Question-marks hang over Johnson exit

Friday, 21 January 2011 2:23 PM

By Alex Stevenson

Speculation about the circumstances behind Alan Johnson's resignation is focusing on newspaper claims about his wife's fidelity.

The Mail and Telegraph newspapers ran stories this morning claiming that Mr Johnson's wife Laura had had an affair with a police protection officer assigned to protect the former home secretary.

Scotland Yard has launched disciplinary proceedings against the officer in question, referring the case to its directorate of professional standards.

Mr Johnson announced he was resigning yesterday evening, stating in a letter to leader Ed Miliband that "personal reasons to do with my family" prevented him from continuing in the frontline role.

"I wish you all the best at this difficult time," Mr Miliband wrote in his reply.

Shadow home secretary Ed Balls steps into Mr Johnson's shoes. Mr Balls boosted his reputation during last summer's leadership campaign and made no secret of his enthusiasm for the Treasury portfolio.

Interview: Ed Balls

Analysts were quick to highlight divisions between Mr Balls and Mr Miliband however.

While the Labour leader signed up to former chancellor Alistair Darling's goal of halving the deficit in four year, Mr Balls had argued that that was too quick a timetable.

Appearing on the World at One today, Mr Balls said those disagreements where behind them and that he and Mr Miliband were now on the same page.

"I'm clear if there was a Labour government today we'd be halving the deficit in four years," Mr Balls said.

"In 2009 when this was discussed internally, my view was this would be very hard to deliver. What actually happened was growth was stronger than expected. Those policies worked better than anyone expected.

"We learnt the lessons of history. Ed Miliband and I are at one on this."

His wife Yvette Cooper moves to the shadow home secretary job, with Douglas Alexander appointed to be shadow foreign secretary.

Liam Byrne is the new shadow work and pensions secretary. Tessa Jowell takes on his shadow Cabinet Office responsibilities.

"Alan Johnson was the right man for the job," Mr Miliband said in Birmingham this evening.

"He's had to stand down for personal reasons, nothing to do with the job.

"Ed brings great expertise to this role and I'm looking forward to working with him on the direction that Alan and I have already set out."

In a statement, he added: "In Yvette, Douglas, Liam and Tessa, we have a team which combines extensive experience in government and determination in opposition."

Mr Johnson's resignation has not been linked with the growing pressure he faced for his performance in the shadow chancellor role.

In his resignation letter he wrote: "I have found it difficult to cope with these issues in my private life whilst carrying out an important frontbench role."

But many within the Labour party are already expressing positive views about the news. Mr Johnson had publicly clashed with the new Labour leader on the opposition's approach to the 50p rate of income tax and its support for a graduate tax.

Mr Johnson was a surprise appointment to the role and received quick criticism for his reliance on an "economics primer". He had previously raised eyebrows by incorrectly stating that family food bills would be damaged by the VAT hike.

Earlier this month Mr Johnson was embarrassed again when he struggled to state the current rate of employers' national insurance in a live television interview.

Mr Balls said he was already looking forward to taking on the coalition government's cuts agenda.

"Over the past few months, Alan and Ed have set out a clear direction on economic policy... our task ahead is to take on George Osborne and David Cameron's decision to cut too far and too fast, recklessly putting jobs and growth at risk.

"We will set out to the public that there is an alternative: a fair economy which puts jobs and growth first."

Critics of the opposition are using the resignation to call into question Mr Miliband's own judgement in selecting Mr Johnson for the job. Bookmaker William Hill cut the odds of Mr Balls becoming Labour's next leader from 25/1 to 14/1.

"One point of view is that Mr Miliband is weakened by picking the wrong man to be shadow chancellor, the other that he acted quickly to put matters right," spokesman Graham Sharpe commented.

The Conservatives leapt on Mr Balls' appointment. The party's deputy chairman Michael Fallon said it "beggars belief" that Mr Balls had been picked to be the next shadow chancellor.

"The man who is responsible for Britain's economic mess has returned," he said. "The Labour party has learnt nothing and is now led entirely by Gordon Brown's old team."

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