Johnson says something useful

I'm beginning to like Alan Johnson, here he is promoting proportional representation

Already he is a marked improvement on Jackboots - first a climb down on ID cards and now support for electoral reform, and I haven't noticed him making nonsensical arguments for destroying our liberties - I feel so much safer these days

But of course the cynic in me refuses to trust a politician - perhaps the whole reason he's there is to improve Labour's image, which couldn't be done with the fascist stylings of Smith without looking hypocritical

Maybe we are being abused, that's what politicians do - but I have a creeping belief that Johnson actually means these things, he's a bit of a reformer and has some actual politics in him, unlike Smith who was politically inexperienced and purely a tool of the party, AJ actually has opinions

Note at the end he admits his colleagues do not particularly endorse his ramblings - so don't expect anything out of Labour, despite Brown's pledges to be a reformer, there have been none, and nor will there be any

Whether this is him setting his stall for personal benefit, or an attempt by Labour to butter up the increasingly reform minded public is debatable

On the one hand I think John Rentoul is right - it makes sense to appeal to the gay, Liberal Democrat vicars, like me, that read the Indie, while not actually making any commitment to policy - it's a no loss situation

But then I remember just how bad Labour are at these things - Brown and Balls are as about as agile as a twenty ton truck, they don't change gear, and when they do you can watch it in painstakingly slow-motion from several angles, and there is nothing else to suggest that the bunker mentality has changed much

So that leads me to naturally believe that this is Johnson's work - he plays his cards too close to know whether this is for him or the party, regardless, it's working on people like me

Now it doesn't mean I would actually vote Labour if Johnson were in charge, so no jumping the gun, I'm going to be biased towards Johnson over Brown anyway - but I wouldn't be quite so rabidly anti-Labour if they had a leader who had a shred of decency and one who I know has reformist leanings

That doesn't mean I actually trust him, politics is always about compromise - and in my compromise if I had to accept another Labour government I'd be a lot happier with the postie than the...ummm...whatever he was....researcher, the same way that I would be a lot happier with David Davis than smarmy Cameron, and the same in which I would rather the Tories over Labour, despite not remotely being a Tory

It's a sad, cynical world, but there it is - either way I think right now Labour should take the advice of the media and fall back on Johnson, politically it would be best for them to have him while they're in opposition - I doubt I'll trust Labour for at least many decades, but he's their best chance in my eyes, maybe the Tories will be dire and I'll be forced to back Labour, Johnson would certainly help get the swingers like me on board