Johnson's sense of timing

Chris

Come on AJ, put Brown out of our misery...

Alan Douglas

Fully covered all those years ago in "Yes Minister", when Jim Hacker fully denies being interested in the leadership, and is met with a retort "So you're running then", or similar.

Lets hope Johnson's application gets lost in the postal strikes.

Alan Douglas

Flemingcrag

The "what I haven't got" that Alan Johnson missed out in this timid little interview was; I haven't got a backbone.

This was established when the Public Sector unions faced up to him when he floated the idea of Civil Servants not being able to continue retiring early complete with their pensions.

They frightened him that much he kicked the idea into the long grass until after the 2005 election was by. Then demonstrating less backbone than a jellyfish he sneaked out the news late on a friday that the whole idea was being dropped and early retirement for those in the Public Sector was safe in Labour's hands.

Liz Brown

What precisely would Alan Johnson bring to the party - and give to the country? We already have one ditherer theoritically in charge. AJ is absolutely NOT leadership material, tho I am told that he is charming. How that will help this benighted country through the crisis I am unable to see........

Swiss Bob

Mr Douglas beat me to it. In June I created this little morph: Jim Hacker for PM of Johnson into Hacker, it's a bit crap but illustrates exactly why Johnson may end up PM, not because he's any good, he's just the least hated by the party hierarchy.

Rent a Ghoul

Number plate available, apply to me by email:

AJ4PM

e

Surely AJ is spelling out Brown's failings, not his own, when he says he hasn't got...? I see this as a clear indication that he is ready and willing to take over.

David Ossitt

Alan Johnson was a postman; and I suspect that he was a splendid postman a man who had found his true niche in life.

Today he is a government minister; and it is obvious, that he is a mediocre minister a man who is not very comfortable with his lot.

As a Tory; I would be ecstatic, if he were to be chosen as the next leader of the labour party.

His elevation to leader would be worth at least a score of coffin nails to be hammered into the burial casket of the labour party.

david

All party leaders are a, 'pig-in-a-poke' but Labour have reached the, 'what have we gotta lose' stage, who knows might work. If it gets Labour up to 30% at the GE, that'll be success enogh.

Ian C

He is actually saying that if the party needs a gap-filler he is willing to the filler. Quite an admission as to what is really going on in the Labour Party.

David Parker

Whilst it is probably correct that AJ would be the least contentious candidate to act as a caretaker PM until the election, Brown is so unpopular that virtually anyone who replaced him would probably reduce the scale of Labours forthcoming defeat.

Marbury

I think you've got this the wrong way round, Peter. The first three sentences are the really striking ones. You don't talk like that if you're mentally gearing up for a leadership contest within weeks or months.

The last sentence, I think, is just a bargain with himself so that he can pretend he's not completely lacking in ambition to go to the top. But on the evidence of this interview, his heart just isn't in it.

Vulture

Apart from a backbone, the other vital bit of anatomy that poor old Postman Pat lacks is a brain. At the time of the last fizzled coup against Bruin he specifically said on TV that he wouldn't be as good a PM. Now, there's a great slogan> 'Vote for me because I'm even worse than Gordon'.

Verity

Liz Brown - Johnson is not a compulsive interferer and he's not a power freak. So not Blair or Brown, then. And I think he would be more collegiate than either of them, too.

Nicholas

He's mediocre at best but probably appeals to the sort of shallow press popularity that passes for scrutiny these days (the Cable Syndrome). Certainly he is Labour's only answer to Cameron in appearing not deranged and relatively human (unlike his cabinet colleagues). In a country that celebrates mediocrity and undermines excellence he probably represents an appropriate dumbed-down leader for a dumbed-down Britain.

Unfortunately evil stalks the land as surely if not as dramatically as in Tolkien's fantasy and an age of heroes is required. I look in vain for the courage to save us.

Liz Brown

Verity and that would make him a good PM? he lacks mental stamina and that is one of the reasons he would not be a good leader.......I'm sure that he is collegiate, so am I but that does not make me a good leader

Anne Wotana Kaye

Hi, David Ossit,

You are much too kind. Why do you think Johnson was a splendid postman? Isn't the fact that he is one of Brown's crew proof enough that there is something not quite right? I bet he put the wrong letters in the wrong boxes, and when he was bitten by a dog, the poor hound died of rabies!

Hysteria

@ Nicholas "Unfortunately evil stalks the land as surely if not as dramatically as in Tolkien's fantasy and an age of heroes is required. I look in vain for the courage to save us"

well put - we have been saying this from almost the start of CH - and answer comes their none !!