The owner of the Evening Standard has said George Osborne will provide a more effective opposition to the Government than the embattled Labour Party when he assumes his new role as editor.
The former Chancellor surprised his colleagues and sent shockwaves rippling down Fleet Street when he was announced as the new editor of the paper, his fifth paid position after being an MP.
His surprise appointment has raised a number of concerns, namely over issues arising over conflicts of interest and how he will serve his constituents in Tatton.
Mr Osborne has insisted he will be able to balance both roles because the Evening Standard is an afternoon paper edited in the morning and Parliament votes in the afternoon. He said the paper will be “fearless and independent in our approach” and would focus on what is best for London and Londoners.
Evgeny Lebedev, the proprietor of the title, The Independent and London Live, responded to criticism from what he described as the “sad old commentariat” on Saturday by urging: “Wait and see his paper before judging.”
He tweeted:
“Tories saying he will criticise the Government now. Labour say he is a Tory stooge. So, which is it?!
“Frankly @George_Osborne will provide more effective opposition to the Government than the current Labour Party.
“And will stand up for the interests of London and Londoners.”
I know there’s a lot for me to learn
Mr Osborne arrived at the Standard’s offices on Friday to make the announcement to staff, where he conceded he would need their skills and input, telling them: “I may have run the country, but I haven’t run a newspaper.”
“I know there’s a lot for me to learn,” he added. “I start with that attitude.”
On Saturday, former Downing Street advisor Rohan Silva told BBC Radio 4 Mr Osborne applied for the role after being asked for advice from friends hoping to the apply for the editorship position.
“He said people had been calling him up asking him for advice on whether they should vie for the editorship job, and after a few of these calls he sort of thought to himself ‘hang on, this is something I really want to do’.”
Mr Osborne also earns £650,000 a year as an advisor for the investment firm BlackRock. He is now facing calls to quit his role as an MP and the Shadow Minister Andrew Gwynne has written to John Manzoni, the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office asking Mr Manzoni to look into whether Mr Osborne has breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct for not referring his new role to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) before accepting the position of editor.
The right thing to do with editors is always to say ‘yes sir’
But it wasn’t all scepticism and criticism for Mr Obsorne. The Times cautiously welcomed his appointment, as did fellow Tory MP and columnist for The Times Michael Gove. “I welcome high-quality recruits to the world of journalism, as a professional journalist myself,” Mr Gove told the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai. “And so, I wish George well.
“The thing is, I’m a columnist rather than an editor, so I know that the right thing to do with editors is always to say ‘yes sir’ and the columnists should concentrate on their own particular role.”
This is part of an email sent to ESI Media staff on Friday morning as the announcement was made:
George Osborne said: “This is such an exciting and challenging job and I’m thrilled to take it on. The Evening Standard is a great paper, testimony to the hard work of Sarah Sands and the impressive team, and to the investment of its owners. I look forward to working with, learning from and leading this team of dedicated professionals.
“Growing up as a Londoner, I’ve always known that the Evening Standard is an institution that plays a huge part in the life of the city and its people. Now it is a great honour that I can play a part as leader of the editorial team making the Evening Standard the definitive voice of the world’s most exciting city. “I am proud to be a Conservative MP, but as editor and leader of a team of dedicated and independent journalists, our only interest will be to give a voice to all Londoners. We will be fearless as a paper fighting for their interests. We will judge what the government, London’s politicians and the political parties do against this simple test: is it good for our readers and good for London? If it is, we’ll support them. If it isn’t, we’ll be quick to say so.”
Additional reporting by the Press Association
