17/03/2017 North West Tonight

George Osborne said today his job will be to speak up

But he'll be doing that while he's still a Cheshire MP.

He's been appointed editor of the London Evening Standard -

and is sure he can do that and represent his Tatton

George Osborne has been the MP here for 16 years.

In 2015, his majority was more than 18,000.

Among voters today, these opinions on their Cheshire MP becoming

I don't think very much of it, to be quite honest.

Are you not worried he won't have time for constituency matters?

Most people can work from home now anyway.

Mr Osborne says he can do both jobs, editing in the morning and attending

MPs have edited newspapers and magazines over the years.

I'm going to continue playing a big part in British life and I'm

Although he's no longer in government, Mr Osborne's new job

in London has raised questions about his commitment to the idea

The president of the local Conservative Association,

Patti Goddard, says she's not worried that the job

After all, she says, being Chancellor of

Mr Osborne was Chancellor and First Secretary of State before

He has rather less experience as a journalist.

The local Labour chair says he should now quit as an MP.

I don't believe he will devote enough time and energy

I believe that if he is intent on taking this role as editor,

then he should step aside and let somebody else take on the role

Mr Osborne is due to start his editor's job in May.

Hundreds of parents worried their schools face big spending cuts

are preparing to take part in a protest in Cheshire tomorrow.

They're angry the Government's proposed new funding formula

would reduce spending per pupil in Cheshire East to just

under ?4200, among the lowest in the country.

Other parts of the North West would gain, particularly Knowsley,

where spending per pupil will go up to just over ?5000.

Ask headteachers here in Cheshire East and they'll tell

you the area is one of the lowest funded when it comes to education.

And for schools such as Stapeley Broad Lane in Nantwich,

the government's plans to change the way it is funded

We'd be forced to look at cutting some of the things that children

The trips, the visits, the art, the music.

Under the proposed national funding formula, schools will get

And then extra funding based on factors such as deprivation,

whether the school has children with special educational needs,

and other factors such as previous exam results.

In Barrow, there are some significant areas of deprivation.

The government's aim is to narrow the gap between schools in affluent

areas and those in deprived areas, and allocate funding on pupil needs

Saying that some schools will benefit - I've yet to meet

a headteacher or see a school that's going to benefit in real terms.

Independent research out today found the drops equate to two teachers

for a primary school and six teachers for a secondary school.

Although it also found that in the north-west,

around 41% of schools will benefit from the new funding formula.

Heads from Cheshire East primary and secondary heads have been

to meet the minister, and heads in Cheshire West

and Chester, so they are definitely listening.

Last month, 400 people staged a protest in Cheshire,

Parents are really angry and they are concerned about this.

There's nothing more important than your child's education.

The Department for Education says school funding is at its highest

level on record, and the aim of the consultation -

which ends next week - is to make sure they get it right.

Road safety campaigners have criticised Gary Neville,

after footage was published by the Daily Mirror -

apparently showing him holding his mobile phone while driving.

The paper claims the pictures were taken on the M60.

The number of points and fines recently doubled for calling

The former United star has declined to comment.

Two Greater Manchester community police officers have been jailed,

after framing an innocent man for attempted murder.

Thomas Fendall and Jessica Hussell - who were in a relationship -

had a personal grievance against the victim and provided

Hundreds of people lined the streets of Liverpool city centre

for the St Patrick's Day parade this afternoon.

It was brought back last year - after being cancelled in the 1960s

because of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Sport - and Manchester United are off to Belgium after drawing

Anderlecht in the quarterfinals of the Europa League.

The away leg is up first on the 13th April, with the return a week later.

Jose Mourinho's side reached the last eight after Juan Mata's

goal secured a 1-0 win over Russian side Rostov last night,

No success for Widnes Vikings in Rugby League, who've

continued their poor run of form in the Super League tonight,

Have a very good rest of the evening.

The rain is causing some problems tonight?

It is. Good evening. The weekend is not looking particularly bright.

There's going to be unsettled weather over the weekend, breezy,

cloudy and plenty of rain, and as you alluded to, there's been a lot

of rain through this afternoon and into this evening. We currently have

two flood warnings from the Environment Agency. Also four flood

words. There's the number if you are at all concerned about localised

flooding. Through this evening and through the overnight period, I'm

afraid the rain continues to pour in. A cloudy night with a stiff

westerly breeze. Mild, temperatures could drop as high as nine or 10

Celsius. Very mild indeed. Tomorrow morning, we start off cloudy. The

rain slowly eases away for a time. Quite a breezy afternoon. Then we

will see the second wave of rain pushing in through the afternoon.

Maybe breaking off to bring you some showers. We hang on to the cloud and

to the breeze. Temperatures not looking so bad. A mild afternoon, 13

Celsius tomorrow. Rain will continue tomorrow. We will see more rain

actually into Sunday and the outlook on Monday, dryer and cooler. Now the

National forecast. it is rather breezy. Now for the

national outlook. It was quite a wet day across many

northern and western parts of the UK. This was