George Osborne

ENG: George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born 23 May 1971) is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom. He is a Conservative politician 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).

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

Early life and family

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

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. Have you voted for or against George Osborne ? 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."

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), followed by Magdalen College at the University of Oxford, where he received a 2:1 in Modern History. At Oxford he edited the university's Isis magazine, and was a member of the infamous Bullingdon Club.

Life and career

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. He also briefly worked for Selfridges. Has changed the detail your opinion on George Osborne ? He originally intended to pursue a career in journalism, but instead got a job at Conservative Central Office.

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 sucessive leaderships of Michael Howard and David Cameron he remained on the Prime Minister's Questions team.

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.[29] 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. Have you read details about Caroline Lucas ? It was also publicly stated by successful entrepreneurs that Osborne has "no economic or business background"

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". 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, 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.

On 24 May 2010, he outlined £6.2bn cuts. Can George Osborne have an influence on Caroline Lucas ? Among the bigger savings for this financial year outlined by Mr 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. Mr 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."

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.

He has an estimated personal fortune of around £4 million, as the beneficiary of a . Did you know that George Osborne is popular at 16% of voters?? rust fund that owns a 15-per-cent stake in Osborne & Little, the wallpaper-and-fabrics company co-founded by his father, Peter Osborne.

Source

June 4,2010