I HATE to say this about a fellow newspaper editor but I really hope that George Osborne fails miserably in his new job at the London Evening Standard.

This is not a job for an enthusiastic amateur who thinks he can combine it with myriad other responsibilities. 

His appointment has the potnetial to undermine the credibility of two fundamentally important elements of British life – its free press and its parliamentary democracy - both of which are already struggling to prove they are still relevant in 2017.

I have no personal axe to grind with the MP for Tatton. During my time as a business editor I interviewed him on factory floors at Stockton and Hartlepool and on one memorable occasion inside a train carriage at Newton Aycliffe where I handed him a copy of that day’s Northern Echo. Each time he was polite and willing to answer questions, albeit with the kind of glib responses most senior politicians trot out to local newspaper reporters. Perhaps George Osborne the journalist will have better luck than I did in interviewing George Osborne the politician. That might be the Standard’s first big exclusive under its new boss, he can hold himself to account in a no-holds-barred feature piece.

Therein lines another huge problem with this appointment. It raises serious conflicts of interests for the former chancellor, who is still a Conservative MP and already has several other influental jobs.

For example, he is a chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership. How on earth can he fight for what’s best for London, as he has told Standard staff he plans to do, and represent a constituency in the North West, and lead a northern regeneration body which is supposed to challenge the capital for jobs and investment?

For his role as advisor to the American fund management firm Blackrock he is understood to be paid £650,000 a year for working one day a week. Nice work if you can get it but does he seriously believe that representing the 65,000 voters in his constituency and serving the Standard’s 1.8 million online and print readers are also part-time jobs?

The fact is there are not enough hours in the day to be either a Member of Parliament or edit a newspaper, let alone do both.

On his first day in the newsroom Mr Osborne brushed away accusations that the two roles could not be combined, suggesting he could edit the Standard in the morning before popping over to the Commons to do a bit of that politics lark. His approach to life sounds like that of a gentleman MP of the 18th century, dabbling in whatever takes his fancy, taking nothing seriously, never fully committing himself to the community that pays his wages and deserves his full attention. 

Editors are more than mere figureheads. They need a firm grasp of defamation rules or they might find themselves in very hot water. As editor Mr Osborne will be held personally responsible if one of his reporters breaks libel laws. In some cases this could result in him being
arrested, charged, and even serving time in prison. Now that would be one heck of a story. 

The fear of making such a mistake gives all editors sleepless nights but Mr Osborne’s is likely to rely on the current roster of staff at the Standard to help him navigate the minefield of what you can and cannot print in a newspaper. That is hardly fair on what will undoubtedly be an already over-worked team of people who deserve to have a boss who doesn't need his hand holding.  

The newspaper industry is supposed to be riddled by bitter rivalries. The Sun battles the Mirror for readers and stories, and at a local level you might expect that The Northern Echo should regard the Gazette, Hartlepool Mail or The Journal as sworn enemies. In reality there is a camaraderie and mutual respect among most reporters and editors who recognise that this is an incredibly tough business, where the hours are long and the challenge to produce good quality papers and online content amid budget cuts and falling revenue makes it an almost impossible task.

Having had a glimpse of what it entails I would normally wish any rookie editor every success in their new role but unless Mr Osborne ditches his other responsibilities, resigns his seat in Parliament, and experiences what it’s like to be a proper, fully-committed, blood-and-guts editor, then I am afraid he will be regarded by the rest of the industry as a bit of a joke.

The Standard, its readers, and the newspaper industry in general deserve better than that.