Osborne, George (1971– )

UK Conservative Party politician, shadow chancellor of the exchequer from 2005. He holds traditional conservative and Eurosceptic views but recognizes the need for the Conservative Party, after three general election defeats, to modernize in order to broaden its appeal to voters. A former political adviser to former party leader William Hague, he defeated the independent incumbent, Martin Bell, in Tatton, Cheshire, in the May 2001 general election to become the youngest Conservative MP.

Born in London, he studied history at Oxford University and, after briefly working as a freelance journalist, joined the Conservative Research Department in 1994, becoming head of its political section. From 1995 to 1997 he was special adviser at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food and worked in the Political Office at 10 Downing Street. He was political secretary to William Hague 1997–2001.