The constituents of Tatton in Cheshire, who live 136.4 miles away from London, are surely right to be questioning George Osborne’s commitment to the area. Particularly as they claim that they only ever see him when he is on the box and, even without a second, third or fourth job, they rarely, if ever, see him on their local streets.
Many of you will remember the fate of King Midas who grew so fond of his gold that he loved it more than anything else in the world and, fated with the Midas touch, even turned his beloved daughter Marigold into a golden statue. Perhaps that is why avarice is one of the seven deadly sins! Many MPs I know are altruistic, and put the needs of the people whom they represent over and above those of their own, but this is obviously not something that can be said of them all…
George Osborne earns £74,962 a year as an MP. He was the best-paid MP of 2016, raking in a further £628, 000 from his part time job as advisor to city asset management firm Blackrock and from lucrative speaking gigs on behalf of the Washington Speaker Bureau (which also employs Tony Blair!)
Most of us find it more than enough to stay on top of one job. So George must be eating a lot of Popeye’s spinach or, like Superman, has the benefit of powers from an alien planet, as he is now claiming that he has enough capacity to also become Editor of The London Evening Standard.
How can one man have so many jobs that require such attention and commitment? Is his greed clouding his already questionable judgement? Or is he just contributing everything that he can to those who wish to work with him?
With so many MPs accused of getting behind Project Fear recently, has George brought a new issue to the fore…Project Greed?