Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has confirmed he will step down when a new Labour party leader is elected:
McDonnell played a key role in the 2017 election surge, but his decision to back a referendum/remain position contributed to the damage done in Labour’s working-class, leave-voting heartlands. His own parliamentary seat of Hayes and Harlington also voted by a signficant margin to leave.
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So why is he leaving before he even knows who will b3 the next leader? Either he is leaving the Party or it’s a move towards having a shot at becoming Leader. If the latter, great!
Let’s hope that the membership and the broadly pro-Corbyn Project NEC mean that the new leadership will not be too different than the old,
but McDonnell is a super democrat (clue the BBC/MSM were fond of calling him a ‘stalinist bully boy’ when he was first appointed) and is saying – and will do – the RIGHT THING ANYWAY.
I like JM, He’s a fine socialist and friend to Jeremy Corbyn.
Your praise for the supposed ‘Marxist Shadow Chancellor’ and long term old trusted comrade of Jeremy is somewhat misplaced, Paul. this is the supposed ‘comrade’ who, at a crucial juncture a few months ago, stabbed Jeremy in the back by declaring across sundry mass media that Remain was the best deal possible – and that regardless of any Brexit Deal that a future Labour government negotiated, he would campaign and vote for Remain ! He then, along with another ‘old comrade of Jeremy’s, Diane Abbott, took the platform at that Mandelson/Blair/Campbell organised Second Vote London Demo to declare, alongside TOM WATSON FFS, that Labour was a Remain Party ! McDonnel’s opportunist treachery was another ‘brick in the wall’ of Labour’s disastrous two-faced declarations on Brexit – reneging on our 2017 Manifesto promise to respect the Referendum outcome, that helped destroy our vote in our Labour heartlands – and condemned the UK to probably another 5 to even 10 years of unrelenting Tory ransacking !
The simple truth is that McDonnell in action has shown himself to be a pseudo ‘Marxist’ bullshitter, who has derived decades of good living as a supposedly radical Left Labour MP , pumping out endless Leftie rhetoric over the years – but come the crunch time of sticking to socialist principle (and despite the knowledge he must have that the EU is an entirely neoliberal construct) he chose opportunism to curry favour with the Labour Right and our naive, Left liberal, majority membership of pro EU enthusiasts – and proved not to be a true comrade of Jeremy at all , and so it is good riddance to him – and Abbott. The PLP Labour Left proves for the umpteenth time in our Party’s history to be ‘all mouth and trousers’ !
I can only agree with you that the sudden 100% Remain stance was a serious blow to the Party. At least he was open about it and no doubt he thought he was doing the right thing? Or you think it was deliberate sabotage? Personally I don’t know.
jp, could not put it better myself. We need to get mouth AND trousers.
jpenney it is noticeable that you didn’t mention McDonnell’s greatest treachery which was saying that Jeremy has not done enough to counter A/S within the Party. Could it be, because in the past you have shown Zionist tendencies, that you agree with him on that?
John Mc should have tried even harder to convince Jeremy to support the millions who wanted to remain in the EU. Lack of leadership and being undermind by the Zionsts in the Party was why we lost the GE.
Just reading Jack T’s accusing u of Z tendencies. Unaware of those, so won’t judge. I’m new to this posting stuff. Was only persuaded so to do by passionate members of our JC supporting groups. I gave in, and now keep my posting here as at least two of ours have thousands of posts!!! Will double check. Anyway please clarify if you wish re JT’s Z allegations.
Jack T is an habitual anti-Semitic meme poster nutcase who sees ‘Zionist conspiracies’ everywhere, signpost not windchimes. I see no need to reply to his bonkers ‘Zionist ‘obsessions. Jack T thinks anyone who holds to our Labour Party’s, and Jeremy’s, and the UN’s and the PLO’s, position on Israel is a ‘Zionist’. That is, most of the population of the UK, and most of the world’s governments. Jack T is bonkers. Ignore him.
What an amazing summery and sadlly true ..He should resign
What a shame. He oversaw the development of the best economic policy this country has ever had- and which must be taken forward.
John you are a wonderful example of what a chancellor should be. I am so very sorry you are going to step down – Jeremy as well. None of it was the fault of either of you.
Many of those responsible for our defeat – those MPs who made it their life’s work to insult undermine and humiliate Jeremy Corbyn – are now out of a job. They deserve nothing better but unfortunately due to their spite and viciousness particularly towards Jeremy we are facing another 5 years of austerity, more foodbanks, more homelessness more indignity visited on the old sick and disabled.I can’t speak for the membership but I know a lot of people think like me and will never forgive the anti Corbyn element of the party for orchestrating the attacks on Jeremy and perpetuating the vile slanders against him which led to this defeat. Any of them thinking of running for the leadership need to think again. They have not got a snowballs chance in hell of getting the votes of the membership – Jess Phillips tin particular take note.
Only now does Brexit cause the Party to split. How ironic when it’s clearly going ahead in one form or another.
Smartboy, you seem to have forgotten that John Mc was also one of those MPs who undermined Corbyn.
I don’t agree. John McD was and always will be loyal to Jeremy. He’s no fair weather friend – they have history going back 30 years.
But he DID support the Remain stance which cost us the election!
Further to ALL the posters above – why does anyone and esp a shadow chancellor as fine and radical as JM – have to “step down” when a leader calls for a replacement to take over??
If the arguement is that he was partly resp. for the fine Manifesto we fought with and lost, then surely EVERY MEMBER OF SHADOW CABINET has to go (and maybe the entire NEC should pack their bags), no?
More and more surreal by the day…
JOHN McDonnell gave an interview to Alastair Campbell in GQ when he said then, many curious unhelpful things re Jeremy. Strange choice if interviewer. He could have gone to many other people. Why choose Campbell???
Didn’t he also say there could be a place back in the Labour Party for Blair and Campbell?
Like hell there could!
Sounds as if he hopes to be the next Leader as an apparent compromise by the right to the left – apparent being the operative word. It’s clever because it’s hard to see any other viable proposition. A very hollow ‘victory’.
Well remembered Jack T. He sure did. Tells me all i need to know. This idea of fawning on proven liars, bullies and failures like Blair and Campbellend. A big problem for us is that we allow myths to bed in despite easy rebuttals.
rebuttals like : despite lacking for nothing, their Remainiac outfit failed. The creatures they championed like Ummunna & Berger failed. They LOST their seats!!! Jeremy must drop the nicely nicely crap and highlight these simple facts. And repeat.
But nobody suggested he should step down? It seems to be v much his own idea. Maybe he has a cunning plan?
We need to organise now a petition ( I don’t know how to do this ) but to persuade John from stepping down , he has been great , despite Skwawkies misgivings over the Brexit remain option . I don’t think we yet or maybe will never know the full picture /details behind it , BUT I BET YOU A MILLION $ there will be Blairites behind and up to their necks in it . I love the idea of him being a candidate for Leader.
There must be NO WAY for such a fantastic manifesto now to be dis-guarded and trashed , we cannot and must not allow the like of Hodge and Streeting etc etc ( don’t bother to apply by the way ) to ruin the best manifesto we have ever had .
Is this a euphemism for ‘we aren’t going anywhere for the moment’? I hope so.
“McDonnell played a key role in the 2017 election surge, but his decision to back a referendum/remain position contributed to the damage done in Labour’s working-class, leave-voting heartlands.”
Is Sqwawkbox intent on becoming just an irrelevant object of satire? It could be straight out of a Tory bot.
But he’s spot on IMO. Corbyn knew the danger and when the insidious campaign to adopt a Remain policy began you could see a bit of his stuffing was knocked out of him. Despite everything he must have hoped his closest colleagues wouldn’t stab him in the back. Except they did.
“Is Sqwawkbox intent on becoming just an irrelevant object of satire?”
A perfect description of Labour Remainers after this GE. They have delivered Johnson’s Brexit, rather than Corbyn’s, and they have done it by refusing to honour a democratic mandate from the base this party was created to serve. Nothing wrong with being a Labour Remainer – unless you continue to push for a result that has already been democratically rejected, overturning a commitment by the party to honour the very opposite result of the referendum, thereby demonstrating unequivocally to an electorate already bereft of any faith in politicians that they were completely untrustworthy.
That is what lost us this election.
“refusing to honour a democratic mandate from the base this party was created to serve”
Pure delusion – wrong in every aspect.
But supported by the Tory propaganda press, so I guess it must be right.
One thing is certain – you, and others like you, will always be regarded as indistinguishable from the ‘centrist’, right wing of our party which comprised the vast majority of those pushing Corbyn to compromise the commitment to honour the referendum, which stood us in such good stead in 2017. You chose the way of Stephen Kinnock rather than Jeremy Corbyn, and that is how you’ll be remembered – belonging to a reactionary group desperate to take Labour back to neoliberalism at home and neoconservatism abroad, and one primarily motivated by self interest, which Corbyn was elected to replace, not endorse. You will always be remembered for having squandered and betrayed the best chance we have had for a socialist government in many decades. Outright collusion with a bunch of Blairites intent on reclaiming the party at worst, and political illiteracy at best.
The Tories ran – and won – on a campaign of ‘anybody but Corbyn’. In my opinion we’ve lost an honourable, truthful man; not a great leader, I don’t think leadership is part of his makeup, but to be fair to him I don’t think Jeremy ever aspired to lead either the party or the country. He found himself put in that position and resolved to be the best leader he could. You can’t ask more of a man than that.
We need to have a conversation about what qualities we want in a leader, and what sort of leader he or she should be. We need the principles and honesty of Jeremy Corbyn but something more besides. I hated Thatcher with a passion and still do; she was a horrible excuse for a human being, but one cannot deny that she was a superb leader of her party, holding it together with an iron fist. Any future Labour leader will have to have something of that because keeping the Labour party together is even harder than the Tories – herding cats would be simple by comparison.
Candidates will put themselves forward no doubt; I hope John McDonnell is one of them. We need to examine each of them carefully to etablish that they can appeal not just to the Labour membership but to the wider electorate too. One thing I will say; Jeremy’s character was wickedly traduced by the Chief Rabbi and others, no doubt on instructions from Israel whose leadership were terrified of a UK government recognising Palestine as a state. We must ensure that nothing like that can influence the choice of the next leader, and that certainly means we need a campaign of ‘anybody but Philips’.
Derik, I agree with almost everything you say except McDonnell putting himself forward. At one time I would have agreed with you but when he capitulated to the Zionists and undermined Corbyn, I lost all faith in him.
Not only that but in Chris Williamson we have lost our best chance of a leader who meets your credentials and McDonnell was one of those who helped to get rid of him.
Derik, i agree with lots of what you say. But u reach back to Thatcher re leadership. That is akin to my CLP planning book talks to understand what caused our defeat. Eg re “holding party together”: Johnson did just that. He was clear and ditched those who would not stick to his msg. That was heavily criticised esp when he ditched Ken Clarke etc. Clarke never became leader nor PM. BloJon did and won a resounding election. Again evidence that caving in to an odd aim of “keeping people together” no matter what, is not leadership. A friend and i had a passionate chat outside Waterloo Station about just that, when JinJohn ditched the so called “BIG BEAST”. I said that i longed for Jeremy to do just that. My lovely friend thought it was risky. He also from the first sighting of CUKKA UMUM that he looked like a leader etc etc. It is so odd to me that soooo many people parrot such as that.
Same misjudgements of Reagan, he won. Bush junior, he won. H Clinton – “presidential” & “experienced”… “could start the job running” – lost. Brown – Chancellor for years, lost. Ken an independent mayor when rejected – won. Galloway an independent Respect – won. Shiny Cukka – lost no matter which new ship. Trump the “bumbling idiot” etc WON. Swinson lost, Soubrey LOST, Berger LOST, Frank Feild LOST, Watson Car Beech validator jumped before he lost, PLEASE post other estimated losers… eg the Remainiac outfits FUNDED BY MILLIONS , LOST… collapsed FOLDED but unreported by the media … oh no WHY? Because run by those winners Campbell and Blair, and Amber Rudd’s multimillionaire brother. HUGE STUSHI not a peep from the MSM. It is we who need to keep that sort of thing in the public consciousness.
The MSM WON’t so it is up to us to bust the MYTHS that those LOSERS are what’s need. While Jeremy with the leadership ➕ coups WON AGAINST ALL HOSTILITIES. even from the GUARDIAN and The Mirror. Has that happened before? A Labour leader bashed from the outset even by Owen Jones. I heard him apologise at the Politics Festival and he said he apologised to Jeremy but i’m not sure who else of that lot admitted their deliberate failure to support.
Hear Margaret Beckett on LBC č Iain Dale last week and this week also. Was very impressed with how clear she was and honest and fair. I was surprised at how she stood up for Jeremy and also how she did not fence sit. I LOVE THAT. Some callers were not pleased but repeat ONE CAN NEVER PLEASE EVERYONE. Further it is exhausting to try and exhausting to observe and listen to fence sitters.
Could go on but, the sooner we start really unpacking issues, questioning in detail and look at evidence right in front of our eyes, we are making hard work for ourselves. Few things are laid in stone. Fortune favours the brave. It was assumed a black man could not be president . despite the history Obama did. The world is flat – Columbus was ridiculed, now we have Notting Hill Carnival and pushed out the WINDRUSH generation to return to “fall off the edge of the earth”. ! Fancy that! Funny things humans!!!
FEW THINGS ARE IMPOSSIBLE. It is possible for Jeremy to set his own timetable AND HE MUST NOT BE RUSHED OUT. The so called moderates who are never moderate about waging war selling arms to vile despots like the Saudis… never moderate about putting the burden of the bankers greed onto the poor… those “moderates” are nasty, lying wicked, repellant foul stinking viperous evil hypocritical Labour recking working class hating bastards without hearts or souls. THEY’RE IMPOSSIBLE TO REFORM . THEY DO NOT WANT TO BE REFORMED… if even they did wish to be reformed, it would take a miracle.
We must stop dancing to their din and shameless ugly tunes. Reforming the encrusted tools need miracles. Jeremy can’t do miracles on them. No one can even with prayer and fasting. And God is busy knitting. Lots Christmas jumpers and socks to do. Knitting just for fun. Then there is the drainage to unblock to stop another flood. So stop trying to reform them. Let the nasties go get their peerages from the Tories then they can leap to hell all dressed alike.
I SAY JEREMY MUST STAY. It is more than possible to help Jeremy. The DISGUSTING COILEDTHORNYSTREETINGKHANCAMBELLENDHARMANNEDCOOPERDPHILLIPS are beyond help. See above their destiny and garb..
NEC & TEAM REFORM YES. Five years to help Jeremy and protect our party from the same old same old ambitious vultures.
Which reminds me, one of the best qualities of a political leader, is a lack of personal ambition. We have seen Jeremy improve then this setback. So improvement is possible. The best leaders ride setbacks out. “STILL I RISE” and all that.
They ride on and out, that which those without vision regard as impossible, BUT they must ride fully on. Not halfway, not inaudible, not monotone. VISIBLE, DECISIVE and CLEAR and with bright sparkling uplifting humour and spirit to the many. NOT the pampered few in the MSM. They can leap down to hell with the rest of their Tory chums scroats.
The team has been a very good one, and Brexit split every group on the country including families. Only the tories could turn their mess around so that Labour is the one shat on.
A message for Jon McDonnell: sit tight John and keep the faith. Jeremy needs your support now more than ever. He could so easily have walked, as Cameron did, and as Swanton did, and as many have suggested he should, but he has not, and is not. He is staying to face the members of the parliamentary party including those who have opposed him. He is going to be there during the reflection process much of which will be in the form of criticism of him policies and his leadership. Among these will be Caius Cassius, Casca, Trebonius, Ligarius, Decius Brutus, Metellus Cimber and Cinna.
I have heard you speak in parliament, on the TV and radio, and in person at an event in Exeter, and have been impressed by what I have heard you say and what I have read. I was impressed and trusted you. I agree with the comments on this thread re your performance as shadow chancellor. Please do not lead me to believe that it was all pretence and add the missing name from the list above of Boris’s friends and the fateful words spoken by the dying caesura.
Do not come to bury Jeremy, but to praise him. He was, and is, the noblest man who walked within the tide of time of many people; do not let his heritage die. Remember: the fault Dear John lies not in our stars but in ourselves that we are underlings. We cannot let Boris bestride Westminster and the country like a colossus while petty men, and some women, walk under his huge legs and peep about.
The fight must go on
Indeed the fight must go on. Resistance and resilience are essential. The LP is under attack like never before. The old dinosaurs are back ranting on every TV show of the dangers and evils of Left wing policies. Funnily enough they never mention foreign policy despite the obvious openings for attack; perhaps that is because it draws attention to Corbyn’s firm intention to recognise Palestine which is the real AS ‘problem’. The Israeli Foreign Minister said exactly that in a speech on Wednesday. He added there was also a problem of AS in the party but it was Palestine that made him urge Briton’s to vote against Labour.
The message was correct,we built the largest socialist party in Europe and now because we made a suicidal mistake with the electrote,our leaders with vision want to throw the towel in.and destroy the left and leave us with the same old corrupt right wing shambles that has failed in being accepted by us for decades.We collaberated in the denying the democratic vote,why now hand victory to the enemy within and desert the membership.and destroy the many for the few parasites that did the damage to the socialist revival.Didnt we realise that the knives will always be out for the socialist revival?..We can go again and win next time,because the electorate will realise that they made a very dangerous decision in unleashing the dogs on themselves and they will pay for that stupid capitulation with the establishments and the Tory party.
I listened to some of the poison in the pages of the Bolton news and had to endure the racism and bigotry from some of the Bolton public who revealed a type of ridicule and hatred I have never seen in my time in Bolton.The Bolton public have been l
BOLTON public let down by right wing Labour mps but thats no excuse for the racism and bigotry ..They will suffer under the torys but at least we’d retain one Labour mp and the Asian public kept the faith and voted for the Labour party.We retain one mp out of 3and live in hope.Sir causby imppresed no one and the knighthood only impressed himself and lost us the seat for Labour.Now we have another knight fancys the leadership of the Labour party.
The most perceptive summary of the election outcome that I have read :
“In the coming days, two Labour tribes will put forward two simple narratives about the election. One will argue that Labour’s mistake was to offer a second referendum. The other will pin the blame squarely on the left – not just on Corbyn, but on Labour’s radical programme. Stuck in the middle will be the party membership, the overwhelming majority of whom are both opposed to Brexit and firmly on the left of Labour.”
. The argument on Brexit is over,thats yesterdays news and the time to rebuild a democratic socialist Labour party is now.The leader and the chancellor have promised to stay ,so thats plenty of time to choose a new leader and deputy even if it takes a few years,because we hold the keys and the Labour governance can lump it if they don’t like it.We boycott the election of a leader till we the membership are happy that the membership control the Labour party…simple and subscriptions to if we need to democratize get the party together with a true socialist Labour party,not one of your toytown rightys or your Mickey mouse moderates ..No hurry but we are at war with the establishment minded Labour party and governance.Money talks ?.We have all of that! WE ARE THE Socialist Labour party.
Is there a split in the Labour Party between the ‘Socialist’ membership & the ‘Blairite’ Parliamentary Labour Party? If MPs don’t represent the views of their constituency members, then the remedy is simple………isn’t it?
If MPs don’t represent the views of their constituency members, then the remedy is simple………isn’t it?
Yes, except when it comes to Wallasey. Lacksadaisical dilatory cowardly bastards not to have pushed for (ill)eagle’s removal.
Another 5 years of misery topped off by that fucking creature ‘representing’ me? Fuck my life. 😤
Mandatory reselection NOW.
Steve Richards.. I wish it was but it will take a grassroots action against the Labour party governance who have ignored the membership and are anti democracy for the lower orders and removing an mp of the right wing almost impossible.
Losing is painful, even to me, but it is not relevant in the long term.
Johnson, even now, is wandering the country promising massive investment. Why? because although we lost the election we won the argument. In order to win Johnson had to steal our clothes. We provided effective opposition.
That opposition must continue under the new leader. We must stop the recriminations and back Johnson into a corner where he will be forced to keep his promises.
He also cancelled, although we do not know for how long, the cut in Corporation Tax.
Elections are important but winning is not everything.
Just look at how the Republican Party in the US came back after the 1964 defeat of Goldwater.