While Corbyn was mithering on about "winning the argument" after the 2019 election defeat, McDonnell had already seen a few moves ahead. He urged his colleagues in the Socialist Campaign Group to stay in Labour and fight for their policies, but to be careful and not to give their opponents excuses to kick them out.
His warning fell on deaf ears, as one Corbynite after another, including Corbyn himself, resigned from the front bench, or left the Labour Party - or gave Keir Starmer an excuse to kick them out. Thus, the Campaign Group has been marginalised, reduced from 32 members in the last parliament to 25 now - a decline from 16 per cent of Labour MPs to 6 per cent of a much larger number.
So it is significant that McDonnell was out and about fomenting rebellion in the new Parliamentary Labour Party less than a week after the formation of a Labour government. The former shadow chancellor has said that he may seek to amend the King's Speech if scrapping the two-child benefit cap on state benefits, imposed by George Osborne, is not in it.
This story is from the July 13, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the July 13, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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