Shadow Chancellor Not Up To The Job

[Chil1234]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/8249198/Alan-Johnson-struggles-over-National-Insurance-rates-on-live-television.html Johnson Confusion

You'd think, as the Shadow Chancellor, Alan Johnson would be up to speed on something as basic as employers' NI contributions. His stage persona of 'honest bloke who knows nothing about economics' is wearing very thin already and not reflecting well on Miliband's judgement. Cooper and Balls must be seething.

Postman Pat was not the person to shadow the treasury. Nice bloke, just not bright enough. Balls has balls and should give Georgie a run for his money. So two top Shadow jobs to a husband and wife team now.

Am I missing something here? Obviously most of you know something I don't! (To save me buying the Sun tomorrow) Will someone just spill the beans? PLEASE

"He was Browns top aide and advisor and helped cause the economic problems that we have at the moment."

The banks caused the economic problems not Labour, it wasnt the Labour party selling sub prime mortgages, what labour did wrong was not to regulate the banks properly (just like the Tories are still not doing)

Bonuses all round anyone.

Balls will wipe the floor with Gideon just as he did with Gove

Balls is dangerous because he is such a natural at Opposition, and he isn't afraid to knife anyone, using the dirtiest of dirty tactics - as we saw with his continuing friendship with Damian McBride and Charlie Whelan, his part in the downfall of Tony Blair, and of course his part in ousting Alan Johnson. This same malicious streak is also a massive liability for Labour though, because no-one, even within that party, actually likes him.

He also has the distinction of being one of the main authors of Gordon Brown's disastrous economics - and he won't be allowed to forget it.

Labour have been deficit deniers for ages now - but at least some of the more Blairite ones gave the pretence of caring. Balls wants more borrowing, more taxes, more spending. He is about as pure a deficit denier as they come.

So there are both dangers and opportunities for the coalition. We live in interesting times.

Sorry, have just read Guido Fawkes, so now I catch your drift. Cherchez la femme (or l'homme in this case) as the French put it so well.

If you mean that he denies that the deficit was purely caused by Gordon Brown, then yes he is a deficit denier.

Balls, like most sensible people, think the deficit was caused by multiple factors.

LFN, to true Balls is a nasty peice of work which is in his favour, he will get under Gideons skin. As for not being liked i am not so sure that is true, not liked by the Blairites maybe. A lot to look forward to.

I can't be the only one appalled that a chancellor would know so little about NI rates.

Mind you, my dear grandad once said that only in Government would you find so many people doing a job they aren't actually qualified to do!

They are saying on the 10 o clock show thing (jury is out on that) that it was his wife having an affair, not him. Apparently with his bodyguard

Its just like Bodyguard the movie

If that is the reason he is going, I feel very sorry for him.

Unlike Gordon Brown or Ed Balls, he wasn't a vindictive man, propogating the culture of smear - just a slightly dumb one.

Alan should have stuck to posting my mail!

In Johnson's defence he was a far, far, nicer person than Balls!

I dont want nice I want effective and if he can upset that utter smug cunt Osborne then he will do for me.

I am not a member or ever have been a member of the Labour party I would have voted for Ed Balls for leader (I should have kept my union membership up, stupid of me)

newwave you are delusional , I hate BOTH chancellors but if you ask me Balls is a smugger cunt, I don't want Malcolm Fucker or Jamie from "The Thick of It" running our country. For all thos e going on about the public school mafia Balls went to a (minor) Public School....

Ahhh..but it was still public school. It would be interesting to see the anti-tory-toff brigade deal with that one

this story should be on the safe sex forum , at least Johnson's wife used protection

Klaus, all opinons I know but Gideon is the uber smug git but maybe Balls will wipe the sneer off his smug cunt face.

The Times is implying that his wife had an affair with his police protection officer.

Do you work for the Times Lady Blah Blah :o

"Ahhh..but it was still public school. It would be interesting to see the anti-tory-toff brigade deal with that one"

Ed Balls' father campaigned for the closure of his local grammar school. But balked at sending his own son to the local comprehensive school - instead paying for him to attend the private Nottingham High School.

Despite his own elite education, as Education Secretary, Ed Balls was very anti selection (even for a Labour Education Minister).

IMHO - his upbringing was pretty screwed up - which possibly explains a lot.

Edd Balls, I could not believe the smugness of him in the news last night. Alan sounds like a nice enough guy. Evette, Edd's wife is who everyone wanted for leader, she would not take the job, Edd woud probably go nuts no doubt!

it seems irrelevent why he has gone HE WAS SIMPLY NOT CAPABLE OF THE JOB !!!!!!!!
it's one of the reasons we are all pissed off with the lot of them

Sounds like his protection officer was shagging his wife to me.

As a former health minister he probably advised her to use protection if having sex outside the marriage.A simple misunderstanding!

I feel really sorry for Alan Johnson, he must feels so betrayed. A nice man who could relate to the rest of us, a rare thing in politics.
However, am I the only one who thinks that the actual Chancellor is seriously creepy? Watching him at PMQ's he either looks catatonic or manic!
Apparently while he was a school they used to hang him up by his ankles and make him shout out "I am despicable", perhaps they knew something about him even then lol...