George Osborne

The Right Honourable
 George Osborne 
MP

Incumbent
Assumed office 
12 May 2010
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Alistair Darling
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
5 May 2005 – 11 May 2010
Leader Michael Howard
David Cameron
Preceded by Oliver Letwin
Succeeded by Alistair Darling
Member of Parliament
for Tatton
Incumbent
Assumed office 
7 June 2001
Preceded by Martin Bell
Majority 11,731 (28.3%)
Born 23 May 1971 (1971-05-23) (age 39)
Paddington, United Kingdom
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Frances Howell
Residence 11 Downing Street (Official)
Alma mater Magdalen College, Oxford
Website Official website
Constituency website

The Rt Hon. George Gideon Oliver Osborne[1] MP (born 23 May 1971) is a British Conservative politician. He is currently the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role he was appointed to in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.

Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in Ireland as the Ascendancy. He is the heir to the Osborne baronetcy (of Ballentaylor in County Tipperary).[2][3]

He was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, before becoming a Conservative researcher, and then an MP.

Contents

Early life and family

Osborne is the eldest son of four children and heir of Sir Peter Osborne, 17th Baronet, who co-founded the firm of fabric and wallpapers designers, Osborne & Little.[4][5]

Originally named Gideon, he changed his name to George when he was 13. In an interview in July 2005, Osborne said: "It was my small act of rebellion. I never liked it. When I finally told my mother she said, 'Nor do I'. So I decided to be George after my grandfather, who was a war hero. Life was easier as a George; it was a straightforward name."[6]

Education

Osborne was educated at two independent schools in west London: at Norland Place School in Holland Park and St Paul's School in Barnes (near Hammersmith),[7] followed by Magdalen College at the University of Oxford, where he received a 2:1 in Modern History.[5] At Oxford he edited the university's Isis magazine,[8] and was a member of the infamous Bullingdon Club.[8] He also attended Davidson College in North Carolina for a semester as a Dean Rusk Scholar.[9]

Working

Osborne's first job was to provide data entry services to the National Health Service to record the names of people who had died in London.[10] He also briefly worked for Selfridges. He originally intended to pursue a career in journalism, but instead got a job at Conservative Central Office.[10]

Political career

He joined the Conservative Research Department in 1994 and became head of the Political Section. Between 1995 and 1997 he worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food as special advisor to minister Douglas Hogg (during the BSE crisis) and worked in the Political Office at 10 Downing Street. Between 1997 and 2001, he worked for then Conservative leader William Hague as a speech writer and Political Secretary. In this role he helped prepare Hague for the weekly session of Prime Minister's Questions, often playing the role of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Under the successive leaderships of Michael Howard and David Cameron he remained on the Prime Minister's Questions team.

Member of Parliament

Elected as the Member of Parliament for Tatton, Cheshire, in June 2001, he succeeded the Independent MP Martin Bell, who had famously defeated the controversial former Conservative minister Neil Hamilton at the 1997 election. Osborne won with a majority of 8,611, becoming (at that time) the youngest Conservative MP in the House of Commons. At the 2005 election, he was re-elected with an increased majority of 11,731 (51.8% of the vote) and in 2010 increased his majority still further to 14,487.

Shadow Cabinet

Osborne speaking at a podium, gesturing with his hands.
George Osborne at Conservative Spring Forum 2006 in Manchester.

In September 2004, Osborne was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Following the 2005 general election, he was promoted to Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer at the young age of 33 by the then-Conservative Party leader Michael Howard. His appointment to such a senior shadow cabinet post at such a young age surprised many Conservative MPs. Howard had in fact initially offered the post to William Hague, who turned it down. Press reports suggest that Howard's second choice for the post was in fact David Cameron, who also rejected the job as he preferred to take on a major public service portfolio (he was made Shadow Education Secretary). Thus Howard turned to Osborne as his third choice for the role.[11] His promotion prompted speculation he would run for leadership of the Conservative Party when Howard stepped down, but he ruled himself out within a week.[12] Osborne served as campaign manager for David Cameron's leadership campaign, and kept the Shadow Chancellor's post when Cameron became leader later that year.

Osborne's close friendship with Cameron has led to comparisons with the relationship between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in the Labour Party in the mid-1990s. Responding to this comparison at the LSE in February 2006, Osborne said that there had been "no deal" between him and Cameron and he has repeatedly denied ambitions beyond the Chancellorship. Asked whether or not he would be willing to sack a close colleague such as Osborne, Cameron stated, "With George, the answer is yes. He stayed in my shadow cabinet not because he is a friend, not because we are godfathers to each other's children but because he is the right person to do the job. I know and he knows that if that was not the case he would not be there."[13]

Osborne has expressed an interest in the ideas of "tax simplification" (including the idea of flat tax). He set up a "Tax Reform Commission" in October 2005 to investigate ideas for how to create a "flatter, simpler" tax system. The system then proposed would reduce the income tax rate to a flat 22%, and increase personal allowance from £4,435 to £10,000-£15,500. The idea of a flat tax is not included in the current Conservative party manifesto.[14]

Each year between 2006 and 2009, Osborne attended the annual Bilderberg Conference, a meeting of influential people in business, finance and politics.[15]

Comments on Gordon Brown

During Osborne's response to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's Pre-Budget Report on 5 December 2005, Osborne accused Brown of being "a Chancellor past his sell by date, a Chancellor holding Britain back". In an interview the same week, he also referred to Brown as 'brutal' and 'unpleasant'.[16] In October 2006 Osborne was rebuked by the Speaker of the House of Commons when he attacked the Chancellor at Oral Questions to the Chancellor by citing a comment attributed to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions John Hutton, describing the Chancellor as likely to make an 'effing awful' Prime Minister.[17] It was widely suggested that Osborne was leading an assault on Brown which would allow the Conservatives to discredit him without damaging David Cameron's public image.[17][18][19] Osborne faced criticism from some quarters for appearing to suggest that Brown was "faintly autistic". After talking about his ability to recall odd facts in an interview, a host suggested that Osborne may have been "faintly autistic"; Osborne responded by saying that "We're not getting onto Gordon Brown yet".[20]

"Run on the pound"

On 14 November 2008, in an intervention described by the BBC's Nick Robinson as "pretty extraordinary",[21] Osborne spoke out warning that the more the government borrows the less attractive sterling becomes. He said: "We are in danger, if the government is not careful, of having a proper sterling collapse, a run on the pound." Labelling Gordon Brown's tactic as a "scorched-earth policy", which a future Conservative government would have to clear up, Osborne continued: "His view is he probably won't win the next election. The Tories can clear this mess up after I've gone."[21] Lord Kalms, a prominent supporter of David Davis in the 2005 leadership election, told the BBC that former shadow home secretary David Davis would be more appropriate as shadow chancellor.[21]

The Deripaska claim

In October 2008, financier Nat Rothschild claimed that George Osborne had tried to solicit a £50,000 donation from the Russian aluminium magnate Oleg Deripaska, which would have been a violation of the law against political donations by foreign citizens.[22] The Electoral Commission received a formal complaint initiated in a letter by the Liberal Democrats' Home Affairs Spokesman, Chris Huhne, requesting them to investigate the claims against Osborne, the Commission rejected the claims and said it saw "no information" suggesting an offence.[23][24]

Expenses

In 2009, he received criticism for the way he had handled his expenses, after he was found to have "flipped" his second home,[25] changing which property he designated as his second home in order to pay less capital gains tax. The Lib Dems estimated he owed £55,000 to the public purse as a result of this.[26] He had previously paid back £1,193 on overpayments on his mortgage and chauffeur fares[27] after a complaint from a Labour activist, and it also emerged that he had claimed £47 for two copies of a DVD of his own speech on "value for taxpayers' money".[28] Parliament's standards commissioner's report found that although Mr Osborne had breached the rules the offence was "unintended and relatively minor". Osborne had been told at the time by the Fees Office that his claims would be within the rules. "We entirely accept that Mr Osborne derived no significant benefit from them," the report added. The BBC's Political Correspondent Iain Watson said the repayment was relatively small in comparison with those made by some other MPs and would not be regarded as politically damaging.[29]

2010 general election campaign

During the 2010 general election campaign, Osborne was considered to have been sidelined due to his perceived unpopularity and the perception as a 'weak link' by both the Liberal Democrat and Labour strategists.[30] According to records on the Conservative website Osborne made just two campaign speeches in the first three weeks of the campaign, because he was perceived as a major weakness in the Shadow Cabinet.[31] It was also publicly stated by successful entrepreneurs that Osborne has "no economic or business background" [32]

Political views

The Financial Times describes Osborne as "metropolitan and socially liberal. He is hawkish on foreign policy with links to Washington neo-conservatives and ideologically committed to cutting the state. A pragmatic Eurosceptic".[33] There is evidence of this commitment to cutting the state in his party's manifesto, with Mr Osborne and the Conservatives seeking to cut the deficit "faster and deeper" than any other main party as well as committing to various tax cuts such as inheritance tax and national insurance. According to a recent IFS report,[34] the Conservatives would have to find more money from cuts beyond what they have already outlined than any other major party, although the report was also critical of Labour and the Lib Dems.

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Osborne was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer on 12 May 2010 and as per custom with Cabinet Minsters, was sworn in as a Privy Counsellor the next day.[35]

On 24 May 2010, he outlined £6.2bn cuts. Among the bigger savings for this financial year outlined by Osborne were £683m at the Department for Transport, £780m at Communities and Local Government, £836m at Business, £670m at Education and £325m Department for Justice. Osborne said: "We simply cannot afford to increase public debt at the rate of £3bn each week. Our huge public debts threatened financial stability and if left unchecked would derail the economic recovery." He continued saying "Public borrowing is only taxation deferred and it would be deeply irresponsible to continue to accumulate vast debts that would have to be paid off by our children, and our grand children for many decades to come."[36]

In July 2010 Osborne seeking cuts of up to 25 per cent across Whitehall as part of the austerity drive he is imposing to tackle the deficit, taking on the £20 billion cost of building four new submarines to bear Trident would require a severe reduction in the rest of the MoD budget. the Chancellor insisted that Trident had to be considered as part of the MoD’s core funding. He said: “The Trident costs, I have made it absolutely clear, are part of the defence budget.” He warned that if Trident was considered core funding, there would have to be severe restrictions in the way that Britain operated militarily, amid suggestions that regiments could be axed, or, potentially, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy amalgamated. Liam Fox said: "To take the capital cost would make it very difficult to maintain what we are currently doing in terms of capability."[37]

Personal life

Osborne married The Hon. Frances Howell, author and elder daughter of former Conservative Cabinet Minister Lord Howell of Guildford, on 4 April 1998. The couple have two children, Luke Benedict, born in 2001, and Liberty Kate, born in 2003.[10][38]

He has an estimated personal fortune of around £4 million, as the beneficiary of a trust fund that owns a 15-per-cent stake in Osborne & Little, the wallpaper-and-fabrics company co-founded by his father, Peter Osborne.[39][40][41]

Styles

See also

References

  1. ↑ House of Commons Hansard, 19 May 2010, Column 10
  2. ↑ "George Osbourne and the Hoares: Top Tory who wants to look after our money puts his in haven for super-rich". The Mirror. 4 October 2009. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/10/04/george-and-the-hoares-115875-21720824/. Retrieved 6 October 2009. 
  3. ↑ "George Osborne and William Hague". Evening Standard. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/related-10117-17013-george-osborne-william-hague.do. Retrieved 10 May 2010. 
  4. ↑ Tozer, James (17 February 2010), "George Osborne's doctor brother 'prescribed drug to cocaine-addict prostitute who wasn't his patient'", The Daily Mail (London), http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1251406/George-Osbornes-doctor-brother-prescribed-Pill-Muslim-girlfriend-telling-GP.html, retrieved 19 March 2010 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 White, Michael; Boles, Nick (8 October 2009). "Britain's Top 10 Tories". The Guardian (London: Guardian Media Group). http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/gallery/2009/oct/08/conservatives-toryconference-top-10?picture=353948131. Retrieved 23 February 2010. 
  6. ↑ Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson (22 July 2005). "The future belongs to us, predicts Tory party's young star". The Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1494588/The-future-belongs-to-us-predicts-Tory-partys-young-star.html. Retrieved 23 August 2009. 
  7. ↑ Ross, Tim (7 November 2008). "St Paul's School in £150m rebuild". Evening Standard. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23583566-st-pauls-school-in-150m-rebuild.do. Retrieved 10 January 2010. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Oxford 1992: Portrait of a 'classless' Tory". Daily Mail (London). 7 April 2007. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-447223/Oxford-1992-Portrait-classless-Tory.html. Retrieved 22 November 2008. 
  9. ↑ http://daybook.davidson.edu/?p=1634
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "The George Osborne Supremacy". Daily Mail (London). 21 September 2008. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/moslive/article-1056606/Its-wife-arranges-mortgage-admits-George-Osborne--Chancellor-waiting.html. Retrieved 21 September 2008. 
  11. ↑ Watt, Nicholas (12 May 2005). "Hague rejects post of shadow chancellor". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/may/12/conservatives.whitehall. Retrieved 4 May 2008. 
  12. ↑ "Osborne will not enter Tory race". BBC News. 20 May 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4564605.stm. Retrieved 22 April 2007. 
  13. ↑ Greig, Geordie (6 November 2009). "David Cameron: Would I sack George Osborne? Yes absolutely if I have to...". Evening Standard. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23765406-david-cameron-would-i-sack-george-osborne-yes-absolutely-if-i-have-to.do. Retrieved 6 November 2009. 
  14. ↑ "Flat tax inventor turns critic". BBC News. 10 October 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4325866.stm. Retrieved 16 April 2010. 
  15. ↑ "Register of Members' Interests – George Osborne". TheyWorkForYou. http://www.theyworkforyou.com/regmem/?p=11145. Retrieved 16 April 2010. 
  16. ↑ Cathy Newman (2 December 2005). "Shadow chancellor attacks 'brutal' Brown". Financial Times. https://registration.ft.com/registration/barrier?referer=http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=unpleasant+and+brutal+and+brown+and+osborne+&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&location=http%3A//news.ft.com/cms/s/3dbad21e-6378-11da-be11-0000779e2340.html. Retrieved 19 November 2007. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Treasury questions". Hansard. 26 October 2006 : Column 1637. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/cm061026/debtext/61026-0001.htm#06102646000012. Retrieved 19 November 2007. 
  18. ↑ Derek Draper (21 August 2006). "Cameron's boot boys". Guardian Unlimited (London). http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/derek_draper/2006/08/camerons_boot_boys.html. Retrieved 19 November 2007. 
  19. ↑ Philip Webster (5 December 2005). "New era will begin with attack on Brown's record". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article745905.ece. Retrieved 19 November 2007. 
  20. ↑ ""Osborne's Autism Jibe Criticised"". BBC News. 2 October 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5399072.stm. Retrieved 31 March 2010. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "Osborne fears sterling collapse". BBC News Online. 15 November 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7730803.stm. Retrieved 15 November 2008. 
  22. ↑ "Leading article: The flawed judgement of a shadow Chancellor". London: The Independent. 22 October 2008. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-the-flawed-judgement-of-a-shadow-chancellor-968549.html. Retrieved 23 November 2009. 
  23. ↑ Huhne donor probe call rejected BBC News, 23 October 2008
  24. ↑ Huhne calls for Investigation of George Osborne Sky News, 23 October 2008
  25. ↑ Brown, David (11 June 2009). "George Osborne 'flipped' second home to claim for £450,000 loan". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6474725.ece. Retrieved 11 June 2009. 
  26. ↑ Kite, Melissa (13 June 2009). "'MPs' expenses: George Osborne 'must be made to pay' say Lib Dems'". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5526823/MPs-expenses-George-Osborne-must-be-made-to-pay-say-Lib-Dems.html. Retrieved 13 June 2009. 
  27. ↑ "'MPs' expenses: The table of paybacks'". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5581534/MPs-expenses-The-table-of-paybacks.html. Retrieved 18 June 2009. 
  28. ↑ "'Tatton MP George Osborne claimed £47 expenses for DVDs of his speech on "value for taxpayers' money"'". http://www.knutsfordguardian.co.uk/news/4446313.Osborne_claimed___47_for_DVDs_of_his_speech_on__value_for_taxpayers__money_/. Retrieved 18 June 2009. 
  29. ↑ "'Osborne agrees to repay £1,936 after expenses breach'". BBC News. 21 January 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8466921.stm. Retrieved 21 January 2010. 
  30. ↑ Tall, Stephen. "'Where's George Osborne? I'm curious'". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/07/general-election-2010-georgeosborne. Retrieved 28 April 2009. 
  31. ↑ "'Conservative Party News'". http://www.conservatives.com/News/SpeechList.aspx?SearchType=NewsAuthor&SearchTerm=e13c8b46-fe2e-47fb-8efd-ff04f9d95f2e. Retrieved 28 April 2009. 
  32. ↑ "'George and the Dragon'". The Sun. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/money/2836607/James-Caan-asks-George-Osborne-about-Chancellor-job.html. Retrieved 12 May 2010. 
  33. ↑ A Conservative Who's Who FT.com
  34. ↑ General Election 2010: Parties misleading voters over deficit, warns think tank IFS Yahoo! Finance, 27 April 2010
  35. ↑ "Privy Council appointments, 13 May 2010". Privy Council. http://www.privy-council.org.uk/files/other/13th%20May2010%20List.doc. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
  36. ↑ George Osborne outlines detail of £6.2bn spending cuts BBC News, 24 May 2010
  37. ↑ George Osborne: Trident is not exempt from budget cuts
  38. ↑ Hon. Frances Victoria Howell, thePeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p28260.htm#i282592, retrieved 23 February 2010 
  39. ↑ The George Osborne Supremacy By Jon Wilde, Daily Mail, 21 September 2008
  40. ↑ Samira Shackle, Stephanie Hegarty and George Eaton (1 October 2009). "The new ruling class". New Statesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2009/10/oxford-universitywealth-school. Retrieved 10 January 2010. 
  41. ↑ Glen Owen The coalition of millionaires: 23 of the 29 member of the new cabinet are worth more than £1m... and the Lib Dems are just as wealthy as the Tories Mail on Sunday 23 May 2010

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