An MP as editor? It’s been done before – at The Spectator

What on earth does George Osborne know about journalism? How can someone with no journalistic experience go straight in as editor – editor! – of the London Evening Standard? What were its proprietors thinking? To have dinner with an MP is one thing, but to hire him as an editor? And what does this sacked politician know of the demands facing an editor in the digital era? How can he combine such a demanding job with his duties in parliament and towards his constituents in Tatton? If I wasn’t an editor, these might be a few of my reactions to the extraordinary news today. But much as I hate to admit it, this appointment might actually work.

I was rather rude about George Osborne throughout his frontbench career, and regarded him as a deeply disappointing Chancellor. But I will say that he is an unusually good writer, perceptive and funny. When he filed his