Former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has been noticeably quiet since his removal from the cabinet last summer, but he has caused a stir with many after confirmation of his move into the Media industry. From May 2017, Osborne is to become editor of the London Evening Standard newspaper. Immediately, it has raised questions over his integrity and viability to continue his role as a Tory MP.
Mr Osborne, who serves the Tatton constituency in Cheshire, will edit the free paper four days a week and insists he can maintain both jobs. Others in politics are unsure.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called the appointment a "joke," whilst former leader of the opposition, Ed Miliband joked on Twitter that he would "shortly be announced as editor of Heat magazine!"
So, does George have to choose between the two?
A busy man
Osborne gets paid nearly £75,000 a year to serve the people of Tatton and according to reports, he could be paid £200,000 a year in his editor role with the London Evening Standard. However, these aren't the only roles he has at the moment. He holds four other jobs including a lucrative position as an adviser for the BlackRock Investment Institute. It is clear that he is a man in demand.
Osborne has represented his constituency since 2001 and was a major part of David Cameron's Conservative government that first swept back into Downing Street in 2010 via a coalition, then by a majority five years later.
Cameron's determination to hold an EU referendum though backfired for both. When Britain decided to leave the European Union last July, Cameron resigned as Prime Minister and Osborne was quickly discarded from his position by new PM Theresa May. Philip Hammond is the current Chancellor of the Exchequer in the post-Brexit era.
Evening Standard figurehead
The London Evening Standard was founded 189 years ago and its current headquarters are in Kensington in the capital. In October 2009, the paper became a free service, ending its almost two centuries of being a paid circulation tabloid. Immediately, readership figures were doubled as the business reacted quickly to the swift movement in how the average individual consumes its news in the 21st century.
63% of the business is owned by Russian Evgeny Lebedev, who was the one who broke the news of Osborne's move into the editor's chair for the paper. He will succeed Sarah Sands who is leaving to become editor of BBC Radio 4's flagship show; The 'Today' programme.
Osborne wouldn't be a novice by any stretch. His early ambitions were to break into the world of journalism and he edited magazines whilst at Oxford University. However, he failed to get a place on The Times' trainee scheme following graduation and has since largely gone down the politics route.
Lebedev is excited by the appointment, insisting that Osborne is "London through and through" and confident he is "the right person to build on the fantastic legacy of Sarah Sands." Sands has been the paper's editor since 2012.
It looks like George Osborne's initial ambitions of succeeding in media are set to come true but it has certainly caused a talking point away from Brexit and Scottish referendum discussion. Whether he can juggle both positions will be an interesting side-story in the next few months.
