The 60-year old cabinet veteran Alan Johnson has insisted that he is sticking around for the long-term, despite signals that he is not exactly bonding with Ed Miliband. Their disagreement over the graduate tax and the 50p income tax band are the most visible signs of tension. They are also spending less time together than you might expect. As the FT reported a few weeks ago:
Mr Johnson and Mr Miliband have been allocated the same offices in Westminster’s Norman Shaw buildings once occupied by Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne before the election. But the shadow chancellor spends most of his time in his old office in a separate building.
This morning George Parker, our political editor, reports that:
“Some Labour figures speculate David Miliband could replace Mr Johnson at the midpoint of this parliament, claiming the shadow chancellor was ‘reaching the end of his political career.’”
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey