The Staggers

The New Statesman’s rolling politics blog

Alan Johnson resigns as shadow chancellor

Ed Balls named as shadow chancellor as Johnson stands down “for personal reasons”.

By George Eaton Published 20 January 2011 17:53

Alan Johnson has just announced his resignation as shadow chancellor "for personal reasons". After a strong start to 2011, Ed Miliband now faces the biggest crisis of his leadership. Ed Balls has been named as Johnson's replacement, with Yvette Cooper taking over from her husband as shadow home secretary. Douglas Alexander will replace Cooper as shadow foreign secretary.

Below is the full text of Johnson's statement:

I have decided to resign from the shadow cabinet for personal reasons to do with my family. I have found it difficult to cope with these personal issues in my private life whilst carrying out an important front-bench role.

I am grateful to Ed Miliband for giving me the opportunity to serve as shadow chancellor of the exchequer. He is proving to be a formidable leader of the Labour Party and has shown me nothing but support and kindness.

My time in parliament will now be dedicated to serving my constituents and supporting the Labour Party. I will make no further comment about this matter.

After Johnson's recent political troubles, his decision to stand down comes as no surprise. His public disagreements with Ed Miliband over the 50p tax rate and the graduate tax damaged his cause from the start. Then, in quick succession, he failed to name the employers' rate of National Insurance, mistakenly suggested that VAT applied to food and appeared unsure of his own party's deficit reduction plan.

He was swiftly identified by the Tories as the weak link in Labour's armoury and was ridiculed by David Cameron at PMQs (Johnson was a notable absence this week). The man who was once spoken of as a future Labour leader became the laughing stock of Westminster.

Yet everything we're hearing suggests the decision was taken for purely personal reasons. There is nothing to suggest he was pushed out by Ed Miliband, who attempted to persuade him to stay. We can expect the Tories to focus on the appointment of Balls, the true "son of Brown", rather than the departure of Johnson.

Below is the new shadow cabinet.

Leader of the Opposition
Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP

Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Shadow Deputy Prime Minister and Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Rt Hon Ed Balls MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP

Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP

Chief Whip
Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Election Co-ordinator
Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP

Shadow Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice (with responsibility for political and constitutional reform)
Rt Hon Sadiq Khan MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (with responsibility for the policy review)
Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
Rt Hon John Denham MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Health
Rt Hon John Healey MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Rt Hon Caroline Flint MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Rt Hon Jim Murphy MP

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Angela Eagle MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
Meg Hillier MP

Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Maria Eagle MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Mary Creagh MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Rt Hon Shaun Woodward MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
Ann McKechin MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
Rt Hon Peter Hain MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Ivan Lewis MP

Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Rt Hon Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Olympics
Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP

Lords Chief Whip
Rt Hon Lord Bassam of Brighton

Shadow Attorney General
Rt Hon Baroness Scotland of Ashtal QC

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Tags: Alan Johnson

More from George Eaton

View the discussion thread.

35 comments

Thu, 2011-01-20 19:28 — scotleag (not verified)

Balls should have been shadow chancellor from the start.

Thu, 2011-01-20 19:31 — Keir

The problem is that Cameron and Co. are looking increasingly like sons of the Mafia.

Thu, 2011-01-20 19:35 — Medhi Hasan is an idoit (not verified)

It's depressing to listen to you all, this is terrible for the Labour Party. Not only have they got the wrong leader, they have the wrong chancellor too! Miliband is Brown. Balls is Brown. Cooper is Brown. The three biggest positions in opposition politics are filled by Brownities, this will be used by the Tories and the bulk of the media. Brown lost the election. He also introduced stealth taxes on pensioners, abolished the 10p band to fund a middle class tax cut and his light tough regulation got us in this mess! Seriously, the Labour Party are not the progressives, they are still stuck in the past.

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:09 — 644naiwltsnt

Balls got the job. Yvette got shadow home sec!!

Thu, 2011-01-20 20:09 — stuart (not verified)

goodbye to the ex postman last working class real labour member of the cabinet alan johnson and a return to the exclusive eton and oxbridge dominated politacal class in goverment,,that man was drove out by predudice, mockery and class snobbery because of his working class roots and that is why he resigned in my view,cant blame him really..

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:10 — Lou (not verified)

I cannot wait to see Balls get his teeth in to Osborne.

Fri, 2011-01-21 16:07 — jie4v7i14

Someone was totally unprofessional and undisciplined here.

Sign of the times, I suppose. Someone needs to get our law enforcers sorted out once and for all - duty is non-exsistent if a bloke reaching this position of responsibilty and carries on like this.

Didn't they learn anything from their Princess Di fiasco?

Thu, 2011-01-20 19:50 — mike (not verified)

Its a shame that Brown wasted all that money getting the health service fit for purpose after years of Tory neglect its a shame he introduced tax credits , wasted all that money on university education for so many of our children and didnt cave into Tory opposition to the minimum wage and isnt it a coincidence that labour caused the economic problems that happenened to occur in every developed country on earth no we are much better off with what we have now or havent you noticed all the people out on the streets cheering it all on!

Thu, 2011-01-20 20:35 — Keir

Brown lost the election, but there are more and more people wishing that he hadn't. A Labour Party with any leader other than him would have been many people's preference, and it probably would be now.

Thu, 2011-01-20 20:41 — Nick9

Stuart: I agree it's a shame that someone representative of the working class has decided he has to go for personal reasons, it's a shame. However, I think Labour needs someone who has a more in depth knowledge of economics.

Lou: Yes I can't wait to see Ed Balls give Osborne a run for his money, it's upped the game.

Now are either of you going to go on the 'Frontline Service' blog and say your bit about the threatened reduction in Legal Aid and the effect it is having on advice services? It's a big issue in Hackney Stuart, I met several people at the 'Justice for All' launch at the House of Commons last week who were from the Hackney Law Centre.

Thu, 2011-01-20 20:54 — Keir

Johnson will be back.

Thu, 2011-01-20 20:54 — gnuneo

it was milliband who wrote the last Labour manifesto that got them ground into the dirt. It was Balls who most accurately attacked the Tories economic plans during the leadership campaign.

balls should be Leader, not this wastrel who choose an unpopular and right-wing chancellor when Labour needed to to on the offensive.

i would vote for balls, but i would never dream of voting for Milliband. I would even prefer to vote for Cameron instead.

Thu, 2011-01-20 21:08 — Keir

'it was milliband who wrote the last Labour manifesto that got them ground into the dirt.'

What lost the election was loss of progressive momentum, and immigration policy. And two smooth-talking, loathsome liars in TV 'debates'.

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:07 — Gerry Tierney (not verified)

Don't care between Balls or Cooper, both will be excellent.

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:07 — Lou (not verified)

Complex personal reasons, not a political decision at all they say.

Balls is Chancellor, Cooper gone to Home, Alexander to Foreign, Liam Byrne to employment thus far...

Thu, 2011-01-20 21:56 — stuart (not verified)

it just makes me sick when i see these politicians from both sides nick rich and privilaged waffle on about were all in this together,,really,,when have any of these new crop ever lived in the inner citys of poverty and crime and met real people,,at least alan johnston lived on a coucil estate and lived with real people and understands the crap we have to suffer.

Thu, 2011-01-20 22:07 — gnuneo

keir: you forget a media that was anything but neutral and unbiased, a media group that managed to get 'their man' into Downing St.

there is no "immigration debate", there is only a veneer of respectability over blatant and overt racial shit-stirring in the UK.

but its a fact that that "loss of progressive momentum" came from a manifesto that was written by Millipede. And the only parts of it that were at all popular were ribbed directly from the Greens.

Thu, 2011-01-20 22:26 — Lou (not verified)

Nick
Will check out the legal site asap and looking forward to reading your contribution once it's online.

Mike@18.50
Well said. The same Brown who led the world, to much acclaim thereafter, at the start of the global financial crisis. Balls was there all along.

Thu, 2011-01-20 23:24 — Keir

'but its a fact that that "loss of progressive momentum" came from a manifesto'

That loss occurred some years before the manifesto was even written.

Fri, 2011-01-21 17:55 — gnuneo

Keir: true, but Milliband didn't join just before the Election, either.

Fri, 2011-01-21 01:28 — Robert Taggart

At last... a 'mark' for 'no marks' !

Fri, 2011-01-21 22:01 — Hugh Markey (not verified)

Alan Johnson passed the '11 Plus' examination. And worked his way up.
How many of the Cameron did the same? Scottish equivalents will not be considered in view of the West Lothian question frequently alluded to by Tories.
The '11 Plus' is never off the lips of Tory spokespersons. It must be a badge of honour!

Greyfriars

Thu, 2011-01-20 17:59 — Acamar (not verified)

A good man, a great shame.

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:01 — Dave C (not verified)

Ed Balls, according to Radio 4 P.M. programme.

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:01 — elrob

And who knows who could be next? Who would be the political appointment? D Mili? Burnham?

Surely one of Balls or Cooper, unless they are a s devious in plotting as commentators say. The pressure will be on getting it right this time. And it should weaken the Blairites, their man screws up.

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:02 — Des Demona (not verified)

Ed Balls, his missus will stand aside.

Thu, 2011-01-20 19:09 — Marcus (not verified)

This is a disaster. Balls is a divisive and easy to mock figure who has proved to be on the wrong side of the argument.

I expect the son of Brown story to run and run and run all the way to the next election.

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:17 — swatantra

A really positive move for Labour. Balls knows the Treasury inside out and will take Osbourne apart fingernail by fingernail, it'll be a joy to watch, if you like watching Tories being humiliated and stuffed.
Yvette is right for the HO Shadow to bluff Ken Clarke who knows sod all about the modern world and is a relic of the past. It'll be good experience for Yvette when she eventually takes over from Ed in 18 months time.
Johnson has been pretty magnanimous and is to be complemented on his decision to go to the backbenches.

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:19 — 8910steven

Great news ! That should wipe the smirk off Slasherboy`s face !Can`t wait to see him getting beaten up by a proper economist .

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:23 — Arthur Williamson (not verified)

This could turn out to be one of the most pivotal and defining moments in Ed Milliband`s career, (and George Osbourne`s career (HA HA HA)).

Ed Balls is a brilliant economist and an alsation of a politician, he`ll destroy Mr Osbourne.

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:04 — 644naiwltsnt

Shame. Though in the long run, I fancy that Balls will prove the better and more savvy opponent for Slasher Osbourne

Thu, 2011-01-20 19:59 — zahidf (not verified)

so, was alan caught posting his letters in someone else's postbox then?

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:42 — William (not verified)

I liked Johnson, but he didn't understand his role.

He'd been appointed because he knew nothing and Ed hoped he'd just shut up and do as he was told. Thus avoiding the Blair/Brown saga. Right from the start it became clear he couldn't keep his mouth shut. So if you're going to have to put up with someone offering an opinion you may as well have someone who can offer an informed opinion.

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:42 — Hans Castorp (not verified)

This is terrific news. I doubt this qualifies as evidence that Ed Miliband values expertise over his own political positioning, but it's a step in the right direction. This must have come form a groundswell of dismay within the wider PLP.

Also, having read Cable's dunderheaded article in the NS earlier today, it's good to see a proper New Keynesian making headway.

Thu, 2011-01-20 18:44 — Jamie1

Ed Balls v George Osbourne

As one-sided as David Haye v Audley Harrison, even the Tories know Osbourne is only there because he's friends with Cameron, and there are better Tories (and most obvious of all, Vince Cable) for the job. Balls will tear him Osbourne apart, he's a class apart in transparency, intellect and charisma.