Alan Johnson: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:12, 19 September 2006

Revision as of 15:16, 19 September 2006

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==Ministerial career==

He was appointed [[Parliamentary Private Secretary]] to [[Dawn Primarolo]] in 1997 and achieved his first ministerial post at the [[Department of Trade and Industry]] (DTI) in 1999. He was moved in 2000 to the [[Department for Education and Skills]] in 2000 as Minister for [[Higher Education]] (althougheven though he himselfhad left school at age 15).

Johnson entered the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] in September 2004 as [[Secretary of State for Work and Pensions]] after the resignation of [[Andrew Smith]]. After the [[UK general election, 2005|2005 election]] he was appointed to the post of [[Secretary of State for Productivity, Energy and Industry,]] as head of a department which had replaced the DTI but which soon reverted to the old name, [[Department for Trade and Industry]]. On [[5 May]] [[2006]], one day after the [[UK local elections, 2006|English local elections]], his brief was changed to that of [[Secretary of State for Education and Skills]], replacing [[Ruth Kelly]].

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There have been many reports that Alan Johnson was a member of the [[Communist Party of Great Britain]] from 1975 to 1983. {{fact}} -->

Johnson publicly stated in May 2006 that he expects to stand for the post of [[Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Deputy Prime Minister]] when the incumbent [[John Prescott]] steps down. Some suggest he might stand against [[Gordon Brown]] for the leadership of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] when [[Tony Blair]] resigns, and various reports in the summer of 2006 have suggested that he might become the favoured candidate of the Blairite faction{{fact}}.

==Personal life==