I must admit that part of me has always thought of Alan Johnson as a top bloke. My snout at the BBC tells me of further proof of the ex-Postie's lack of standing on ceremony. When I relate this anecdote, just imagine how Peter Mandelson or Gordon Brown would have reacted.This morning he was booked in to do various BBC radio interviews from Millbank, but when he arrived at 4 Millbank at ten to seven there was no one there to meet him. In the end he had to be guided into the studio cubicle by a producer at White City over his mobile phone using the keypad and secret code. He managed this with very good humour and was able to sit himself down in front of the mike and press all the right buttons and get on air.
Maybe all contenders for the Deputy Leadership should be put through a similar initiative and politeness test. Would other New Labour (or, dare I say it, Tory) big hitters have been so gracious? You decide.
UPDATE: Sadly, THIS Labour blogger doesn't seem to share my opinion of Mr Johnson.
Well Gordon Brown bores me, Comrade Dr John "I make ghengis Khan look like a liberal" scares me.
ReplyDeleteI could warm to Johnson. Certainly would not mind him taking over until the next election when we win (according to populous poll numbers put into baxters) with a 40 majority.
When I worked for Royal Mail having to provide the answers to any parliamentary questions MPs asked of the Minister for the DTI, I have to say he was a very personable chap, unlike other MPs Ive had to deal with who I could mention.
ReplyDeleteLabour could do alot worse!
This isn't meant as a dig at you Iain, but I hate the 'ex-postie' monicker for Johnson. He's a really great performer.
ReplyDeleteIt just smacks of snobbishness a bit. I don't think you're that way inclined, Iain, but it doesn't read well.
Well he is an ex postie isnt he anonymous? Isn't it a success story - from postie to Minister in charge of Royal Mail and perhaps even better! And by the way... I started off in the Mail Room of Post Office Counters and wouldnt mind it being referred to.
ReplyDeleteI wish my postman* showed that much initiative. Sticking "I called and you weren't in" cards through the letter box seemed to be beyond him
ReplyDelete*Parcelforce employee. They're all the same to me.
*Deputy* Leadership?
ReplyDeleteThis man has it and is therefore the most dangerous man in the Labour government.
ReplyDeleteHis presence will cause votes to be hosed in.
Alan Johnson presses all the right buttons...
ReplyDeleteYou got it in one, Iain.
I do like the fact that the man who now inhabits some grace and favour mansion used to deliver mail there as a postie! He seems to have all the merits of the 'local lad done good' without turning into a tosspot like Prescott. Good on him.
ReplyDeleteAs for Mandelson, he always was up his own rectum, and didn't need great office to assume the arrogance for which he is now legendary!
An organisation that charges a £131.50 poll tax and then gives all its staff 15 minutes "hat and coat time" each morning does not "make mistakes" like this.
ReplyDeleteThey are shot through with fellow travellers. This was a put up job.
God I love conspiracies about this shower of a government. - When ALL their targets and objectives are about "perception", not reality, black propaganda and dirty tricks come as second nature. Its a f-site easier than making anything work in the real world.
Oh when will the curse be lifted?
RE Verity, I agree with your comments, but the alternatives do not look good for anything like a sensible democracy. That said I could cope with being bored by Brown prior to a Conservative win, if I thought Johnson could win the nest GE.
ReplyDeleteJust to go back to Verity's comment again, from an electoral point of view, he is dangerous. The reason why I say that is both Iain and I seem to have warmed to him instantly (Well not quite, we have both been looking for a while) but the fact is he does not scare us the way the rest do.
ReplyDeleteOn the former postie note, as a Conservative I am proud to live in a country where we could consider a former postman for the most responsiible job in the country, I think he would be far better than an ex lawyer public school boy prat who went to Fettes.
I don't think Alan Johnson tells porkies unlike most of his colleagues and certainly his boss. That's refreshing in itself. I'd like to see more of him and a lot less of the other has-been half-wits occupying cabinet posts.
ReplyDeleteAlan Johnson comes across as a real down to earth bloke. Prescott's arrogance and 'big I am' attitude is in my opinion born out of deep seated insecurity. Johnson by contrast seems confident and relaxed about who he is, where he has come from and where he is going to. This comes across by the bucket load in his sense of humour and engaging personality. He is the sort of person it is difficult to not like when you meet them.
ReplyDeleteIf Labour select him as a new leader when Blair goes i think he would blow Cameron out of the water. Brown is to closely associated with Blair and has been a very high profile Labour figure for as long as Blair. My instinct is the public is as tired of GB as they are of TB, whereas Alan Johnson is still relatively unknown to most of the public at large. Johnson as PM would convey freshness and Labour renewal to the public conscienceousness in a way the I don't believe Brown is able to.
To apply James Carville's message from the 92 Clinton presidential campaign - Johnson represents change whereas Brown represents more of the same.
Why are you so pro-Alan Johnson, Iain? Is it because the Murdoch-owned papers seem to like him as a self-made man who worked his way up, and therefore could well back him as a Labour Leader at the next general election? This could mean Dave Cameron being kicked out by his party and David Davies taking over. You wouldn't be that devious, would you?
ReplyDeleteIain Dale referred to Alan Johnson being a "contender for the Deputy Leadership" - don't you mean for the very top job? He's certainly putting himself about and appears to have had a complete makeover, from the hairstyle down.
ReplyDelete"This isn't meant as a dig at you Iain, but I hate the 'ex-postie' monicker for Johnson"
ReplyDeleteau contraire - i would view that as a complement both on Mr Johnson and on our democracy - he got to where he has purely on merit and sheer hard graft.
As another example, that Bannatine chap on Dragon's Den - his lowly background from the tenements of Glasgow is always referred to, and now he's worth 200 million.
There nothing "snobby" about pointing out to people that no matter what your background is, if you work hard, and have a bit of go in you, then you can accomplish anything.
I would also agree with the sentiments above -Johnson as Leader of the Labour party would be the death knell for Cameron.
ReplyDeleteThe guy is just too likable - and to boot, he is English (a major plus, considering the whole "Scottish Raj" meme floating around)
I would love it if elections were won purely on policy, but we've gone way past that a long time ago. Lets be realistic here - the party that wins is usually the party with the most likable leader combined with the most , apparently, centrist, likable policies.
(of course, what they do after getting into power is of course, a moot point...but i'm talking about winning elections here...)
Benedict White - Yes, that is what I meant in my comment. He is the most dangerous man in the Labour Party because he is totally likeable. Women would vote for him before they'd vote for the poncy Dave and his little adolescent concerns. Johnson comes across as a rational,confident adult.
ReplyDeletePeter from Putney - Yes, if they ran him for top man, he could probably win the next election for them. I can hear all that dead wood being swept out of the Cabinet office right now.
Re update,
ReplyDeleteSince first perusing her site Adele Reynolds aka "Soft Socialist!?" has become increasingly venomous. Although she praised Cameron several months ago "admiration for what Cameron is doing". and frequently lambasts Lib Dems for negative campaigning her "eradicate from my heart/lower than vermin(Tories)/semi-starvation" intro is beyond parody. Signs of a trauma I think.
No wonder Brown doesn't want to be in charge. Would you?
praguetory - I think Brown is an increasingly dead issue. (I know! I know! You can't be increasingly dead! It's just a clever illusion on Gordo's part.)He has all the charisma of a day old fish. He's Scottish. He's chippy. He had his teeth bleached which makes him look vain and ghoulish at the same time. He has wrecked a healthy economy. "The poor" are £531 a year worse off under Labour ...
ReplyDeleteVerity said "The poor" are £531 a year worse off under Labour ...
ReplyDeleteSo what. Nobody really cares about the poor as they don't vote. They are the source of many of the problems that the rest of us have to deal with and pay for.
Bit worrying this,a politician who shows iniative and a minister to boot.
ReplyDeleteHow did he get in and promoted?
Perhaps he is the man to take over from St Tony,until the Tories are swept back.
Brown must be stopped before he bankrupts the lot of us.
Praguetory - venemous. Thats a bit strong. I am a labour activist. Do you expect me to go around saying, yeah I think the tories are really good.
ReplyDeleteAs I said before its a Nye Bevan quote, a bit of a joke, thats all.
You on the other hand appear to have some kind of personal vendetta against me.