Alan Johnson

2025-10-31T19:25:09Z

2001:56B:9F18:AF01:0:1C:B2AF:D401: /* top */removed "poignant" as unquoted descriptor of memoir

{{short description|British politician (born 1950)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name = Alan Johnson
| image = File:Alan_Johnson_MP.jpg
| caption = Johnson in 2016
| office = [[Home Secretary]]
| primeminister = [[Gordon Brown]]
| term_start = 5 June 2009
| term_end = 11 May 2010
| predecessor = [[Jacqui Smith]]
| successor = [[Theresa May]]
| office1 = [[Secretary of State for Health]]
| primeminister1 = Gordon Brown
| term_start1 = 28 June 2007
| term_end1 = 5 June 2009
| predecessor1 = [[Patricia Hewitt]]
| successor1 = [[Andy Burnham]]
| office2 = [[Secretary of State for Education and Skills]]
| primeminister2 = [[Tony Blair]]
| term_start2 = 5 May 2006
| term_end2 = 27 June 2007
| predecessor2 = [[Ruth Kelly]]
| successor2 = [[Ed Balls]]{{efn|As [[Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families]].}}
| office3 = [[Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]]{{efn|Productivity, Energy and Industry from 6 May to 13 May 2005.}} [[President of the Board of Trade]]
| primeminister3 = Tony Blair
| term_start3 = 6 May 2005
| term_end3 = 5 May 2006
| predecessor3 = [[Patricia Hewitt]]
| successor3 = [[Alistair Darling]]
| office4 = [[Secretary of State for Work and Pensions]]
| primeminister4 = Tony Blair
| term_start4 = 8 September 2004
| term_end4 = 6 May 2005
| predecessor4 = [[Andrew Smith (British politician)|Andrew Smith]]
| successor4 = [[David Blunkett]]
| office5 = [[Department for Education and Skills (United Kingdom)|Minister for Higher Education]]
| primeminister5 = Tony Blair
| term_start5 = 13 June 2003
| term_end5 = 8 September 2004
| predecessor5 = [[Margaret Hodge]]
| successor5 = [[Kim Howells]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin|[[Shadow Cabinet]] positions
| titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey}}{{Infobox officeholder
| embed = yes
| office = [[Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
| leader = [[Ed Miliband]]
| term_start = 8 October 2010
| term_end = 20 January 2011
| predecessor = [[Alistair Darling]]
| successor = [[Ed Balls]]
| office1 = [[Shadow Home Secretary]]
| leader1 = [[Harriet Harman]] {{small|(Acting)}} [[Ed Miliband]]
| term_start1 = 11 May 2010
| term_end1 = 8 October 2010
| predecessor1 = [[Chris Grayling]]
| successor1 = [[Ed Balls]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
| office6 = Chancellor of the [[University of Hull]]
| 1blankname6 = {{nowrap|Vice Chancellor}}
| 1namedata6 = [[David Petley|Dave Petley]]
| term_start6 = 1 July 2023
| predecessor6 = [[Virginia Bottomley]]
| office7 = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle]]
| term_start7 = 1 May 1997
| term_end7 = 3 May 2017
| predecessor7 = [[Stuart Randall, Baron Randall of St Budeaux|Stuart Randall]] {{small|([[Hull West]])}}
| successor7 = [[Emma Hardy]]
| birth_name = Alan Arthur Johnson
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|5|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[London]], England
| residence = [[East Riding of Yorkshire]], England
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| spouse = Judith Cox Laura Patient Carolyn Burgess
| children = 4
| website = {{URL|alanjohnsonbooks.co.uk|Official website}}
| caption = Johnson in 2016
}}
}}

'''Alan Arthur Johnson''' (born 17 May 1950) is a British former politician who served as [[Secretary of State for Education and Skills]] from 2006 to 2007, [[Secretary of State for Health]] from 2007 to 2009, [[Home Secretary]] from 2009 to 2010, and [[Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer]] from 2010 to 2011. A member of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], he was the [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle]] from [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]] to [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017]].<ref name="Mortimer">{{cite news|last=Mortimer|first=Caroline|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-mp-general-election-tom-blenkinsop-not-stand-theresa-may-middlesborough-south-a7688501.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220506/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-mp-general-election-tom-blenkinsop-not-stand-theresa-may-middlesborough-south-a7688501.html |archive-date=6 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Labour MPs announce they are standing down as Theresa May calls for a snap general election|work=The Independent|date=18 April 2017|access-date=18 April 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Johnson served in the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] during both the [[Premiership of Tony Blair|Tony Blair government]] and [[Brown ministry|that of Gordon Brown]]. He served under [[Tony Blair|Blair]] as [[Minister of State for Universities]] from 2003 to 2004, as [[Secretary of State for Work and Pensions]] from 2004 to 2005, and as [[President of the Board of Trade]] from 2005 to 2006.

In May 2023, Johnson was announced as the next Chancellor of the [[University of Hull]]. He succeeded [[Virginia Bottomley]] in July.

== Early life ==
Born in London on 17 May 1950, the son of Stephen and Lillian Johnson,<ref name=Debretts-2005>{{cite book |title=[[Debrett's People of Today|Debrett's People of Today 2005]] |year=2005 |publisher=[[Debrett's]] |edition=18th |page=866 |isbn=1-870520-10-6}}</ref> he was [[orphan]]ed at the age of 13 when his mother died, his father having previously abandoned the family, forcing his sister Linda to become the primary care-giver and breadwinner. Soon after this, they moved to a [[council flat]] in Pitt House, [[Battersea]], immediately adjacent to the [[Winstanley Estate|Winstanley and York Estates]], a traumatic change from their previous address in [[Notting Hill]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Alan |title=This Boy- A Memoir of a Childhood |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AN8DwLMbbUIC&q=york+road+battersea+gin+distillery&pg=PA245 |publisher=Bantam Press |date=2013 |page=245 |isbn=9780593069646}}</ref> Johnson describes how he and his sister faced hostility from neighbouring tenants, who were resentful because others (perceived by them as more deserving) were unable to obtain council housing at this time. This meant that their flat was often broken into and targeted for vandalism.<ref name="economist">{{cite news |title=The charming Mr Johnson |url=https://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=7909132 |newspaper=The Economist |date=14 September 2006 |access-date=18 September 2006}}</ref><ref name="DIDiscs AJ">{{cite episode |title= Desert Island Discs with Alan Johnson |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0080mb3 | series= Desert Island Discs | series-link= Desert Island Discs | network= [[BBC]] | station= [[BBC Radio 4]] |airdate = 7 October 2007|access-date=9 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/children_shealth/10025514/The-teenage-big-sister-who-came-to-Alan-Johnsons-rescue.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430034830/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/children_shealth/10025514/The-teenage-big-sister-who-came-to-Alan-Johnsons-rescue.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 April 2013 |title=The teenage big sister who came to Alan Johnson's rescue|work=The Daily Telegraph |date=29 April 2013|access-date=19 August 2015}}</ref> Linda, herself aged only 16 at that time, has since been recognised as the hero of Johnson's 2013 memoir ''This Boy: A Memoir of a Childhood''.<ref>{{cite news |title=This Boy: A Memoir of a Childhood by Alan Johnson – review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/may/11/this-boy-alan-johnson-review|first=Chris|last=Mullin|date=11 May 2013|work=The Guardian|access-date=9 June 2013}}</ref>

Johnson passed the [[eleven-plus]] exam and attended [[Kensington and Chelsea College#Sloane School|Sloane]] [[Grammar school]] in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], now part of [[Pimlico Academy]], and left school at the age of 15.<ref name="DIDiscs AJ" /> He then worked at [[Tesco]] before becoming a postman at 18.<ref name="economist"/> He was interested in music and joined two pop music bands.<ref name="DIDiscs AJ" /> Johnson joined the [[Union of Communication Workers]], becoming a branch official. He joined the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] in 1971 and has described his views at the time as [[democratic socialist]], having drawn ideological inspiration from studying [[George Orwell|George Orwell's]] [[Nineteen Eighty-Four]] in school,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://therestispolitics.supportingcast.fm/| publisher= The Rest is Politics Leading | title=101. Alan Johnson: The Prime Minister We Never Had? (Part 1) | date= 6 October 2024 | access-date=7 October 2024}}</ref> although he also considered himself a [[Marxist]] ideologically aligned with the [[Communist Party of Great Britain]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Routledge|first1=Paul|title=NS Profile – Alan Johnson|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/node/161043|url-status=dead|access-date=2 June 2016|work=New Statesman|publisher=Progressive Media International|date=29 November 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613140319/http://www.newstatesman.com/200411290022|archive-date=13 June 2007|language=en|quote="I wasn't a Trot," he insists. "I was more CPGB [Communist Party of Great Britain]. I did consider myself to be a Marxist – I read more chapters of ''Das Kapital'' than Harold Wilson."}}</ref> A full-time union official from 1987, he became General Secretary of the union in 1992.

Before entering [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|parliament]] Johnson was a member of Labour's [[National Executive Committee of the Labour Party|National Executive Committee]].<ref>{{cite web|title=RT HON Alan Johnson MP|url=http://www.nhshistory.net/cvjohnson.htm|website=NHS history|access-date=2 June 2016}}</ref> During this time he was the only major union leader to support the abolition of [[Clause IV]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brady|first1=Brian|title=How Johnson became the model Labour candidate for the top job|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/how-johnson-became-the-model-labour-candidate-for-the-top-job-1678115.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506080415/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/how-johnson-became-the-model-labour-candidate-for-the-top-job-1678115.html |archive-date=6 May 2009 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|access-date=2 June 2016|work=The Independent|publisher=Independent Print Limited|date=2 May 2009}}</ref>

== Parliamentary career ==
Just three weeks before the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]], Johnson was selected to stand for parliament in the safe Labour seat of [[Hull West and Hessle]] when the previous incumbent, [[Stuart Randall, Baron Randall of St Budeaux|Stuart Randall]], stood down suddenly. Randall subsequently became a member of the [[House of Lords]].

=== In government ===
He was appointed [[Parliamentary Private Secretary]] to [[Dawn Primarolo]] in 1997 and achieved his first ministerial post at the [[Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)|Department of Trade and Industry]] (DTI) in 1999. He was moved to the [[Department for Education and Skills (United Kingdom)|Department for Education and Skills]] in 2003 as [[Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education|Minister for Higher Education]] although he had left school at 15.

Johnson, along with other ministers in [[Tony Blair]]'s government, and many other MPs, attracted much criticism for voting on 18 March 2003 for the Iraq war: "to use all means necessary to ensure the disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction" leading to the UK joining the US invasion of Iraq two days later.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/10314/alan_johnson/kingston_upon_hull_west_and_hessle/divisions?policy=1049|title=TheyWorkForYou|work=theyworkforyou.com|access-date=21 June 2015}}</ref> He responded to such criticism on 21 February 2007 by saying "The whole cabinet believed the intelligence we were presented [with] and we made our case to the British people based on it in good faith. As we all now know, that intelligence was wholly wrong. We will be judged historically as to whether getting rid of [[Saddam Hussein]], despite all the consequences, was a positive thing or that the consequences outweigh the positives of getting rid of a brutal tyrant."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/feb/21/iraq.labour|title=How Labour's contenders see the war|date=21 February 2007|work=The Guardian|access-date=21 June 2015}}</ref>

In September 2004, Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] appointed Johnson to the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] as [[Secretary of State for Work and Pensions]] following resignation of [[Andrew Smith (British politician)|Andrew Smith]]. Following the [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005 election]], Johnson was initially announced on 6 May 2005 as being "Secretary of State for Productivity, Energy and Industry", but after just a week, on 13 May, it was declared that the new title would not be used, after widespread derision of the new name, because the abbreviation for Johnson's title, Productivity, Energy and Industry Secretary, would have been "PENIS".<ref>{{cite news |title=Profile: Alan Johnson|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1492289/Profile-Alan-Johnson.html|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=18 June 2005|location=London|access-date=12 February 2012}}</ref> The department's old name was kept and Johnson served as [[Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]]. On 5 May 2006, one day after the [[2006 United Kingdom local elections|2006 local elections]], his brief was changed to that of [[Secretary of State for Education and Skills]], replacing [[Ruth Kelly]].

=== Education Secretary ===
During his time as education secretary, Johnson brought in new ideas and proposals, including encouraging parents to spend more time with their children in a bid to help them progress with their literacy and numeracy skills.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/6453495.stm | title = Parents urged to read to children | work = BBC News | access-date =28 June 2007 | date=15 March 2007 | location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070703152549/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6453495.stm| archive-date= 3 July 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> Johnson has also previously expressed some concerns over diplomas,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/6435563.stm | title = Diplomas 'may go horribly wrong' | work = BBC News | access-date =28 June 2007 | date=9 March 2007 | location=London | first=Angela | last=Harrison| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070602055759/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6435563.stm| archive-date= 2 June 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> and has opened up debate in parliament on the subject of what parental situation is best. He stated that in his view, it is the parents themselves who make the difference, not their marital situation.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6400081.stm | work = BBC News | title = Johnson opens up family debate | access-date =28 June 2007 | date=27 February 2007 | location=London | first=Nick | last=Assinder}}</ref> Johnson looked at improving pay and working conditions for teachers during his tenure as Education Secretary.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6337759.stm | title = Fairer pay for part-time teachers | work = BBC News | access-date =28 June 2007 | date=7 February 2007 | location=London}}</ref>

=== Health Secretary ===
Johnson became [[Secretary of State for Health]] on 28 June 2007, succeeding [[Patricia Hewitt]] in Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]]'s first [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]]. He later criticised breast cancer patient Debbie Hirst because she attempted to buy the cancer drug [[Avastin]], which the NHS had denied her. Johnson told Parliament, patients "cannot, in one episode of treatment, be treated on the NHS and then allowed, as part of the same episode and the same treatment, to pay money for more drugs. That way lies the end of the founding principles of the NHS".<ref>{{cite news|last=Goldstein |first=Jacob |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/02/21/uk-wrestles-over-private-payment-for-health-care/ |title=U.K. Wrestles Over Private Payment for Health Care |publisher=Health Blog – WSJ |date=21 February 2008 |access-date=2 November 2009}}</ref>

When there was a problem with ''[[C. difficile]]'' at hospitals managed by the Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, they dismissed their "blameless" chief executive "both unlawfully ... and unfairly" and agreed to pay her £250,000, much less than the sum that they were told that defending a case for unfair dismissal would cost.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=[2010] EWCA Civ 678|url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2010/678.html|publisher=BAILII|access-date=5 April 2014}}</ref> When the proposed payment became known, Johnson intervened and the Department of Health ordered the trust to withhold more than two-thirds of the severance payment, although its director general of finance, performance and operations said that "it was 'not unfair'" that she should receive the money.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/apr/28/rose-gibb-nhs-appeal-superbug/ |title='Scapegoat' former NHS boss loses bid for £250,000 pay-off |newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 April 2009 |access-date=5 April 2014}}</ref> When the case came to the [[Court of Appeal (England and Wales)|Court of Appeal]], the payment was restored in a judgement that was highly critical of the Department, including quoting her complaint that Johnson had made "personal comments made about me ... without any reference to the Trust, or informing me, ... regarding my severance value and its non-payment".<ref name="auto"/>

=== Home Secretary ===
On 5 June 2009, Johnson was appointed to the position of [[Home Secretary]] during a reshuffle, replacing the first female holder of the post, [[Jacqui Smith]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8085783.stm|title=I won't walk away, insists Brown |date=5 June 2009|work=BBC News Online|publisher=BBC News |access-date=5 June 2009 | location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090606162625/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8085783.stm| archive-date=6 June 2009| url-status= live}}</ref>

In October 2009, Johnson sacked the chairman of the [[Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs]] (ACMD), Professor [[David Nutt]]. Nutt had accused the government of "distorting" and "devaluing" research evidence in the debate over illicit drugs,<ref>{{cite news|last=Tran|first= Mark |date=30 October 2009|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/oct/30/drugs-adviser-david-nutt-sacked |title=Government drug adviser David Nutt sacked|work=The Guardian|access-date=31 October 2009}}</ref> criticising it for making political decisions with regard to drug classifications in rejecting the scientific advice to downgrade [[MDMA]] (Ecstasy) from a class A drug,<ref>{{cite news|last=Travis|first=Alan|date=February 2009|title=Government criticised over refusal to downgrade ecstasy|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/feb/11/ecstasy-downgrade-drugs-class|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=31 October 2009}}</ref> and rejecting the scientific advice not to reclassify cannabis from class C to class B drug. Johnson wrote to the professor: "It is important that the government's messages on drugs are clear and as an advisor you do nothing to undermine public understanding of them. I cannot have public confusion between scientific advice and policy and have therefore lost confidence in your ability to advise me as Chair of the ACMD".<ref>{{cite news|last=Easton|first= Mark |date=30 October 2009|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2009/10/nutt_gets_the_sack.html |title=Nutt gets the sack|work= BBC News|access-date=31 October 2009}}</ref>
In January 2010, Professor Nutt established the [[Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs]], with the aim of publishing honest drug information.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8342454.stm|title=Nutt vows to set up new drug body |date=4 November 2009|work=BBC News|access-date=10 November 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091107190136/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8342454.stm| archive-date= 7 November 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> By 2 April 2010, seven members of the ACMD had resigned.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8601315.stm |title=Government adviser Eric Carlin quits over mephedrone |date=2 April 2010 |access-date=2 April 2010 | work=BBC News| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100405230507/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8601315.stm| archive-date= 5 April 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

In February 2010, it came out in court that [[MI5]] had known that [[Binyam Mohamed]], a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, had been tortured or mistreated by the American services, despite earlier statements to the contrary. In response, Johnson insisted that the media coverage of the torture had been "baseless, groundless accusations".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/johnson-rails-against-media-and-tories-over-baseless-torture-claims-dl7gnt2lbnb|title=Johnson rails against media and Tories over 'baseless' torture claims|date=12 February 2010|last1=Naughton|first1=Philippe|last2=O’Neill|first2=Sean|work=[[The Times]]|access-date=12 February 2010}}</ref> He also said Government lawyers had not forced the judiciary to water down criticism of MI5, despite an earlier, draft ruling by Lord Neuberger, the [[Master of the Rolls]] that the Security Service had failed to respect human rights, deliberately misled parliament, and had a "culture of suppression" that undermined government assurances about its conduct.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Richard |last1=Norton-Taylor |first2=Ian |last2=Cobain |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/10/binyam-mohamed-torture-mi5 |title=Top judge: Binyam Mohamed case shows MI5 to be devious, dishonest and complicit in torture |newspaper=The Guardian |date= 10 February 2010 |access-date=20 January 2011 |location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110126055352/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/10/binyam-mohamed-torture-mi5| archive-date= 26 January 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref>

=== Deputy leadership candidate and potential leader ===
Johnson publicly stated in May 2006 he expected to stand for the post of Leader of the Labour Party when [[Tony Blair]] stepped down. Johnson told the BBC in an interview on 9 November 2006<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6133276.stm | work = BBC News | title = Johnson backing Brown for leader | access-date =28 June 2007 | date=9 November 2006 | location=London}}</ref> that he would in fact be supporting Brown and standing as deputy leader. He was [[2007 Labour Party deputy leadership election|successfully nominated]] onto the ballot paper for Labour Deputy leader with most number of nominations. On 24 June 2007,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6234692.stm | title = Harman wins deputy leader contest | work = BBC News | access-date =28 June 2007 | date=24 June 2007 | location=London}}</ref> Johnson was narrowly beaten for the deputy leadership by [[Harriet Harman]]. He led in rounds 2 to 4 of the voting, until he was overtaken by Harman in the last round, eventually finishing with 49.56% of the vote.

Having been touted in the media as a possible successor to outgoing Labour leader [[Gordon Brown]], Johnson announced to the BBC on 12 May 2010 that he would not be standing in the forthcoming leadership contest, and would instead be backing [[David Miliband]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8676752.stm |title=Labour leadership: David Miliband enters contest |work=BBC News |date=12 May 2010 |access-date=20 January 2011}}</ref>

In November 2014, amid criticism within the party of its leader [[Ed Miliband]], Johnson again denied speculation that he was a potential leadership candidate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-30002270 |title=Tony Blair gives Ed Miliband his 'full support'|work= BBC News|date= 11 November 2014|access-date=22 November 2014}}</ref>

=== Potential London Mayoral candidate ===
[[File:THE Rt Hon. ALAN JOHNSON MP.jpg|thumb|left|Johnson in Hull, 2011]]
In 2010, there was much speculation that Johnson was going to stand as a candidate for the London Mayoral election after announcing that he was not going to contest the leadership. Many of Johnson's close allies encouraged him to stand for the Mayoralty and he was thought to have been considering it.<ref>{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Waugh|url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/alan-johnson-v-boris-johnson-for-london-mayor-6470634.html |title=Alan Johnson v Boris Johnson for London Mayor |work= Evening Standard |access-date= 6 May 2012|date=18 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/05/former-labour-johnson-london |title=Will it be Boris Johnson v Alan Johnson in 2012? |work=New Statesman |date=18 May 2010|access-date=6 May 2012}}</ref> However, Johnson decided not to stand for the Labour Party selection for Mayor and instead backed [[Oona King]] for the candidacy, but she lost to [[Ken Livingstone]]. In 2011, there was speculation that Livingstone could be deselected as the Labour candidate in favour of Johnson but that did not happen.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/livingstone-alan-johnson-lacks-the-drive-a-mayor-needs-2362079.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928103644/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/livingstone-alan-johnson-lacks-the-drive-a-mayor-needs-2362079.html |archive-date=28 September 2011 |url-access=limited |url-status=live | location=London | work=The Independent | first=Andy | last=McSmith | title=Livingstone: Alan Johnson lacks the drive a mayor needs | date=28 September 2011|access-date= 6 May 2012}}</ref> In 2012, following Livingstone's defeat by [[Boris Johnson]], many Labour members said that Johnson should have been the Labour candidate. Johnson then revealed that he did consider standing for [[Mayor of London]] but he felt that his allegiance was to Hull. However, he said that he would not stand for [[Mayor of London]] in the 2016 elections as he wanted to stay on as an MP.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Alan-Johnson-challenge-Boris-London-Mayor/story-17434111-detail/story.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505080324/http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Alan-Johnson-challenge-Boris-London-Mayor/story-17434111-detail/story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2013|title=Alan Johnson 'will not challenge Boris in London Mayor election'|date=27 November 2012|work=This is Hull and East Riding|access-date=18 January 2013}}</ref>

=== Views on electoral reform ===
Johnson is a strong supporter of [[electoral reform]], advocating the [[alternative vote plus]] (AV+) system as recommended by the [[Jenkins Commission (UK)|Jenkins Commission]].<ref>{{cite news | date = 23 May 2010 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/may/23/alan-johnson-electoral-reform | title = Here's how to give power back to the people | access-date =26 June 2010 | newspaper = The Observer | location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100526120642/http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/23/alan-johnson-electoral-reform| archive-date= 26 May 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> He indicated that he would seek support within the Labour Party for an amendment to the government's Bill on Electoral Reform, to add AV+ as an additional choice in the referendum. In 2010, it was rumoured that he would step down as an MP to trigger a by-election in Hull, to stand on a [[proportional representation]] ticket.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/7823526/Alan-Johnson-could-force-by-election-over-PR.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Patrick | last=Hennessy | title=Alan Johnson could force by-election over PR | date=12 June 2010|access-date=6 May 2012}}</ref> He supported the [[YES! To Fairer Votes|Yes! to Fairer Votes]] campaign in the referendum on 5 May 2011. He appeared as one of the main Labour supporters of the Yes! campaign at a London event on 3 May 2011, at which [[Ed Miliband]] also appeared.

=== Views on trade unionism ===
Writing for the [[Blairite]] [[Progressive Britain|''Progress'']] magazine in 2013, Johnson described trade union officials as "fat, white, finger-jabbing blokes on rostrums shouting and screaming"<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wintour|first1=Patrick|title=Alan Johnson presses Ed Miliband for policies and warns of union decline|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/feb/03/alan-johnson-ed-miliband-union|access-date=2 June 2016|work=The Guardian|date=3 February 2013}}</ref> and said in 2014 that "A perception that Labour is in the pocket of the unions is damaging to the party ... The precious link between Labour and the unions becomes a liability rather than an advantage when it is allowed to look like a transaction."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wintour|first1=Patrick|title=Alan Johnson calls for radical reform of Labour-union link|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jan/27/alan-johnson-reform-labour-union-link|access-date=2 June 2016|work=The Guardian|date=27 January 2014}}</ref>

=== Shadow Chancellor ===
Johnson was chosen as Shadow Chancellor in [[Ed Miliband]]'s first shadow cabinet, appointed on 8 October 2010.<ref>{{cite news|first=Patrick |last=Wintour |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/oct/08/alan-johnson-shadow-chancellor-cabinet |title=Alan Johnson is named shadow chancellor in Miliband frontbench team |newspaper=The Guardian |date=8 October 2010 |location=London|access-date=21 January 2011}}</ref> His first major speech was the Opposition response to the [[Comprehensive Spending Review#2010 Spending Review|comprehensive spending review]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Patrick |last=Wintour |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/oct/18/alan-johnson-banks-deficit-tax |title=Alan Johnson: Bankers should pay £3.5bn more to tackle deficit |newspaper=The Guardian |date=18 October 2010 |location=London|access-date=21 January 2011}}</ref> The BBC reported that he had made several "gaffes" in his role as Shadow Chancellor and "in an interview he appeared not to know the rate of [[National Insurance]] paid by employers, and he was also reported to have clashed with his party leader over the policy of introducing a graduate tax to replace university tuition fees.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12242397|title=Alan Johnson 'to quit front-line politics'|date=20 January 2011|work=BBC News|access-date=3 April 2020}}</ref> He resigned as Shadow Chancellor on 20 January 2011 after three and a half months in the job, citing personal reasons.<ref name="resign">{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12247675 | work=BBC News | title=Alan Johnson protection officer faces investigation | date=21 January 2011|access-date=21 January 2011}}</ref> He was replaced by [[Ed Balls]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Falloon |first=Matt |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE70J5CR20110120 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122215657/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE70J5CR20110120 |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 January 2011 |title=Ed Balls to take fight to government on economy |publisher=Reuters |date=20 January 2011|access-date=21 January 2011}}</ref>

===Since 2015===
Johnson campaigned for Britain to remain in the European Union in the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|2016 referendum]],<ref>{{cite news|work=Financial Times|url= https://next.ft.com/content/3432b77e-16a1-11e6-9d98-00386a18e39d|title=Labour's Alan Johnson brands Brexiteers 'extremist'|access-date=27 May 2016}}</ref> and was chair of the Labour Party's 'Labour In For Britain' campaign.<ref name="totalpolitics-20151015">{{cite news |url=https://www.totalpolitics.com/articles/news/corbyn-gives-go-ahead-pro-eu-%E2%80%98labour-britain%E2%80%99-group-run-alan-johnson |title=Corbyn gives go-ahead for pro-EU 'Labour In For Britain' group run by Alan Johnson |work=totalpolitics |publisher=Dods |date=15 October 2015 |access-date=9 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="ph-20160510">{{cite news |url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/news/74795/jeremy-corbyn-and-alan-johnson-set-eu-campaign |title=Jeremy Corbyn and Alan Johnson set for EU campaign appearance |author=Josh May |website=PoliticsHome |date=10 May 2016 |access-date=9 October 2016}}</ref>

A critic of Labour leader [[Jeremy Corbyn]], just before Corbyn was [[2016 Labour Party leadership election (UK)|elected leader in 2016 for the second time]], Johnson told [[Rachel Sylvester]] and [[Alice Thomson]] of ''[[The Times]]'': "He is totally incompetent and incapable of being the leader of a political party and he knows it. Corbyn was 'useless' in the EU referendum campaign." Concerning moderates like himself: "We’ve got to recapture this party again otherwise it’s dead and finished and gone".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sylvester|first1=Rachel|last2=Thomson|first2=Alice|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/we-have-got-to-recapture-the-labour-party-otherwise-its-dead-and-finished-3r30ghb7g|title='We have got to recapture the Labour Party otherwise it's dead and finished'|work=[[The Times]]|location=London|date=17 September 2016|access-date=17 January 2017}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Ross|first=Tim|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/17/labour-crisis-alan-johnson-demands-relentless-rebellion-against/|title=Labour crisis: Alan Johnson demands relentless rebellion against Jeremy Corbyn's leadership|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=17 September 2017|access-date=17 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-alan-johnson-labour-not-up-to-the-job-a7351571.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009115200/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-alan-johnson-labour-not-up-to-the-job-a7351571.html |archive-date=9 October 2016 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Jeremy Corbyn 'still not up to the job', says Alan Johnson|date=8 October 2016|work=The Independent|access-date=8 October 2016}}</ref> Johnson stood down at the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 general election]].<ref name="Mortimer"/> He was succeeded as MP by [[Emma Hardy]].

In January 2020, he appeared as a contestant on reality singing show ''[[The Masked Singer (British TV series)|The Masked Singer]]'' dressed as a pharaoh.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2020/01/05/masked-singer-episode-2-recap-shamelessly-kitschy-hallucinatory/|title=The Masked Singer, episode 2 recap: shamelessly kitschy, hallucinatory... and highly addictive|last=Hogan|first=Michael|date=5 January 2020|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=6 January 2020}}</ref>

In May 2023, he was appointed as [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of the [[University of Hull]] and was installed on 1 July.<ref name=HullChancellor>{{cite web|url=https://www.hull.ac.uk/work-with-us/more/media-centre/news/2023/university-of-hull-announces-new-chancellor|title= University of Hull announces new Chancellor|date=24 May 2023|access-date=25 May 2023|website=University of Hull}}</ref>

== Writing ==
=== Memoirs ===
His memoir of childhood, ''This Boy: A Memoir of a Childhood'', was published in 2013.<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Alan |date=2013 |title=This Boy |location=London |publisher=Bantam Press |isbn=9780593069646 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/thisboy0000john }}</ref> It won the Royal Society of Literature [[Ondaatje Prize]] (2014),<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/20/alan-johnson-mp-wins-ondaatje-prize-memoir-this-boy |title=Alan Johnson's memoir of London slum childhood wins £10,000 Ondaatje prize |work=[[The Guardian]] |first=Alison |last=Flood |date=20 May 2014 |access-date=22 May 2014}}</ref> and the [[Orwell Prize]], Britain's top political writing award.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/21/alan-johnson-wins-2014-orwell-prize |title=Alan Johnson wins Orwell political writing prize for memoir This Boy |work=[[The Guardian]] |first=Alison |last=Flood |date=21 May 2014 |access-date=22 May 2014}}</ref>

His second volume of memoirs, ''[[Please, Mister Postman (book)|Please, Mister Postman]]'' (2014), dealt with Johnson's time as a postman and as a union representative.<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Alan |date=2014 |title=Please, Mister Postman |location=London |publisher=Bantam Press |isbn=9780593073414 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | date = 21 September 2014 | title = Alan Johnson, Please, Mister Postman, book review: An elegy to a time not so long gone | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/alan-johnson-please-mister-postman-book-review-an-elegy-to-a-time-not-so-long-gone-9745119.html | newspaper =[[The Independent]]| access-date = 16 October 2014 | location=London | first=John | last=Rentoul}}</ref> It won the [[Specsavers National Book Awards]] "Autobiography of the Year".<ref name=flood2014>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/27/david-nicholls-david-walliams-win-top-prizes-national-book-awards |title=David Nicholls and David Walliams win top prizes at National Book Awards |work=[[The Guardian]] |author=Alison Flood |date=27 November 2014 |access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref>

His third volume of memoirs, ''The Long and Winding Road'' (2016), covered Johnson's time as a politician in the [[UK Parliament]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Alan |date=2016 |title=The Long and Winding Road |location=London |publisher=Bantam Press |isbn=9780552172158 }}</ref>

His fourth and final volume of memoirs, ''In My Life: A Music Memoir'' (2018), covered Johnson's lifelong interest in music.<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Alan |date=2018 |title=In My Life: A Music Memoir |location=London |publisher=Bantam Press |isbn=9780593079539 }}</ref>

The titles of all four of his autobiographical books are titles of songs written or performed by [[The Beatles]].

===Non-fiction===
Johnson has written a biography of [[Harold Wilson]], as part of a series of biographies on former British Prime Ministers, which was published in September 2024.<ref>{{cite web|website=Waterstones|title=Harold Wilson: The Prime Ministers Series|url=https://www.waterstones.com/book/harold-wilson/alan-johnson/9781800753327|access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref>

===Novels===
Johnson has written three novels in the ''Louise Mangan'' series,<ref>{{cite web|website=Fantastic Fiction|title=Alan Johnson – Series: Louise Mangan|url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/alan-johnson/louise-mangan/|access-date=15 May 2024}}</ref> featuring Louise Mangan, a detective in the [[Metropolitan Police]]:
* ''The Late Train to Gipsy Hill'' (published in 2021)<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Alan |date=2021 |title=The Late Train to Gipsy Hill |url=https://alanjohnsonbooks.co.uk/the-late-train-to-gipsy-hill/ |location=London |publisher=Headline Publishing Group |isbn=9781472286123}}</ref> — in which Gary Nelson, an everyman in a London office job, is drawn into the world of an attractive fellow-commuter
* ''One Of Our Ministers Is Missing'' (2022)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Norfolk |first1=Pam |title=One Of Our Ministers Is Missing by Alan Johnson: Fast-moving, action-packed mystery – book review – |url=https://www.lep.co.uk/arts-and-culture/books/one-of-our-ministers-is-missing-by-alan-johnson-fast-moving-action-packed-mystery-book-review-3862494 |access-date=20 October 2022 |work=[[Lancashire Post]] |date=30 September 2022}}</ref> — in which Lord Bellingham, a Foreign Office minister and property tycoon, is reported missing in the [[Lefka Ori|White Mountains]] in [[Crete]]
* ''Death on the Thames'' (2024)

== Personal life ==
Johnson has been married three times. His first marriage was to Judith Elizabeth Cox, with whom he has one son and two daughters.<ref name=Debretts-2005/> After their divorce, he married Laura Jane Patient in 1991; the couple had a son, Ollie, born in 2000.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/24/alan-johnson-interview |title=Q&A: Alan Johnson | Life and style |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2 November 2009 | date=24 October 2009 | location=London | first=Rosanna | last=Greenstreet| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091027065226/http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/24/alan-johnson-interview| archive-date= 27 October 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> The couple divorced in February 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-West-Hessle-MP-Alan-Johnson-s-marriage-ends/story-20658299-detail/story.html|title=Hull West and Hessle MP Alan Johnson's marriage ends in divorce – three years after his wife's affair with police bodyguard|date=19 February 2014|work=Hull Daily Mail|access-date=22 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202075406/http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-West-Hessle-MP-Alan-Johnson-s-marriage-ends/story-20658299-detail/story.html|archive-date=2 December 2014}}</ref> In December 2015, Johnson married his third wife, businesswoman Carolyn Burgess.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/alan-johnson-wants-labour-power-14046271|title=Alan Johnson wants Labour in power — but not under Jeremy Corbyn|first=Kevin|last=Maguire|date=24 February 2019|website=mirror|access-date=5 June 2020}}</ref>

His hobbies include music, tennis, reading, cooking, football, and radio.<ref name=Debretts-2005/> He supports [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.]].<ref>{{cite news | date = 19 July 2010 | title = Alan Johnson: 'My pop star ambitions' | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10681690 | work = BBC News | access-date = 8 March 2013}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{UK MP links | parliament = alan-johnson/376 | hansard = mr-alan-johnson | hansardcurr = 1188 | guardian = 2733/alan-johnson | publicwhip = Alan_Johnson | theywork = alan_johnson | record = Alan-Johnson/Kingston-upon-Hull-West-and-Hessle/239 | bbc = 25517.stm | journalisted = alan-johnson }}
* [http://www.newstatesman.com/200411290022 NS Profile: Alan Johnson], Paul Routledge, ''[[New Statesman]]'', 29 November 2004
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2091320.stm Profile: Alan Johnson MP], ''[[BBC News]]'', 22 October 2002
* [https://alanjohnsonbooks.co.uk/ Alan Johnson Books]

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{{Brown Cabinet}}
{{Miliband Shadow Cabinet}}
{{Shadow Home Secretaries}}
{{Shadow Chancellors of the Exchequer}}
{{HomeSecretary}}
{{Secretary of State for Health}}
{{Secretaries of State for Education}}
{{Presidents of the Board of Trade}}
{{Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change}}
{{Secretary of State for Work and Pensions}}{{One Nation Labour}}{{Labour Party shadow cabinet election, 2010}}
{{Labour Party deputy leadership election, 2007}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Alan}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century English memoirists]]
[[Category:British postmen]]
[[Category:British secretaries of state for education]]
[[Category:General secretaries of the Communication Workers Union (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:General secretaries of the Union of Communication Workers]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ministers for universities of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:New Labour]]
[[Category:One Nation Labour]]
[[Category:People associated with the University of Hull]]
[[Category:People from Paddington]]
[[Category:Politicians from Kingston upon Hull]]
[[Category:Politics of the East Riding of Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Board of Trade]]
[[Category:Secretaries of state for health (UK)]]
[[Category:Secretaries of state for the Home Department]]
[[Category:Secretaries of state for work and pensions]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1997–2001]]
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Alan Johnson