Osborne gets OK to earn fortune on US speech circuit
GEORGE Osborne is preparing to rake in hundreds of thousands of pounds making speeches, after joining an exclusive US agency. A Westminster committee yesterday approved a request by the sacked ex-Chancellor to join the likes of Tony Blair on the roster of the Washington Speakers Bureau.
The fees earned by its stellar client list, which includes George W Bush, are a guarded secret.
But US reports have suggested ‘big names’ can get £40,000 per speech, while ‘top attractions’ can get up to £230,000.
Also on the Bureau’s books are former prime minister Gordon Brown, Australian ex-prime minister Tony Abbott, former US secretary of state Colin Powell and David Axelrod, one of Barack Obama’s top strategists.
Mr Osborne’s role was approved yesterday by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which signs off jobs for ex-ministers to ensure no conflict of interest. But the panel has been criticised for being ‘toothless’ because it is not known to have blocked a single appointment.
The ex-Chancellor is expecting to spend one or two days a month giving speeches about the ‘political environment’. It paves the way for him to quickly earn hundreds of thousands of pounds if he is in demand.
Acoba said the Treasury had raised ‘no concerns’ about Mr Osborne giving lectures to busi- nesses and other bodies, but he has to wait until three months have passed since his departure from government.
Allies had hoped Mr Osborne might be offered a move to the Foreign Office when Theresa May became Prime Minister.
However, she is said to have told him face to face that she did not want him in her government, forcing him to leave 11 Downing Street by the back door. He was not granted the convention of an exchange of letters, which usually includes praise for the departing minister’s contribution.
Mr Osborne, who built up a network of high-powered contacts during six years in the Cabinet, has a backbencher salary of just under £75,000. It is unclear what fee he can expect for speaking.
He is unlikely to hit the same heights as Mr Blair, who reputedly charges up to £200,000 a time. Gordon Brown is said to have been paid up to £70,000 for lectures, though the money goes to his charitable foundation.
Mr Osborne may feel he is worth more than former deputy PM Nick Clegg. The Lib Dem received £30,000 for a speech in Geneva in April, according to the parliamentary register of interests.