George Osborne commits to Northern Powerhouse project

Former Chancellor George Osborne confirmed he will remain in Parliament to concentrate on the Northern Powerhouse and “fight for things that I care about”.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he was not ready to follow David Cameron, who resigned as MP of Whitney on Monday, out of politics.

“I don’t want to write my memoirs because I don’t know how the story ends and I want to hang around and find out.”

"There's an enormous opportunity now to take part in the decisions that are going to affect Britain... And I want to be there in ultimately, still the place where these decisions are made, the House of Commons, and be part of that decision-making process. Because I want to fight for the things that I care about."

The liberal, centrist, European

Osborne, in his first major interview since being sacked, positioned himself to the centre, in opposition to Theresa May’s government.

He said: “I will be championing ... the liberal mainstream majority of this country … who do not want to be governed from the extremes, who want Britain to be internationalists, outward-looking, free-trading, who want a socially just society. That is the cause that I believe in.”

Northern Powerhouse here to stay

The MP for Tatton said he was launching the Northern Powerhouse Partnership which would “now be a major focus of my political energies”.

The think-tank will aim to devolve powers and funds to the northern cities, and the board will include business and political figures from the North of England.

"The Northern Powerhouse is here to stay. To be honest, there was a little bit of a wobble about when we had the new administration about whether they were still committed to the concept of the Northern Powerhouse."

“We need to support economic development across the whole of the country. I sweated blood to get an [elected] mayor for Birmingham ... but in the north of England there is a particular opportunity.”

Prime Minister Theresa May

Osborne said he voted for May in the Conservative party leadership election as she was "the best person for the job of the candidates who put themselves forward" and that she had made a "strong start".

He denied he disliked May after former energy minister, Ed Davey said they had clashed in the cabinet.

“I have worked with Theresa for 20 years in opposition and in government. I think she is a person of real integrity and intelligence and frankly in a cabinet that included Ed Davey, she was one of the grownups.”

Grammar schools expansion

He also suggested he would resist plans for the revival of grammar schools, recently announced by the government.

“I have always thought with the debate about grammars that 80% of the political discussion is about where 20% of children go, when in fact we should be focusing on where 80% of the children go in a selective system.

“I think the real focus of education reform remains the academy programme, transforming the comprehensive schools that most people send their children to.”

EU referendum campaign

During the EU referendum campaign, Osborne campaigned to Remain and said he did not regret his economic warnings about the British economy post-Brexit.

“I definitely did not get right my judgement of the national mood. I don’t think I properly understood the alienation that many people felt, not just from the European Union, but the establishment. When it comes to economic warnings, I hope I am wrong. The forecasts were made in good faith.”