Liam Byrne’s email to local members confirms bid for mayoral candidacy – and claims Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell’s support
As the SKWAWKBOX broke this morning, Hodge Hill Labour MP and Progress co-founder Liam Byrne is making a bid to be Labour’s candidate in the next West Midlands ‘metro mayor’ election.
Byrne has now sent an email to local Labour members confirming his bid – and telling them that Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell supports it:
John McDonnell confirmed his support, telling the SKWAWKBOX:
We have worked together on the economic policy development and actually he’s been brilliant.
Byrne ran Sion Simon’s unsuccessful campaign for the position in 2017.
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Intent is everything. Lansman supports Byrne because he is a self serving political opportunist who only acts when it serves his interests. He is an individualist, not a socialist.
If Byrne has seen the error of his social democrat Progress/Blairite incrementalist ways and now understands real change is needed then that would be a good thing.
As it says in the bible “joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”
If Mr McDonnell thinks he is an asset on economic policy development it would suggest Byrne has realised the error of his ways and has disowned his former Blairite views.
Mcdonnell can f**k right off as well, ne’ermind this bollocks about thinking byrne might’ve seen the error of his ways…byrne is the utter prick taht offered to help the toerags with universal credit; he’s the complete shithouse that wanted to look dead hard by punishing the poor unfortunate blameless sods who were already probably suffering most under the toerags (The unemployed) by saying he’d be harder on them than the toerags themselves.
byrne is a c**t of the lowest order. I wouldn’t trust him with the steam off my sloppiest, stinkiest shite – let alone endorse him.
Mcdonnell’s shot his bolt, for me. I am f**ing furious about this.
Its just another small piece of the jigsaw that shows us that ultimately, Labour exists to give the illusion of change/choice.
Lost count how many times I told myself that this time it would be different. And each time I’ve been left disappointed.
This chap is like Adonis. He’s been an absolute nightmare for some of us, yet he’s continuously at the forefront of the trough, laughing in his sleeve at us gullible idiots…
Its early days yet and John McDonnell’s comments are hardly a ringing endorsement are they Toffee?
As is stated in the article Byrne ran the campaign which lost us the metro Mayorship the last time. Sion Simon the candidate was as openly anti Corbyn as you could get and Labour supporters, unwilling to vote Tory, stayed at home rather than vote for him. The turn out in some areas was virtually nil .
This refusal of our supporters to vote for an anti Corbyn candidate meant Andy Street got the job and in fairness to him he was a lot less nasty about Jeremy that his Labour opponent. The same will happen again unless we select a candidate with proven Socialist credentials. Therefore in my opinion there is little chance that this man will be our eventual candidate.
In fairness to byrne he’s been almost silent in his views on the so-called ‘extreme left’ and the alleged A/S problem.
But then again, he’s had to be, given the type of gobshite he’s proved himself to be.
As for another candidate from the left suddenly popping up, mcdonnell’s gonna look pretty fickle if he jumps the good ship byrne to throw his weight behind them instead, isn’t he?
No Toffee John McDonnell is not going to look fickle if he supports someone else at a later date. Look again at what John said- they worked together on economic policy development and Byrne was brilliant at it.
This is not an endorsement for metro Mayor – it is simply saying he excelled at economic policy development.
John has always remained true to the socialist principles which have dictated his economic strategy – for the many not the few-so this comment indicates that Byrne has had a change in direction in this matter.
However like you Comrade I find his previous position absolutely disgusting -attacking the old poor and sick while courting big business etc.
As you say he has been very quiet of late but make no mistake about it -nobody is fooled by his sudden conversion to Socialism particularly when he backed an anti Corbyn candidate to the hilt in the same election 2 years ago .
Liam Byrne’s chances of becoming Metro Mayor are therefore very slim indeed.
If he cares so much about ‘homelessness’ etc, then why did he join with the Conservatives in voting for Trident replacement?
Why not vote against and urge that the money be spent on building houses and the other things he pretends to care about?
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/19/trident-how-your-mp-voted
I rather tend to the view that Byrne knows what to say and when to say it rather than any fundamental review of previous (and also some current) political pronouncements. I would however also tend to see McDonnell’s as a longer term strategist, so maybe he knows more of the West Midland’s Labour’s divisions and weaknesses better than most.
Pete Lowe for mayor!
This is very, very worrying.
Let’s hope there’s some clarification in the next few days.
https://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/liam-byrne-fuck-off/
The Void blog was a godsend when I was on the dole with so much invaluable info on what your rights were and how not to let the wolves at the DWP get the better of you.
Johnny was one of the best and funniest political writers anywhere and it’s such a shame he abandoned his blog, possibly under pressure from the powers that be. I only hope he’s still writing somewhere, under another name most likely.
Anyone know what became of him?
”While foodbank use has hit the roof, he’s never once written to ministers to challenge Universal Credit”
This is beyond belief. NEVER FORGET that byrne is the prick wanted to ‘help’ the toerags implement and devise UC.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2399505/Liam-Byrne-Party-spokesman-says-Universal-Credit-good-idea-kept-manifesto.html
‘But he later said Mr Duncan Smith was a ‘good man’ and that he wanted them to work together to iron out problems with Universal Credit because the system as currently operated would leave ‘thousands’ of people better off on benefits. ‘
‘A good man’… The backsliding fu**ing rodent.
Need a decent socialist and JM can occasionally be wrong.
Might it be a blessing in disguise, in that he will no longer be an MP, and helps reduce those on the right.
Time to elect real Labour politicians and not pretenders.
Yes, is JM saying this in order to diplomaticly ‘kick Byrne upstairs’ (or rather downstairs) out of the Commons into local government where he will less of a pain in neck for Corbyn?
The news that John McDonnell supports Liam Byrne surprises me not one whit.
I have already heard tell of John McDonnell giving faultlessly New Labour speeches to the captains of finance and industry. And his and Corbyn’s capitulation to the neoliberal European Union’s anti-socialism provisions is on all fours with this new(ish) love of capitalism.
Danny never misses a chance to get a dig in at Corbyn and some of us know why!
I think after the disaster that will be the EU elections, putting donkeys like Byrne up and telling us he’s a great guy, might not be such a great policy . Anybody with 2 brain cells can see he’s a useless C##T, only interested in self gain.
So, McDonnell is apparently supportinmg a neo-liberal. What on earth is he playing at? Orf is iot a case of, Keep your friends close…keep your enemies closer”?
Some of the comments here about John McDonnell are just plain crazy. First of all he did not endorse Liam Byrne for metro mayor and is never likely to do so Secondly John McDonnell is a lifelong Socialist and the very idea that he has changed into a neo Liberal lover of capitalism is completely absurd.
Is this to be the latest line of attack on him and Jeremy Corbyn – they are now class traitors? Get a grip folks!