Alan Johnson

Alan was born in 1950 and was orphaned at the age of 13. Raised by his elder sister, who was also only 16 at the time, the two were assigned a council flat by their child welfare officer.

Alan went on to start his working life at Tesco, and subsequently joined the Post Office as a postman. He eventually became the local official of the Union of Post Office Workers, rising through the ranks to eventually become the Union’s youngest every General Secretary in 1992.

This led to Alan’s move into politics, and he stood for parliament in the safe Labour seat of Hull West and Hessle in 1997. As MP for Kingston-upon-Hull West and Hessle, Alan tackled matters of electoral reform, trade unionists and fairness at work. He was appointed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2004.

Alan says his greatest political achievement is the successful campaign for the British Fishermen’s Association which helped secure their claim for compensation, 25 years after distant water trawlermen had their industry destroyed by the agreement that the government reached with Iceland to end the so-called Cod Wars.

Alan was a regular on the popular This Week (BBC1) and has showed him humorous side with guest presenter stints on Have I Got News For You (BBC1) and, surprisingly, The Masked Singer (ITV1), alongside documentaries like Alan Johnson: The Post Office and Me (BBC4) and indulging his passion in The Nation’s Favourite Beatles Number 1 (ITV1).

​Alan’s journey from growing up in a condemned slum in North Kensington to the corridors of power (via an attempted pop career) was memorably detailed in his award-winning trilogy of memoirs This Boy, Please Mr Postman and The Long and Winding Road. Did we mention he’s a Beatles fan…?

To book After-Dinner Speaker Alan Johnson, contact The Speakers Agency on +44(0)1332 810481 or email enquiries@thespeakersagency.com