Posts Tagged ‘Alan Johnson’

Disband Momentum? Alan Johnson is as forgetful as he is hypocritical

by James Elliott.

Despite now being out of Parliament, Alan Johnson doesn’t seem to want to stay out of politics. This weekend he made a typically unastute intervention into Labour’s post-election debate, saying, “Momentum, by now, should have disbanded. Jeremy Corbyn by now is very safe”, and that, “I don’t see the point of a separate organisation which […]

Alan Johnson’s amnesia about “New Labour” and the unions

by Phil Burton-Cartledge.

Where does political radicalism come from? There are many sources, but I would humbly suggest one of them is being blocked from participating in/being integrated into established political processes. And that brings us onto the minor farrago over Alan Johnson’s polemic against the “madness” of a Labour leadership contest dominated by Jeremy Corbyn. Alan is particularly concerned […]

On the madness of Alan Johnson invoking Keir Hardie to attack Jeremy Corbyn

by David Pavett.

Alan Johnson begins his pitch for the support of Yvette Cooper (Guardian, 4th August) with a reference to Keir Hardie. The problem is that his reference is wholly misleading. He claims that Hardie “believed in achieving power through the ballot box, eschewing class warfare …”. Johnson continues “He forged a Labour party rooted in the […]

Labour needs a bold alternative to austerity. Not Alan Johnson. Not any new leader

by Jon Lansman.

Labour MPs are their own worst enemies. Many of them are panicked about losing their seats, and are sufficiently stupid and disloyal to blame Ed Miliband and brief the press accordingly. Deputy chief whip, Alan Campbell, rather than feeding reports of discontent to his leader, is whipping it up. And yet, if Labour MPs keep […]

The Blairites: strong, arrogant and oblivious to the wishes of Labour members

by Jon Lansman.

There is no doubt that the Blairites have had a rough few years. As they see it, Brown, the Pretender who hated the Great Leader, undermined him and forced him out. No sooner had the usurper stolen the Great Leader’s job, than he demonstrated that he wasn’t capable of doing it himself, didn’t really believe in ‘reforming’ public […]

Don’t be derailed by Progress confrontation

by Ben Folley and Calum Sherwood.

This week, former General Secretary of the CWU Alan Johnson has issued an unabashed attack on trade union influence within the Labour Party in an interview with Progress, part of an increasingly confrontational and destructive approach to dictating Labour Party policy from the Blairite wing. Jacqui Smith’s now regular articles, including hers on Osborne’s welfare trap before the […]

Ed Balls is the right choice for Shadow Chancellor

by Michael Meacher.

It seems that Alan Johnson has resigned for genuine personal reasons, and we must wish him well in handling whatever those are.   His successor, Ed Balls, is the right person for the job on several grounds.   He has great experience and a long track record in finance and, unlike his predecessor, will not need to bone […]

Balls to the Economy

by Jon Lansman.

Ed Balls is now Shadow Chancellor in a move which will delight most of the Left and considerably improve Labour’s performance, whatever the “personal reasons” for Alan Johnson’s departure. Moving Yvette Cooper to Home affairs and Douglas Alexander to Foreign Affairs minimises disruption of the Shadow Cabinet. It is interesting that whilst Brown himself failed […]

Amidst lies and midwinter madness, the VAT bombshell strikes

by Jon Lansman.

Today, VAT rises from 17½% to 20%.  Nick Clegg warned of a “Tory VAT Bombshell” back in April but then made it happen anyway. In the same month, David Cameron denied it, telling Jeremy Paxman “we have absolutely no plans to raise VAT.” As he’d said of VAT rises a year earlier: “it’s very regressive, […]

Labour’s command & control regime, for some but not for others

by Jon Lansman.

Command and control is alive and well on Labour’s front bench. Ed Miliband may be criticised for having a blank sheet of paper about the future but Alan Johnson and the Treasury team plan to keep it that way, at least when it comes to spending commitments. Any front bench spokesperson who plans to say […]

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