succeed Samuel Coates, who was recently appointed as a speechwriter to David Cameron.  Sam formally ceased to work for ConservativeHome last Saturday.  A start date for Jonathan has not yet been fixed.

Jonathan has been writing about politics at The Daily Telegraph for five years, latterly as editor of the paper's Three Line Whip column and a regular contributor to the Three Line Whip blog. Before joining the Telegraph, he was a senior political analyst in the BBC's Westminster newsroom. He also writes a monthly column for GQ magazine and his first book, Boris v Ken: How Boris Johnson Won London, was published in June. Jonathan is a former chairman of the University of York Conservative Association and was on the founding national committee of Conservative Future in 1998-99.

There is still a little room left in the ConservativeHome budget for the employment of some part-time help but this money won't be allocated until Jonathan and I have had a chance to talk about how we wish to develop the site over the next year.  You cannot afford to stand still in the blogosphere and we have big plans for expansion in the autumn.  We look forward to sharing them with you in the coming months."

Comments

[Greg Hands MP]

This is great news for Conservative Home and great news for Jonathan Isaby! Congratulations to all!

[Sammy Finn]

A great coup for the blogosphere!

[Peter]

Congratulations, Jonathan!

[Andrew Young]

Well done Jonathan!!

[Alan Mendoza]

An inspired choice. Jonathan has a great reputation around the 'village' through his political/media presence and has made a considerable contribution to the conservative movement through his personal activities (e.g. the Heslington Group). Once again, CH raises the bar!

[Paul Bristow]

A real coup for Conservative Home.

[Matthew Dear]

Many congratulations to all involved - this is a great, a stunning appointment.

[ConHome rules!]

Stunning indeed.

Conservativehome must now be very ambitious:

1. The Telegraph doesn't have the space to cover Tory politics in the way that this site does.

2. The Tories are in the ascendancy.

3. You need to build the new Wiki pages into a bible of Tory politics and of the next Conservative Government.

Go for it!

[Duncan Flynn]

Congratulations to Jonathan. Richly deserved and a shrewd appointment by Tim.

[Joanna KD]

Congratulations !!
Looking forward to plenty of quality political media coverage !

[Tom Hunt]

Nice one Jonathan - good luck with it all. Great choice CH.

[Melissa Bean]

Congratulations Jonathan, you are a worthy successor to Sam.

Mel

[Marc Brunel-Walker]

Congratulations Jonathon - and Welcome!

[bluepatriot]

Does this amount to a declaration of war on The Telegraph?
In the next few years I predict that this website will replace The Telegraph as the party's inhouse journal.
The Telegraph misses so many Tory stories now.
Good luck to Tim and Jonathan.

[Chad Noble]

Well done, a great hire.

Even better if Jonathan has school-boy html to improve politicshome too. ;-)

[Dawn Parry]

I am SOOOO pleased for you, Jonathan!
I am also thrilled for Conservativehome because this is a real meeting of political brilliance and quality media.
HURRAH!

[Vincent Wall]

Congratulations Jonathan. Another blow to The Telegraph.

[Roger Wilsher]

Good move

[Richard Price]

Congratulations to ConservativeHome on this coup!

[Joe Mooney]

Excellent appointment for an excellent site. Best wishes to all concerned.

[David Gold]

Congratulations Jonathan! That is terrific news. You were wasted at the Telegraph and it is, as people have already said, inspired of Tim and the team to hire you. This shows CH is seeking to remain a serious voice for the Party and those who wish to support it. I hope the role suits you very well. I am sure it will.

[Dale]

I can't really imagine Johnny being subordinate to Timmy the way that Sammy was.

BTW I though conhom was your baby Tim, not stephen shakespeare?

[grumpy old man]

Good. A repected heavyweight who has the experience to move things forward. I love it when a plan comes together...... As the lefty trolls have hidden in three-line whip where the majority can't get at them, will we have html access ala guido?

[Daniel Hamilton]

Well done for signing up the best connected and nicest guy in the Westminster village! Fantastic news.

[Gareth Knight]

Congratualtions Jonathan and congratualtions to Tim on bagging such him.

Also great to see the reminder that he is a York Tory!

[RichardJ]

Well done and welcome aboard!

[Tom Greeves]

Jonathan, you are a world class sod for getting this job, which I wanted. It is all the more galling that you are the perfect choice, so I don't even get to feel hard done by.

Good luck old bean!

[Richard Calhoun]

In the next few years I predict that this website will replace The Telegraph as the party's inhouse journal.
Posted by:bluepatriot | August 01, 2008 at 12:47

I doubt this very much, although the Telegraph has slipped in quality in recent years there is still a huge demand for professional journalism.

[Donal Blaney]

Now THAT is a great piece of news to start the day with!

[Labradoodledoo]

What a shrewd move Tim. I imagine the other 163 applicants were all worthy too, however, you made a great choice.Maybe you can have some time off now?

[Andrew Woodman]

Good choice. Sure it will be a relief to Jonatahn to work for a Conservative publication as opposed to the Telegraph as well.

[Cranmer]

His Grace is delighted by this news. There is no mistaking the quality, and no underestimating potential of this appointment.

He wishes Mr Montgomerie, Mr Shakespeare and Mr Isaby all the very best.

Richest blessings,

+Cranmer

[Paul Marks]

Congraulations Mr Isaby.

As for the Telegraph - I tend to be biased against it because of its very poor reporting on the United States. And because of the way the owners of the Telegraph group have harmed Sark.

Although there is a more personal reason. As someone whose coordiantion is not wonderful (to put it mildly) the Daily Telegraph is a physically difficult newspaper for me to read - especially since they turned the sports and financial pages into supplements (which fall out onto the ground when I open the newspaper). So I no longer buy the publication.

As for the Sunday Telegraph - the only good thing there is Christoper Booker's contributions. And I am not going to buy a vast newspaper for half a page of good stuff.

[Elvis]

Many congratulations Johnathan and Tim. I'm delighted for you both - This is a 'world class' appointment..

[YourNameHere]

Good news. Jonathan, will of course, know a lot of the anonymous posters :-)

Hopefully this appointment will help Tim tame some of his excesses, like having the PM cite ComHome in PMQs when Tim used his "editorial" to espouse a view that none of the readers agreed with.

[Ken Creek]

Well done Jonathon. Good to see your career flourishing since York.

[Morus]

An inspired choice - congratulations to Jonathan, and also to Tim and Stephen for hiring him.

[Anthony Downie]

What a fantastic choice. I underestimated the clout and reach of Conservative Home, as I didn't expect this site to be able to attract someone of Jonathan's pedigree and knowledge.

It shows how far this website has come. Jonathan has a fantastic encyclopedic knowledge of the Conservative Party, and is a great choice.

[Suli Shah]

A superb addition to CH!

[Dorian Grape]

Hi YourNameHere

'Tim used his "editorial" to espouse a view that none of the readers agreed with.'

I did. But I would rather that a senior Tory had thrown his toys out of the pram about Lisbon.

Hi Jonathon

Every success to you.

[HEB]

A huge coup.

Where once the Daily Telegraph was the "in house journal of the Conservative Party" no more.

This is further evidence that is is ConHome that increasingly enjoys that mantle.

As a former York Tory I'm also delighted!

[Malcolm Dunn]

Yup, good luck Jonathon. You've certainly got a hard act to follow.

[Editor]

Dale: "I can't really imagine Johnny being subordinate to Timmy the way that Sammy was.

BTW I though conhom was your baby Tim, not stephen shakespeare?"

Sam and I took all big decisions jointly Dale and that'll be true of Jonathan and I, too.

Stephan Shakespeare purchased the site about two years ago but has never interfered with a single editorial decision.

[David Allen Green]

As Duncan would rightly say, this is really excellent news for a great bloke.

It's significant that a rising professional Westminster journalist is not only jumping from the "mainstream" print media to the blogosphere, but that it now just seems a natural progression.

[HEB]

Grrrreat man on toast!

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

Congratulations, Jonathan. Sam will be a hard act to follow but I'm sure you'll prove to be a good match!

PS. Does this mean you'll be leaving the Labourgraph?

[John Bull]

I've never heard of Jonathan Isaby but this has to be a step up from Sam "Turn" Coates.

[Tuscan Tony]

One trembles with excited anticipation as to how Melissa "Fred" Kite will present this tomorrow!

[Cllr Peter Geiringer]

Well done Jonathan !!!

As a "Sutton and Cheam" man------------you know all there is to know about fighting the Lib Dems.
Anything you can do to help us get rid of Paul Burstow,our Lib Dem M.P and get Philippa Stroud elected----------- will be appreciated !!!

[Woman on a raft]

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[tony makara]

Good luck Jonothan, may the invective be balanced by a sense of decorum. This is the best debating forum on the web, great to see you as one of the ringmasters.

[Geoff]

I didn't bother to submit my CV as I knew that the shortlist of candidates would be of the highest quality.

However I didn't guess quite as high as Jonathan Isaby. Well done Jonathan. Welcome aboard.

[Chris Kelly]

Bl*ody brilliant! Having been friends with Jonathan since we met back in 1997 as Conservative Students I can say from first hand experience that he is a man of the utmost integrity & courtesy.

This is brilliant news for ConHome & for the conservative movement in the UK - nice one Stephan & Tim!

Good luck to Sam also in his new role - another great guy.

[michael mcgough]

Excellent news.Congratulations , an inspired pairing for ever upward success.

[Graeme Archer]

This is fantastic news! Well done Mr Isaby and congratulations to ConHome too. It does say something that a broadsheet journalist makes this move, doesn't it?

[Samuel Coates]

A great appointment.

Congratulations Jonathan.

You'll enjoy it immensely.

[David Walker]

That's a bit of a patronising comment Sam. Isaby is a much bigger beast than you'll ever be, so show some deference. This is an upward move from ComHome and it shows that your resignation has had many brilliant consequences.

[Editor]

What are you talking about David?

Sam's comment is perfectly reasonable and typically warm.

Sam is, of course, a lot younger and less experienced than Jonathan but both are talented individuals. Sam's elevation to the leader's office is a sign that I'm not the only one with a very high opinion of him.

[David Walker]

Sam Coates is a political animal like everyone else in the Westminster jungle. Let's not get sentimentle. It's dog eat dog and he'd push you off a cliff to further his career. This isn't a slur on Sam, just a fact about politics. It amazes me that people are supposed to show faux admiration when we're all in a big bear pit.

As for your last point Tim, we'll see how long he lasts playing with the big boys...

[Mr Angry]

Dale: CH operates on he Golden Rule principle; he who has the gold makes the rules and that is Stephan who actually owns the thing.

Yournamehere: Actually many CH readers did agree with Tim's editorial, I certainly did and still do. One of CH's greatest strengths is that it is not a slavish mouthpiece for CCHQ or the Party leadership and long may it remain so!

I look foreward to seeing Jonathan's impact upon the site and wish him luck in his new role.

[Cllr.Lynden Thorpe]

I agree with Donals' and Dan Hamiltons' posting.ConservativeHome has gained a true asset in Jonathan. His political knowledge and contacts are boundless.
Congratulations ConservativeHome and Jonathan.

[Jill, London]

Wow! What an excellent appointment! Can we look forward to political stories before they are in the public domain?

There must be a story to be told about the Telegraph political team as they lost political editor George Jones, a little while ago – and now Jonathan Isaby...

[Ulster Tory]

An encouraging appointment, boding well for the future!

[Guy Atherton]

Congratulations - interesting that he worked for the BBC. Maybe now people will not over generalise and say everyone at the BBC has a left-wing view.

[YourNameHere]

"Maybe now people will not over generalise and say everyone at the BBC has a left-wing view."

Not much risk of that, Guy. While Tim is around, the BBC bee will be in his bonet.

Remember folks, when it doubt, blame the BBC and the Muslims.

[Katy Taylor-Richards]

What a fantastic appointment, I am thrilled for you Jonathan.

Many Congratulations. x

[Comstock]

Hi Jonathan, welcome to the team- pleased to 'meet' you.

I'm Comstock the resident lefty and I'm a lover of hopeless causes (you have to be on the Left!).

I look forward to giving you a few headaches in the months/years ahead. :D

[Jack of Kent]

"...is a political animal like everyone else in the Westminster jungle. Let's not get sentimentle. It's dog eat dog and he'd push you off a cliff to further his career."

Sentimental, even.

In any case, Mr Isaby is genuinely decent chap.

And the "Westminster jungle" is really no different to any other large workplace - some nasty, some nice, and some who seem nice but are really rather nasty. But I am glad I do not work with the crass Mr Walker.

[Dave J]

I'd have sworn it would be Peter Cuthbertson, but he must not have applied. :-p Congrats, Jonathan.

[Graham Eardley]

Watch your back Tim!

[Peter Barnes]

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