On the same day the Chancellor comes under extreme scrutiny for next year's Budget, George Osborne has chosen to join Twitter, the site where he can be directly heckled by members of the public.
The Chancellor is tweeting under the account @George_Osborne as a number of parody accounts are already set up for the minister, including Giddy George Osborne (@Gideon_Osboner), Dead George Osborne (@OsborneDead, whose biography states "trekking through Hades") and @ChancellorEx.
Yes, the man who managed to evict pantomime-style boos at the feel-good paralympics has joined Twitter, and has already sent his first tweet, writing: "Today I'll present a Budget that tackles the economy's problems head on helping those who want to work hard & get on" and posted a picture of him hard at work.
The tweet has already prompted some creatively vicious responses from the social network, with many relishing a chance to vent their rage at the Follow George Osborne's Budget 2013 live here with our 'At A Glance' guide to all the big decisions on the economy." target="_hplink">austerity Chancellor.
"Ooo am I the first? You're a tw*t", wrote one.
Then the insults piled in including "Your punctuation is worse than your maths," "Stop spending our f***ing money" and "Will you be announcing salt mines for immigrants & skivers? How about free champagne for millionaires? Oh go on."
Other Twitter users asked why Osborne was following some MPs and not others.. a rift in the cabinet perhaps? Although Osborne followed Cameron before anyone else, so there's no rebellion there.
However one woman pointed out his decision to follow Liam Fox (the only non-cabinet minister of the people he follows) was suggestive:
Rather more alarmingly, Osborne is also following @globepics, a feed which last posted a grossly fat squirrel.
According to analysis by We Are Social, choking, or choke was mentioned 488 times in connection with George Osborne before he spoke, and the chancellor was called a 'briefcase w*nker' 327 times before the budget.
His appearance on Twitter has provoked a tsunami of bile from some and a chance for some joviality at the Tories' expense from others. See the best of the reaction below.
SEE ALSO:
- At A Glance Guide To The Budget
- Evening Standard Apologises For Leaking Front Page On Twitter
- Thousands Of Civil Servants In Budget Day Walkout
- The 2013 All Male Treasury Minister Line-Up
- PICS: George Osborne's Twitter Photo Gets Hijacked
- Bored Of The Budget? March 20 Also Ushers In 10 Other 'Days'
- Osborne To Wield Axe Again And Impose Extra £2.5bn Of Cuts
Osborne Tweets
