国际英语新闻：British shadow chancellor resigns

LONDON, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- British Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Alan Johnson resigned on Thursday for "family and personal reasons."

"I have decided to resign from the shadow cabinet for personal reasons to do with my family. I have found it difficult to cope with these personal issues in my private life whilst carrying out an important frontbench role," he said in a statement.

"I am grateful to Ed Miliband for giving me the opportunity to serve as shadow chancellor of the exchequer. He is proving to be a formidable leader of the Labor Party and has shown me nothing but support and kindness," he said. "My time in Parliament will now be dedicated to serving my constituents and supporting the Labor Party. I will make no further comment about this matter."

Shadow Home Secretary Ed Balls replaced Johnson and Yvette Cooper took over as shadow home secretary.

Labor Party leader Ed Miliband said Johnson's resignation was for personal reasons and has "nothing to do with the job".

Miliband said he had accepted the resignation "with great regret."

"As shadow chancellor and a politician who held five cabinet positions, Alan showed real leadership on issues that mattered to families across our country, warning of the dangers posed by the government's gamble on growth and jobs, promoting educational opportunity and delivering neighborhood policing," he said.

Miliband added the party's economic policy would be unchanged, noting that "Ed Balls is an outstanding economist and is hugely qualified to take our economic message to the country."

"He's going to be continuing the direction of our economic policy which is about growth and jobs and cutting the deficit rather than this Conservative-led government that's going too far and too fast with deficit reduction," he said.