The extraordinary news that George Osborne is to become the new editor of the Evening Standard has sent the twittering classes into an uproar.

The news was not so much entirely unexpected as unlikely in the extreme; Osborne remains a serving member of Parliament, has numerous well-paid additional roles in advising financial corporations and has pledged his adherence to the Northern Powerhouse so many times that one wonders if even he is sick of it.

Therefore it seems the most bizarre of moves, especially as he has pledged to continue his career as an MP. Apparently he will be able to edit London’s major paper in the morning and conduct Parliamentary business in the afternoon, which will at least give ammunition to those who have always claimed that being an MP is a part-time job at best.