Jeremy Corbyn's Labour leadership got properly underway last night with his first cabinet reshuffle, announcing a swathe of new posts in the small hours of the morning.
The cabinet as a whole is relatively broad—as Corbyn had promised—despite a slew of high-profile resignations from moderates, with sometime Tony Blair ally Lord Falconer continuing as Shadow Justice Secretary and leadership contest rival Andy Burnham installed as Shadow Home Secretary.
But the choice of Corbyn's friend and campaign manager John McDonnell as Shadow Chancellor will confirm the right of the party's worst fears. McDonnell, who chairs the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group of MPs, has in the past called for a 60 per cent tax rate over £100k and a 35-hour week. His Who's Who entry lists his pastime as "generally fermenting the overthrow of capitalism." He is likely to prove a divisive figure. This morning, on the Today programme, Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn declined to say that he "100 per cent backed" McDonnell's appointment.
McDonnell, speaking in a pub yesterday to Corbyn's supporters, described the leadership result as "the greatest victory for the left that we've seen in possibly decades." He should know: like Corbyn he has been fighting for that flank of the party for years, though he hasn't been in parliament for as long. From 1981-5 he served as deputy to Ken Livingston when the latter was leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) and a thorn in Margaret Thatcher's side. First taking his seat as an MP for Hayes and Harlington in 1997, like Corbyn McDonnell has been a serial rebel, voting against the Iraq war and overall defying the party whip on 479 occasions. Before the general election he told the New Statesman that a bloc of 30-40 MPs were willing to help shift Ed Miliband to the left should he become Prime Minister.
McDonnell has himself campaigned for the party leadership in the past. In 2007, following the resignation of Tony Blair, McDonnell sought to challenge Gordon Brown for the job, but failed to get enough nominations to make the ballot paper. In 2010 he sought to stand as the race's left candidate once again, but in the event withdrew in favour of Diane Abbott.
On economic policy, McDonnell has always been unashamedly radical. Last night, he told a rally that he had been "campaigning for the nationalisation of the banks" for years, adding "they are jokers, these bankers." He has been a fierce critic of the independence of the Bank of England. He is also a staunch supporter of Corbyn's pro-nationalisation policy on utilities and public services, pledging over the summer that a Corbyn government would nationalise industries like the railways and energy without any compensation. An article he wrote for the Guardian over the summer gives some clues as to the economic policy he'll seek to pursue; focused on an "anti-austerity" approach to tax and spend.
Like Corbyn, McDonnell's national profile has been limited, though in 2003 he sparked controversy after comments in which he appeared to praise the IRA were reported in the press. "It was the bombs and bullets and sacrifice made by the likes of Bobby Sands [a deceased IRA hunger striker] that brought Britain to the negotiating table," he told a meeting in London at the time.
Corbyn's full cabinet:
Leader of the Opposition: Jeremy CorbynDeputy Leader: Tom Watson
Shadow Chancellor: John McDonnell
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury: Seema Malhotra
Shadow Home Secretary: Andy Burnham
Shadow Foreign Secretary: Hilary Benn
Shadow Health Secretary: Heidi Alexander
Shadow Defence Secretary:
Shadow Business Secretary, Shadow First Secretary of State: Angela Eagle
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary:
Shadow Education Secretary: Lucy Powell
Shadow Communities Secretary:
Shadow Energy Secretary:
Shadow Justice Secretary: Lord Falconer
Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary: Vernon Coaker
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons:
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport:
Shadow Culture Secretary: Michael Dugher
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development: Diane Abbott
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland: Ian Murray
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales:
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment:
Opposition Chief Whip: Rosie Winterton
Ruled out/quit:
(List via the staggers)Chris Leslie, former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Rachel Reeves, former Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Tristram Hunt, former Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Emma Reynolds, former Shadow Secretary of State for Communities
Liz Kendall, former shadow minister for care and elderly people
Jamie Reed, former shadow health minister
Yvette Cooper, former Shadow Home Secretary
Clive Lewis, former Corbyn backer and MP for Norwich South
John Woodcock, former shadow minister for education
Ed Miliband, former Leader of the Opposition
Dan Jarvis, former shadow Foreign Office minister
Shabana Mahmood, former Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Chuka Umunna, former Shadow Business Secretary
Mary Creagh, former Shadow International Development Secretary
