NEWLY ELECTED British Labour Party leader Ed Miliband has given indications that he will follow a middle course over billions worth of spending cuts to come by appointing former postman Alan Johnson as his shadow chancellor.
Mr Miliband chose Mr Johnson ahead of Ed Balls, the combative former minister who wants Labour to oppose every cut by the Conservative/Liberal Democrat government, and his wife, Yvette Cooper, who topped the elections among Labour MPs in shadow cabinet elections.
In office, Mr Johnson served as secretary of state in five departments during New Labour’s years in office, though his experience in the treasury is limited – a gap seized upon last night by the Conservative Party.
Mr Miliband’s decision to appoint Mr Johnson reflects a desire broadly to follow the spending plans left by Labour’s chancellor of the exchequer, Alastair Darling, who proposed halving the deficit in four years, rather than the faster pace ordered by the new government.
In addition, it is being seen as an attempt to reach all parts of the Labour parliamentary party, since Mr Johnson supported Mr Miliband’s brother David in the election, as did over 100 other MPs.
Mr Balls, who met with Mr Miliband several times over the past few days, denied that he was disappointed with the shadow home office brief, which he described last night as a pleasant surprise. Ms Cooper will shadow foreign secretary William Hague. The decision to overlook Mr Balls is partly based on poor relations between himself and Mr Miliband when they both worked for Gordon Brown in the treasury, but also a recognition that Mr Balls’s economic strategy would leave Labour open to charges that it is denying the size of the deficit.
Mr Johnson will face chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne next week during House of Commons questions. They will meet again on October 20th, when Mr Osborne will detail spending cuts.
Up to now, Mr Johnson has defended the plan left by Mr Darling before he left office and warned that Labour could not oppose every cut if it is to rebuild its credibility with British voters after the May elections.
Paying tribute to Mr Miliband for “his strength of character and determination to unify and lead”, Mr Johnson said yesterday: “We will not disagree with our political opponents for the sake of it. These are testing times and we will be a responsible opposition acting in the national interest.”
Mr Johnson’s personal history stands in stark contrast to the wealthy Mr Osborne. Orphaned at 12 after his mother died, he was raised by his older sister in a council flat before he won a scholarship. Having stacked shelves for Tesco, he became a postman at 18. He became a full-time union official and later headed the Communications Workers’ Union before entering politics.
Recently Mr Johnson, who once said he did “not have what it takes to be prime minister”, said that his desire had been to become a rock star when he presented a number of programmes on music for BBC Radio 4.
