Osborne roles spark second-jobs review
THE rules on MPs taking second jobs could be changed after George Osborne’s appointment as editor of the London Evening Standard, the chairman of the country’s chief standards watchdog said.
The former chancellor will take up his role at the newspaper in May and said he intends to carry on representing Tatton – 190 miles from London in Cheshire – in Parliament.
But the chairman of the Committee of Standards in Public Life told the Sunday Times the body would discuss whether the rules on second jobs now need to be changed.
Lord Bew said: “We have not ruled out MPs having second jobs, quite deliberately, up until now, but we now have to look again at our rules. We are going to discuss whether our rules on second jobs need to be changed in light of this.
“We had something that up to a degree worked. It now seems to be getting into rockier waters.”
Lord Bew said the editor role did not fit the current policy on second jobs, but stressed the issue was “not personal” to Mr Osborne.
However the case raised the “issue of how much time MPs have to devote to parliamentary work”.
SNP MP Tommy Sheppard said: “You cannot edit the Evening Standard and represent your constituents in any meaningful sense.
“How many votes would you miss in the Commons, for example? It beggars belief.”