Is this the measure of Johnson?
Matthew d'Ancona 11:00am
Susan Boyle leaves the Priory, Alan Johnson goes to the Home Office. Or is it the other way round? The revolving doors continue to spin. I have long been mystified by Mr Johnson’s position as the Pearly Dauphin, the heir apparent to Gordon Brown. Nobody has been able to explain to me why he should be the next Prime Minister other than the undeniable fact that he has the Cockney charm of an early episode of Minder. Now I like Minder and the works of Guy Ritchie as much as the next man. But I do not see their relevance to the identity of the next occupant of Number Ten (which is no doubt Cockney rhyming slang for “fountain pen”, or something).
Well, it now appears that all that mysterious speculation about Mr Johnson was pretty irrelevant. He and the other prospective candidates for the top job have decided to leave James Purnell swinging in the wind and seem to have calculated that Gordon will be driven from Number Ten by the election results and the collective fury of Labour MPs. Wait for the Hotmail coup, in other words, and keep those smooth ministerial hands clean of blood. What leadership potential does that conduct suggest? What reserves of courage and principle does Mr Johnson’s behaviour reveal? He has just taken a tasty promotion from a discredited Prime Minister. History will not smile upon that act of shocking self-preservation. All that Postman Pat needed, it turned out, was a pat on the head.
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Michael Booth
June 5th, 2009 11:13am Report this commentMatthew, you seem to have overlooked John Hutton's resignation from Defence.
Kit
June 5th, 2009 11:21am Report this commentJohnson wants the job AFTER the election. Only a fool would want the job now.
Tiberius
June 5th, 2009 11:25am Report this commentI have always thought that "Johnson for PM" was just a desperate attempt by the Labour supporting media to avoid defeat at the election. His yellow streak was patently revealed by his shocking climbdown on public sector pensions.
Mr J would probably do a good voice-over job on radio ads for back-street car repair shops. After all, he's only another product of the spineless New Labour machine.
Anand
June 5th, 2009 11:33am Report this commentJohnson is just weak. he has got no balls, he is definately not fit to take up the mantle of Prime Minister.
If mcMental does go, I bet your bottom dollar Harman, Milliband and possibly a few others will get into a leadership slugfust, but none of them have the guts to openly come out now and stand up to be counted.
At least Purnell has some fight in him, he is the only one thus far deserving to fight for Labour Leadership.
TrevorsDen
June 5th, 2009 11:35am Report this commentGiven the utter weaknesses exposed by the cabinet, Purnell should do a Thatcher and set up a leadership bid.
What happened to all the stories about Johnsons campaign HQ being all ready to go.
Tories should point out that if the cabinet cannot organise themselves to move Brown then how can we expect them to run the country.
David
June 5th, 2009 11:47am Report this commentI think his most significant achievement to date was to wimp out on pension reform when confronted by the Public Sector unions, a decision that will cost UK taxpayers billions and billions of pounds we don't have.
I also didn't believe that David Milliband could get any more pathetic but I was wrong. The idea of that man representing this country abroad is unbearable. We are being humiliated internationally and domestically.
Cottage Pie
June 5th, 2009 11:51am Report this commentAlan Johnson is now in a perfect position to deliver the letter demanding Gordon Brown's resignation to the PM.
Percy
June 5th, 2009 11:54am Report this commentMatthew, you could certainly see Alan pulling a few pints at the Winchester club.
Liz Brown
June 5th, 2009 11:55am Report this commentProves the point that Johnson is totally unsuited to become the next leader of the Liebour party - he CAN be bought - first by the Unions and now by gormless. Has ANYONE in the Liebour party got any cojones?
Publius
June 5th, 2009 11:59am Report this commentJohnson knows he's not up to the job. He has said so, and he is right.
Brown is threatening to bring the house down and go to the country if he's forced out. Typical Brown of course; but that is what is needed now.
lawrence greek
June 5th, 2009 12:14pm Report this commentWrong Matthew. Brown has pulled it off, I think he's going to survive this, partly because of the weakness of the cabinet including Johnson.
steed
June 5th, 2009 12:16pm Report this commentMatthew, all this article shows is how those on the right thing that "courage" and "leadership" are anathema to loyalty.
Atticus Finch
June 5th, 2009 12:46pm Report this commentIn fairness Johnson isn't weak. He just doesn't want to wield the dagger. What he wants is perfectly reasonable; a fair proportion of his parliamentary colleagues to ask for a new leader. He wants this to be a democratic process not a coup. He wants it done by the rules. That way he can legitimately put himself forward in an open leadership contest.
People often say that Brown doesn't deserve loyalty because of the way he behaved in the past.IMHO, if Johnson wants to be leader he wants to command respect and loyalty. He also wants to heal his party. To achieve this, he has to play it by the book. Entering No.10 with blood on his hands and a fuming Ed Balls would not rehabilitate the Government or the Party.
It's awful that Purnell has been left twisting in the wind but there are others in the Cabinet far closer to him that could have at least agreed with his actions or kept quiet.
Verity
June 5th, 2009 1:49pm Report this commentIf Johnson takes Labour into the next election, Labour is in with a chance. Labour women who would have stayed home will turn out to vote for him. You are all missing this point: Johnson is attractive to women. This is why I want him in as Leader: to win the next election and get rid of Dave and The Heirites, aka the Blair Tribute Band.
john miller
June 5th, 2009 4:59pm Report this commentYou didn't really need that derisory attack on Johnson, based on his class and that fact that he is allegedly a cockney.
That just feeds the Brown "toff" line.
Far more acute was the attack on the fact that he has never done anything to suggest he is of ministerial - yet alone prime ministerial - calibre.
He is the Major figure - nobody particularly wants him. he is just the least of all evils.
seb
June 5th, 2009 7:48pm Report this commentAlan Johnson said this:
Gordon Brown is the man best placed in this country to give me the job of Home Secretary.
Sancho
June 5th, 2009 9:12pm Report this commentHey - come on this guy is great! Didn't he save the country single-handed from the ravages of swine flu?
Syd
June 5th, 2009 10:51pm Report this commentJohnson is playing a canny game. He who wields the dagger, etc etc...
hadrian
June 5th, 2009 11:35pm Report this commentI suspect James Purnell will do alright. He has his integrity, his dignity and his honesty. We ordinary voters admire that far more than any timeserving sycophants. Anyway, the E.U. results may be so dire that further ructions will ensue.
Simon Stephenson
June 6th, 2009 8:52am Report this commentHadrian 11.35pm
"I suspect James Purnell will do alright. He has his integrity, his dignity and his honesty."
How so? When he agreed to join Brown's Cabinet he must have had enough confidence in its collective ability to run the country to be happy for his name to be associated with it. What's happened since then other than it's become unpopular?
The only way for Purnell to have left the Cabinet with any dignity or integrity would have been to state publicly that he was doing this to correct a mistake that HE had made, that is in accepting Brown's original offer of a Cabinet position. None of those resigning has done this - they've all refused to acknowledge that their signing up to be part of Brown's team was what gave it the momentum to do all the things that they now find distasteful.
Maybe Johnson, Miliband and the others are hanging on in there not because they see some personal advantage in doing so, but because they're not yet convinced that the belief that took them into the Cabinet was entirely misplaced.
JONNY
June 6th, 2009 11:03am Report this comment'Johnson is attractive to women.'
Not to the women I talk to Verity. They seem to much prefer David.
But as they say there's no allowing for taste.
Ann
June 6th, 2009 4:13pm Report this comment"You are all missing this point: Johnson is attractive to women"
Speak for yourself, darling. You don't speak for all women. This one finds him smarmy and creepy.
The idea that he was ever some sort of saviour is ludicrous, another one of those spin-machine absurdities that journalists in the Westminster bubble buy without looking into the bag.
Verity
June 6th, 2009 8:26pm Report this commentAnn - I'd be obliged if you could point me to where I indicated I was speaking for all women. There's a grand girl. I don't recall seeing you in these parts before. Who are you trolling for? The wimmin? What's your surname, Code-Pink?
Jonny - Going by the tenor of your previous posts, if memory serves, you seem to be a lefty. If the women you refer to are also lefties, I do not believe they would prefer The Heir to one of their own. On the other hand, The Heir is so far to the left I do concede that the defining line is very hazy and you could well be right.
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