A kind of bye

First published in the Telegraph on 1 July 2010

Today is my final day in the Telegraph offices, where I’ve spent all but one year of my career since university. From later this month I will be back at university – at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, where I’ll be taking a Masters in Public Administration. I’ll still be blogging for the Telegraph right here on this page, both about the economy and international politics and about music, but I am saying goodbye to the daily news slog and hello (again) to academia.

Our brilliant banking editor, Phil Aldrick, is taking over from me as economics editor. He will bring to the job a deep knowledge of the intersection between finance and the broader economy, which has never been more important than it is now. And Angela Monaghan will continue to provide you with the excellent economic news and analysis she has brought to our pages in recent years.

When I first started covering economics back in 2003, it was about the least fashionable subject on the paper, and if I’m being honest with myself the best explanation for why I got the job was by default, because no-one else wanted it (why else would they consider giving the job to someone without the first clue about how economics works?). Anyway, somehow I found myself in the right place at the right time – the past few years have been the most exciting, interesting, mind-stretching and rewarding period I can every have hoped for. Anyway, I’m getting nostalgic.

This is just a quick note to say thank you to all of you for reading this blog, for your excellent comments (even the more abrasive stuff!) and your interest. Navigating this crisis would never have been possible without the help of so many of you. Please do stay in touch.

PS My final op-ed column, which is, I’m afraid, a slightly depressing explanation of why the middle-classes are particularly vulnerable in the face of this crisis, can be found here.