Osborne: I’m leaving – for now
GeORGe Osborne will step down as an MP to focus on his new role as a newspaper editor, he announced yesterday.
The former chancellor made clear he intends to continue to play an active role in public life and hinted at a future political comeback, saying he was leaving Parliament ‘for now’.
his comments will be seen as a warning to Theresa May – who sacked him when she became Prime Minister – that he is prepared to be a thorn in her side.
‘Our country has big decisions to make now about the kind of Britain we want to be. Those values of openness, tolerance, diversity, enterprise – they are values I hold dear,’ he told BBC News.
‘They are ones I fought for in government as chancellor, fought for in Parliament as the MP for Tatton, and now I am going to fight for them in the editor’s chair at the evening Standard.’
Mr Osborne has previously criticised Mrs May’s plans for Brexit for concentrating too much on controlling immigration at the expense of economic prosperity.
Mr Osborne told constituents he was looking forward to the new challenges he was facing.
‘I am stepping down from the house of Commons – for now. But I will remain active in the debate about our country’s future and on the issues I care about,’ he said.
‘At the age of 45, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life just being an ex-chancellor.’
Mr Osborne had faced intense criticism for taking on the job of editing a London newspaper while remaining MP for a northern constituency.
Since he was removed from office by Mrs May last year, Mr Osborne has declared almost £1million in speaking fees in the Register of Members’ Interests.
In addition, he will earn £650,000a-year working one day a week for US investment giant Blackrock while receiving £120,000 as a fellow at the McCain Institute in Washington DC. his salary at the Standard has not been disclosed.
his departure from Parliament comes after Mrs May made clear there would be no early return to frontline politics for Mr Osborne following his role in the Remain campaign, in which he was accused of exaggerating the dangers to the economy of Brexit.
THIS paper congratulates George Osborne on his honourable decision to stand down from Parliament – ‘for now’, he says. Gifted though he is, even he couldn’t be in six places at once.
Indeed, it never seemed feasible that he could fight elections and represent constituents while editing a newspaper in London, chairing the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, travelling the world’s public speaking circuit, teaching at a US university and earning his £650,000-a-year keep for his one day a week at the US hedge fund, BlackRock.
But though Superman he is not, he can still look back with pride on a remarkable record of public office for a man not yet 46.
Yes, he made many mistakes at the Treasury. But he set in train the UK’s steady economic recovery, while recalibrating the balance between a bloated public sector and underperforming private businesses.