THE report in the Guardian, January 26, that the former Chancellor and local Tatton MP, George Osborne, is set to take on a £200,000 a year part time job with a US investment company will only further harden public cynicism towards Westminster politics.

While acting within the rules and legality of Parliamentary probity, and not the first to be paid as a consultant while remaining an MP, the further news that Mr Osborne is also taking up another paid position with Arizona State University stretches all credibility.

Already as an MP Mr Osborne receives £74,962 a year some 30 per cent more than the average household income in Tatton, plus generous expenses.

And however innovative he is with remote technology, it would be a considerable feat to be able to effectively represent his constituents while shuttling across the Atlantic between Phoenix, New York, Westminster and Tatton.

Perhaps the real scandal is the failed governance system over our public life that allows such practices to be tolerated.

Cllr Paul Dolan Northwich