God rest ye merry subscribers

Unto us, a Deputy Online Editor is born

Many subscribers to this Substack will have noticed that I’ve been writing consistently for The Critic for a number of years now. In a career move that will surprise absolutely no-one, I’m delighted to have joined full-time as deputy online editor, with a particular focus on British politics.

Writing is like a muscle. It gets stronger the more you use it, and if you don’t use it, it withers away. But it’s also possible to overuse it. When you’re overtrained, the answer isn’t to push through because your technique degrades, everything gets sloppy, and that’s when you start doing real damage.

Over the last year I’ve been writing here several times a week, alongside three to five freelance pieces elsewhere. I’ve loved doing it. However, I’m keen to do justice to The Critic. The magazine has been a big part of my writing life for years, and I want to give the people and projects involved - including the new podcast, which I’m leading — the time, focus, and ambition they merit, and see how far we can take them.

Alongside this, I’ve also been working on a book proposal, which is now entering a more demanding phase and needs proper attention rather than being squeezed into the margins.

For those reasons, I’m going to stop paid subscriptions to the PVI for now. I don’t think it’s fair to charge people when I can’t commit to writing here at the level or frequency I’d want as a paying subscriber. I will keep writing here but it will be highly irregular, and may only be my Footnotes to Myself for a while.

I’m enormously grateful to everyone who’s read, shared, argued with, and supported the Potemkin Village Idiot. I’m not disappearing — my writing will continue at The Critic — but I’ll be putting all my energy in there, and I’m excited about what’s coming next.

Thank you, and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.