Across the pond

The right wing media has had a field day since Ed Miliband announced his new Shadow Cabinet. He has been scorned for giving three top jobs to supporters of elder brother, David. Far from being new generation Labour, the media pundits say, the power has been handed to old faces of New Labour.

The heaviest artillery was targeted at his appointment of Alan Johnson to the key job of Chancellor of the Exchequer. Johnson was the first former Labour cabinet member to come out for David Miliband in the leadership election. He was a super loyalist in the last year or two of the Brown administration, buckling down and doing his job. Refusing to challenge for the leadership himself, or support others who would do.

Not only that he is OLD. He is 60! Old enough to have been Ed’s father.

Better than that, for the big media guns, he does not have any schooling in economics. He even said himself, with wry self-deprecation, that his first move would be to buy himself an economics primer. He could have appointed either Ed Balls, or his wife, Yvette Cooper, both of whom have the famed Oxford PPE degree (Philosphy, Politics and Economics) and some experience of the Treasury.

But it is entirely possible that the Tory press have gravely underestimated Alan Johnson. He was orphaned at 12 brought up in a council flat, left school at 15 to stack shelves at Tesco and then became a postman. But he was an intelligent lad who had got into grammar school. And despite his lack of further education rose to become a trade union leader and then a Labour MP.

Despite his lack of education he was an effective minister, first in the Department of Trade, later as Health and Education Secretary and finally as Home Secretary. In each of these jobs he demonstrated that he could master a brief, despite his lack of formal education.

He has shown himself to be a very quick learner. And there is no reason why he should not master the Chancellor’s brief. Particularly so, because the Treasury Number Two, Angela Eagle does have the famed Oxford PPE degree and some ministerial experience at Work and Pensions.

It gets better than that. Because across the floor of the House of Commons he will be facing George Osborne, who has frequently been an embarassment to David Cameron. Because of his ignorance of economics (he read History at Oxford). And because he is of aristocratic Irish stock and frequently seems quite out of touch with the lower orders. So much so that he would not have survived had he not had the Liberal Democrat, Danny Alexander, as his number two. (and guess what Danny is yet another Oxford PPE). As is, of course, Ed Miliband himself.

The spending review of 20 October is going to usher in the cuts which are going to hit the poor, many of whom are the bedrock of Labour voters.

The Labour front bench Treasury team are an ideal pair to  speak to them and for them. (Eagle, though she got to Oxford is the daughter of a working class print worker.)

Along the same lines, it is important that this Labour cabinet is very strong on women, and very strong on equality and fairness, with Harriet Harman taking the deputy leader’s post, as well as the International Development department.

This is a big change from the New Labour of Blair and Brown. And a serious threat to the ConLab coalition cabinet, where Theresa May is bravely trying to get a word in on this cabinet of the boys.

Miliband is the least experienced politician ever to have been made party leader in my lifetime. He has only been an MP for five years. He may fall flat on his face.

But sometimes, the man, or woman, grows to match the job.

Interesting times ahead.