Toxic George is poisoning himself more than the PM
Traditionally, former Chancellors of the Exchequer — unless their tenure ended in disgrace — are held in high regard.
Having occupied one of the three Great offices of State, their views are still heard with respect. indeed, often their comments have the power to move the financial markets.
nigel lawson is a classic example. though it is almost 30 years since he relinquished control of the national finances, his opinions on economic issues carry great weight.
not so George osborne. His conduct since he was sacked by theresa May after the Brexit referendum has been shameful, and his oft- expressed views are increasingly treated with contempt.
it’s instructive to compare Mr osborne with Ken Clarke, who preceded him as Conservative Chancellor.
Mr Clarke, one of Britain’s finest ever Chancellors, stayed on as an MP after the tories were defeated by new labour in 1997. over previous years, he had tried unsuccessfully three times to be elected tory leader. Even now, he remains an MP, aged 77, and is Father of the House (the longest-serving member of Commons.)
though he has held controversial and sometimes unpopular views — most notably as an ardent Europhile — Mr Clarke has always debated with fairness and good humour.
By comparison, Mr osborne’s behaviour has been a disgrace. AS
Soon as he left the Government in the summer of last year, he emulated his hero tony Blair and used his political connections to make as much money as possible for himself.
With justification, he was rebuked as ‘Six Jobs osborne’.
apart from staying on as an MP (with a taxpayer-funded salary of £74,962), he became an adviser to the U.S. financial giant Blackrock (one day a week on £650,000-a-year), chairman of the northern Powerhouse Partnership (£120,212), editor of the london Evening Standard (four days a week), on the books of the Washington Speakers’ Bureau (£786,450 for 14 speeches) and was an unpaid fellow at the McCain institute for international leadership in america.
after accusations about the risk of conflicts of interest — indeed, Blackrock’s business was said to have benefited from changes in pension regulations effected while Mr osborne was Chancellor — he stood down as an MP but later was also made an honorary professor of economics at Manchester University.
obsessively, he has used his position as editor of london’s highly respected evening newspaper ( which distributes 1.6 million free copies on weekdays) to pour poison and scorn on Mrs May’s government.
one typically bilious editorial column last week compared Mrs May’s premiership to the ‘living dead in a second-rate horror film that staggers on oblivious’.
Witheringly, the anti- Brexit osborne wrote that the PM was ‘in office but not in power’, said the UK’s ‘place in the world is diminished’ and concluded that ‘Britain deserves a better movie than this’.
admittedly, Mr osborne has been consistent in his pro-EU views but such petulant and unforgivingly vindictive language debases politics.
the truth is that his blitzkrieg against Mrs May will cause her some hurt, but i believe that it is doing far more to damage Mr osborne’s own reputation.
By repeatedly attacking the Prime Minister in such an arrogant, malevolent and poisonous way, the peevish architect of Project Fear is guilty of small-minded, unpatriotic self-indulgence — which implies it is only people such as him that matter in politics.
What claptrap. the fact is that his disloyalty to his own party leader is an insult to those tory party workers and volunteers who do all the hard work at the grassroots to get people such as him elected to power.
these activists canvass, deliver campaign material and hold meetings out of love of their party and country. they also do it out of a sense of public service — something Mr osborne shows little sign of valuing, or even understanding.
in view of this, i am surprised to hear well-informed talk that Mr osborne plans to go to next month’s Conservative Party conference in Manchester — the annual gathering of the tory clan.
in what capacity does he expect to attend? Will it be as a newspaper editor, following events from the Press Centre? or will he be wearing another hat, as lobbyist for one of his business employers, cynically using his status as a former Chancellor to campaign for changes to the law and for regulatory reform that will benefit the companies that pay him such vast sums?
or, will Mr osborne imperiously put himself forward as a political player and try to drum up support for his disreputable campaign of hatred against Mrs May? Judging
on past form, he will try to combine all three roles. this is utterly wrong and demeans both journalism and politics.
true, other former senior politicians have taken jobs on newspapers. one famous example was Bill deedes, who became editor of the daily telegraph after a stint as tory Cabinet minister in the Macmillan government.
yet deedes, a much-loved man, never sought to mix his various roles. He was scrupulous in distinguishing between his work as a journalist and as an ex-politician. nor did he use the pages of his newspaper to pursue vendettas and personal agendas.
i suggest that Mr osborne would be wise not to attend the tory conference. His presence would be offensive to Conservative members, who are honest, decent and courteous people.
that courtesy would be sorely tested — and many members would be justified in treating George osborne with the contempt he so richly deserves.