New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Politics
  2. Media
9 March 2017

George Osborne cut disability benefits by £1,560 a year – now he earns 19 times that a week

The former Chancellor’s extracurricular salary is revealed.

By Media Mole

It’s a beautiful thing when a politician leaves the frontbench – taking their knowledge, experience and benevolence from public service to absolutely caning the private sector. Your mole almost admires their dedication to the stereotype.

And George Osborne had gone above and beyond the call of duty. The Mirror has calculated that he will put away at least £1.5m in his first year out of government office. That figure comes from:

  • His £650,000 salary from global hedge fund BlackRock, for which he has to do four days of work per month. Four days.
  • £786,450 in private speeches.
  • £120,212 for a year’s work with a McCain Institute project.
  • And that’s not even counting his MP’s salary of £74,962.

Compare this figure with his decision while Chancellor to cut £30 a week in the disability benefit Employment Support Allowance.

That’s a loss of £30 a week to claimants – around £1,560 a year. So Osborne will earn more than nineteen times more in a week (around £29,936, if we don’t even count his basic MP’s salary) than will be cut in ESA in a year.

Content from our partners
When partnerships pay off
Breaking down barriers for the next generation
How to tackle economic inactivity

Give a gift subscription to the New Statesman this Christmas from just £49