In an interview to the Independent, Nelson said though people think of the Spectator as a political magazine, actually less than 10 per cent of the publication is devoted to politics. He said that personally he does not like politics, but would vote for Conservatives.

Nelson replaced Matthew d'Ancona as the magazine's editor in August 2009. Under d'Ancona, the Spectator was criticised for repositioning itself as a political voice as well as increasing its luxury goods content and featuring contributions from celebrities such as Lily Allen.

It is not very clear why d'Ancona left the magazine all of a sudden, said the paper.