Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

Dear Alan Johnson,
I’m sure you consider yesterday’s announcement regarding sex offenders to be a fantastic success, given that the press lapped it up and the Conservatives were forced to fall into line. The plan is to let families ask police if someone with access to their child has convictions or has been previously suspected of abuse, following the [...]

“We don’t have an open-door policy. It is misleading to say we have got one or that we have ever had one. We manage immigration.”
- Alan Johnson, who clearly has not heard of the European Union, speaking to the Independent (full article HERE)

Dear Alan Johnson,
Having presumably given up on any short-term leadership ambitions, you are now rejoining the fold by announcing that local councils are to get the power to seize the assets of minor offenders.  Home Office claims that seizing “ill-gotten gains” are a key part of the fight against all kinds of crime is misleading [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
Your desire to stay out of the limelight is clear enough, but every so often you get dragged into fiery debates.  Given Labour’s desperation with populist measures as you approach a crushing electoral defeat, I wonder what you have made of the new iPhone software in America that shows parents a map of where all the [...]

BBC website, Monday 13th April: Gordon Brown does not have to say sorry for e-mails sent by his adviser that discussed smearing senior Tories, Health Secretary Alan Johnson has said. “Gordon Brown had nothing to do with this. You apologise for the things you are responsible for.”
BBC website, Thursday 16th April: Prime Minister Gordon Brown [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
Desperation is setting in on the Labour benches.  You are so bereft of ideas that you view any initiative, no matter how stupid or wasteful, with a look of excitement.  After the absurdity of schemes such as paying people to give up smoking or eat less, you have now topped many of your [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
You recently described David Cameron as ”likeable”, “articulate” and “a nice guy” - hardly the usual slate of lame insults that Labour throw at the leader of the opposition.  You also mentioned that “I am sure he is genuine about the NHS”, which will certainly separate him from you.  David Cameron believes in personal responsibility and [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
The economic crisis has pretty much wiped out any interest in health policy over the last six months.  This will have given you plenty of time to work on a possible election manifesto and really get to the bottom of some key issues facing hospitals and healtcare budgets across the UK.  Alas, you’ve gone [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
There are very few things that annoy me more than pointless and inevitably unsuccessful Labour policy initiatives, but one thing that certainly does annoy me more is you being dishonest about pointless and inevitably unsuccessful Labour policy initiatives.  Labour have huffed and puffed about binge drinking but every time you have gone near [...]

“Can’t we just set all this true confessions stuff to one side and talk about things that are really important to people?”
- Health Secretary Alan Johnson, eloquently describing why we should leave the biographies to one side and focus on the numerous breaches of trust committed by Labour instead

“You see, what Peter should have done is hide his list of third party donations in one of these, like I did”

Dear Alan Johnson,
I always thought politics was a battle for the limelight, but you seem to be lingering in the darkness at the moment.  My question to you is how long can you take the strain?
Only a few weeks back, Uncle Gordon stepped in like a true fatherly figure and stole your announcement about a [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
It is hard to know where to direct this letter, seeing as the current situation with regard to GP’s pay has been building up for years.  Even so, your tough talking on the latest pay increase for GPs will ultimately be fruitless unless you bribe them with even more taxpayers’ money.
Let’s start by [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
Talk about disregard for the public’s intelligence.  Your latest initiative to try and convince us you are doing something to combat obesity is absolutely laughable.  Turning ‘eco-towns’ into ‘fit towns’ is going to have little or no effect on obesity in this country, trust me.
Regular weigh-ins at school will not change children’s diet [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
Another complete no-show from you today, despite the publication of the Dentistry Watch survey that outlines the number of people who go without NHS dental treatment either because they can’t afford it, can’t understand it or can’t even find an NHS dentist.
When I moved flat a couple of years ago, I found ONE [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
Nice try, but I’m not falling for it.  One of the most consistent behaviours of the Labour government since 1997 has been their desire to jump to quick conclusions and speedily release a new initiative to make it look like they were doing something (a similar point was made to Ed Balls earlier [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
How stupid do you think we are, seriously?  I was considering being constructive in this letter to you about the future of the NHS, but after your speech yesterday I have no choice but to be extremely blunt about my feelings on the issue.
The policies you outlined in your speech are the most insulting [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
I read through the articles about the effect of additives with great interest this morning.  It is yet another piece of scientific evidence that some additives from food and drinks can lead to hyperactive behaviour in children, in addition to huge amounts of the previous anecdotal evidence.  So what are you going to [...]