Why Alan Johnson MP is different and the Labour Party should learn from him.
I have to make a confession; I think I have a crush on Alan Johnson. Of course, I don't actually have a crush on Mr Johnson. He's 61, for a start. And out of my league for a finish. But the frequent star of This Week embodies something in the Labour Party that I haven't really seen since Blair was Prime Minister - an easy charm, a casual appearance of honesty and an instant trustability.
The current Labour top four, who Johnson resigned from last year for "personal reasons" under accusations of incompetence, have one characteristic in common more than anything else. Ed Miliband, Yvette Cooper, Douglas Alexander and Ed Balls... all worked for Gordon Brown in opposition and in government. The rivalry that began with John Smith's death in 1994 has been decisively settled - and despite their inability to ever win an election, the Brownites have won. And they have brought his character traits to the fore with them.
As such, the public do not seem to engage with them well. Ed Miliband's issues in public have been amply discussed in recent months. Be it harsh or otherwise, the Labour leader is not a figure people take to quickly. The over-riding impression is of the man who knifed his brother (an assertion I myself find absurdly unfair but an effective line of attack).
But what is true for Miliband is also true for the rest of his top team. In public, they come across as either too combative at the wrong times, in denial about what they did when they were in government or unable to win the debate on the seminal issue of this Parliament, the economy. Even Yvette Cooper, who many on the left feel is the woman to stick it to Cameron & co, doesn't poll positively. Not to mention the inevitability of the "if she didn't have the judgement not to marry Ed Balls, how can we possibly trust her to run the country" lines should she ever become leader. Incest in the Labour Party would continue to provide punch lines for the Conservatives.
Johnson didn't prove very effective as Shadow Chancellor in the opening months of this Parliament, but he does have something that few of his successors have - the ability to be liked (seemingly harsh but evidently true, I feel). Johnson's past as a postman who worked his way up through the unions, his easy-going nature and ability to engage with people on the sofa are huge assets that have always worked well in politics. The current Labour team could learn a lot from him.
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