Londoner's Diary: By George! A surprise name for editor’s seat

In today's Diary: Questions about a London editor's chair | Bluebird's trouble in springtime | Get snappy, Theresa | Empire awards and Ireland | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Boris | Sadiq has The xx factor
Patrick McMullan via Getty Image
20 March 2017

It’s the job that everyone in London is talking about. Who’s going to be the next editor of... Vogue? By George, The Londoner has some new names to add to the mix. Three more candidates are being talked about: two fashion stalwarts and one surprise outsider.

So far, the spotlight has been on the journos in the Condé Nast stable — Tatler’s Kate Reardon and current Vogue deputy, Emily Sheffield, sister of Samantha Cameron. But fashion is all about being on trend, which might be why Lisa Armstrong, fashion editor of The Daily Telegraph, is now being talked of as a front-runner — she has just been named Fashion Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards.

Armstrong was previously fashion features director at Vogue before moving to The Times. She has also sent up the industry with two comic novels — Front Row and Dead Stylish — neither as deadly as The Devil Wears Prada.

The other hot contender is Jo Ellison, now fashion editor for the Financial Times, also a former Voguer as features director under Alexandra Shulman. She gained a reputation with some unusual pieces, including one on the Metropolitan Police’s female DCIs.

And the surprise candidate is Edward Enninful, pictured, fashion and style director of W magazine and man about town. He was scouted as a model on a train, and was made fashion director of i-D mag at 18, before becoming contributing editor at Italian and US Vogues. He holds swell parties and counts Naomi Campbell as a close friend.

It would be an unusual appointment as he’s more stylist than journalist — but that could be quite exciting.

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Anyone in the mood for a snap election? Theresa May should look to Gordon Brown for advice as she dithers over calling a general election. Brown caused excitement in 2007 with ad campaign “Not Flash, Just Gordon” as he rode high in the polls but chickened out of going to the vote in October. Brown was said to have “bottled it”, a turning point in his career. May has been putting herself around as the one who won’t snap. Maybe she will have to.

Trump’s Caddy is a winner. Bigly

Donald Trump’s reputation for diplomacy may be sinking daily but he can still make a sale. Earlier this month, The Londoner noticed an exciting sale at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting: a limited-edition Cadillac limousine with a connection to the President.

In 1988, Trump and the iconic American brand collaborated on a new range of cars, with gold trim and ostentatious interiors. But only two were ever made, and one went under the hammer yesterday. The estimate was between £10,000 and £12,000 but it sold for £54,625.

Let us know if you see it parked outside Nigel Farage’s house.

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Quote of the day: Defect or resign. If you don’t, when the next election comes we will do to you what we did to Zac Goldsmith’

Lib-Dem leader Tim Farron has some fighting talk for centrist Tory MPs at the spring conference in York.

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Empirical evidence for Northern Irish future

Mike Marsland/WireImage

The Government may be planning Empire 2.0 but The Londoner was busy with the original last night, as film magazine Empire hosted its annual awards ceremony at The Roundhouse.

We were pleased to see Anne-Marie Duff, who got political when we bumped into her recently. “My family are from Donegal and Meath,” she told us. “They are close to the border, and we don’t want to go back to hard borders. So with everything that’s happened in the past year, it’s not unthinkable that people in Northern Ireland might vote to get out of the UK. These are scary times, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone to put a cap on it,” Duff said.

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AFP/Getty Images

And we thought Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was a family-friendly show. Yesterday, The Sunday Times Magazine published an interview with actress Thandie Newton, in which she recalled what happened when her teenage daughter Ripley was in the audience for the Potter play and saw Boris Johnson nearby. She couldn’t resist saying hi. “Hello, Mr Johnson,” she said. “My name is Ripley Parker and I just wanted to tell you you’re a c***. I hope you enjoy the show.” Magic.

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Bluebird members in a flap

Trouble brewing in the leafy courtyards of Chelsea. Bluebird, the restaurant and shop on King’s Road, offers members discounts, booking privileges and on-site experiences. But lifetime members have got lost along the way.

The Londoner hears some members, who signed up early in Bluebird’s history, have received notice stating the conditions are changing. They include The Corporation Ltd PR Gary Farrow.

“After a review of Bluebird’s membership programme,” the letter reads, “as of 1st April 2017 sadly we will no longer recognise the benefits associated with lifetime membership or the old Bluebird membership cards.” Veteran members are invited to re-apply at the discounted rate of £280. “Lifetime membership is what it means, isn’t it?” Farrow asks.

There is a sense of déjà vu about the incident. In 2004, Tom Conran (son of Sir Terence) took over the venue and cancelled the lifetime memberships of certain stalwarts. He backtracked after several complaints. Will Bluebird veterans fly the nest?

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Tweet of the day: “Nigel Farage may well fail to get elected *again*”

City Metric’s Jonn Elledge, wonders if Farage is going to try and fail again if a snap election is called.

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The Mayor has got the love

If there’s been any doubt that Sadiq Khan is the coolest Mayor in history, this answers it. Last Thursday singer Florence Welch joined The xx at their Brixton Academy residency, and this backstage photo was posted by the band’s Oliver Sim over the weekend. Maybe next time Sadiq will get onstage for a jam?

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Field trip of the day: cosmologist Stephen Hawking has said he hopes to take up Richard Branson’s offer of a place on the Virgin Galactic spacecraft.

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