General election TV debates: Alan Johnson v. Chris Grayling

Alan Johnson was on fine form on the Andrew Marr show this morning. Other politicians resort to hyperbole and pointless attacks on the opposition (some Labour MPs are as bad as the Tories and Lib Dems) but Alan is nearly always cool, confident and authentic.

Kerry McCarthy tweeted: “Never underestimate the seriousness of the British electorate says AJ. That’s why polls are tightening. How about AJ & Grayling debate?”

That’s exactly what the British public deserve. Debates between the main party leaders are an excellent start, but in a Parliamentary democracy aren’t enough. We’re not voting for a president, so we need to reflect the fact that we’re voting for a party and a leadership team.

The number of cabinet positions mean that it’s unrealistic to have debates between them all. But it would be possible to have debates between the holders of the main offices – Chancellor, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary.

It’s doubtful the Tories would be for this as it’s one thing for them to risk Cameron against Brown, but if it’s Miliband v. Hague, Johnson v. Grayling or Darling v. Osbourne then it’s no contest. It would highlight just how weak and shallow the Conservatives really are. Not only can Cameron not trust his would be MPs, he can’t even trust his potential cabinet colleagues.

In the four great offices of state Labour has three potential leaders. The Tories have one leader, one failure and two no hopers.