Hugo Young

Hugo Young, the wisest political commentator of our times, is dead. Magisterial, lofty (in reality as well as in temperament) and incorruptible, he often expressed what I felt about Thatcher, Major and Blair. But unlike me, he was not choked by moral indignation, so his writing cut through cant and controversy like a scalpel. I had no idea he was dying (from cancer), so it’s nice that I picked up here on the last column he wrote — about how Blair’s decision unquestioningly to support the US constituted an effective surrender of British sovereignty. I always turned first to his column in the Guardian — just as I had turned to him decades ago when he wrote for the Sunday Times. And, like many other liberals, I will miss his voice. He was an example of how good — and how important — journalism can be.