After all that you have read over the recent days about my new role as editor of the Evening Standard, I want to talk directly to you, my constituents.
It is the greatest honour to be your Member of Parliament, elected by you to represent our community here in Cheshire and take part in the national debate about the great issues Britain faces.
For sixteen years I have done that - thanks to your growing support at each election - and with your help we have achieved some major successes. We've stopped the closure of the A&E Department at Macclesfield District Hospital, not once but twice. We've got the Alderley Edge bypass built, after people had been trying for 70 years. We've improved the direct train services, got great new facilities for our academy schools, and brought new businesses and new jobs to the area. Throughout that time I've been able to help countless local people privately with their individual problems in the surgeries I've held and the efforts of my hard-working team in the office.
For almost all of those sixteen years, I have also held prominent positions in the public life of the country. For five years I was Shadow Chancellor. For these last six years I was Chancellor of the Exchequer. It was a real privilege to hold one of the great offices of state but it is also one of the most demanding jobs in the country - working dawn to dusk, and on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Throughout that time I was there for you as your local MP.
Now I have left Downing Street I want to continue to take part in the debate about the future direction of our country. No longer being Chancellor gives me time to do that in other ways - yes, in the Chamber of the House of Commons; but also as the editor of a major newspaper, the Evening Standard. There is a long tradition of politics and journalism mixing. One of the greatest newspaper editors ever, CP Scott, combined editing the Manchester Guardian with being an MP. In our age, politicians from Iain Macleod and Richard Crossman to, of course, Boris Johnson have combined the role of editor and Member of Parliament.
Meanwhile the hard work in the constituency continues unaffected. Take this week alone. I've been helping the schools in Cheshire get a fairer deal out of the proposed new funding formula. I'll be helping to officially open the new A556 link road - badly needed for decades, yet only delivered now because of my campaign and our collective hard work. I'll be at the opening of another new business here, speaking at a fundraising dinner for a great local charity and holding my regular constituency surgery. It is all in a week's work as your MP.
I will also be in Manchester to promote our efforts to build the Northern Powerhouse - a concept I launched two years ago and which it is one of my jobs now to promote through the new partnership we have created. Nothing has greater potential to improve the opportunities for the future in this area than that Northern Powerhouse
I believe this diversity of experience makes our Parliament stronger. I hope you agree and I look forward to continuing to hear what you have to say and to work with you on the problems we face and the great future we can all build.
Best wishes, George.
Comments
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You had 1800 people doing the work for you; a retinue of expert advisors; you were chauffeur driven; given a nice pied a` terre in London and a summer residence; you were give £145,698.31 in expenses in 2015/16; when you got the sack you could fall back on your £74,962 MP's salary; you will in time receive a taxpayer funded 'gold plated pension'; even though you are treating your constituents with utter contempt by cramming constituency business into your lunch hour, as you pursue your other interests you cannot be sacked.
You are so far far removed from reality you have no idea what a demanding job is. You have been given the title Right Honourable. Being a constituency MP is an honourable undertaking and you are bringing your profession into disrepute, so I propose that you should drop the honourable bit from your title. That would leave you as simply The Right George Osborne. However, given that you and your pool of 'experts' were totally wrong about the economic impacts of a Brexit vote, you can hardly be called 'Right'. So I suggest you revert to the simpler Mr George Osborne. Go to London. Do a proper job like edit a newspaper and allow us to elect somebody who cares about us and where we live and will put 100% of their energies into doing what is right for Tatton.
If you have a scrap of honour left, you will go.
and great comments from Vic Barlow in his column.
Osborne just doesn't get it, does he ?
He and Cameroon couldn't be bothered to even consider the alternative plan if they lost Brexit, so why is he telling us how well he's done ?
If he had any decency, he'd resign from the Tatton Constituency immediately.
I understand Michael Foot was once Editor of the London Evening Standard many years ago.
That says a lot, and so does the backing he's had from Michael Heseltine and Tony Blair when Osborne first announced his appointment as Editor.
Who would want those two complimenting you ?
However, the comments from Malcolm and Vic just about sum up Osborne.
It is time for him to resign, he misread opinion on Brexit and he's doing the same about his job situation.
I have not received a reply or even an acknowledgement. Under normal circumstances I would go to my MP and ask him to take the BBC to task on this (they have a duty to respond to complaints).
Yes that's right. I have to go to an anti-Brexit head of a London centric media organisation and ask him to take to task an anti-Brexit London centric media organisation. I hardly think he will have the inclination even if he did have the time in between all of his other extra-curricular activities. By the way, we are funding both of them.
It looks like I'm going to ask that chap on LBC who used to be in politics to see if I can get a reply from the BBC. What a sorry state of affairs.