This week we asked our jury members for their thoughts on George Osborne taking the job of editor at the Evening Standard, which he will do alongside his work as an MP.

Make sure you tell us your thoughts in the comment box below.

 

Mark John, co-admin for the Facebook group We Love Bracknell

Bracknell News:

His constituents deserve more and we know about that kind of thing around here don't we? Having been prescribed our own 'Doctor Who?' of an MP courtesy of Conservative HQ - only for him to be largely missing in action ever since. I despise Osborne and think his intentions are motivated by his ego and bank balance, and his friends' egos and bank balances. That is not the face of a man who cares about the people. I take the point that MPs can do stuff on the side to build a national reputation but this guy along with his cronies have inflicted enough damage on the country by taking us down a rabbit hole of lies for cuts, which were, unnecessarily deep and too fast to cope with. The fact he's still chasing power over the way the electorate thinks makes me shudder.

 

Ed Glasson, Secretary, Unite Bracknell Branch.

Bracknell News:

It's par for the course nowadays I guess. Keir Hardie, Labour's first MP, an enduring Labour hero, took only as much pay as an MP as his constituents might earn in order to keep close to the people he served.

Two Labour MPs, Terry Fields and Dave Nellist, tried that in the 80s and were soon expelled from their party and thus prevented from standing again for Labour.

They were 'militants', 'hard left', you see. Pity there aren't more of them, say I. George Osborne, likewise, wants to keep close to the people he serves. He's on £650,000 for 48 days a year as a 'global adviser' for Black Rock Investments, plus £780,000 over the past six months for 14 speeches, £120,000 a year as a US "think-tank" adviser, plus £44,000 a year in dividends from the family business and £74,000 a year as an MP.

That's more than £1.6 million before taking into account his book deal and his new four mornings a week job at the Standard.

He'll shortly be pulling well over £2 million a year. But it will keep him close to the people he most loves and lives to serve - his fellow filthy rich!

 

Robert Ellison of Chapmans in Sunningdale

Bracknell News:

While I have no issue with George Osborne taking on the role of editor of the Evening Standard, I am concerned that he will not be able to dedicate himself to both this job and that of serving MP for a constituency just under 200 miles from Westminster.

How successful he is another matter. I know that it is hugely demanding and will take far more time than he will be able to dedicate.

From another view point when an individual stands and represents his constituency as their MP I feel that he should dedicate himself as much as he is able. In this case he is spreading himself too thin.

Maybe he is preparing himself for a permanent role outside of politics as I can't see him getting further with his political ambitions and he's only 45.

 

Jonjo Maudsley, an advertising copywriter from Winkfield.

Bracknell News:

Lots of families are now working multiple jobs to meet the cost of living and I think it’s very brave of Gideon to show solidarity with working families. It certainly sets a powerful example to the rest of us, that if you want to make ends meet all you need to do is become an MP, a senior adviser at Black Rock and editor of a newspaper with an 11million circulation.