“If allowed, democracy does actually work” John McDonnell
John McDonnell is a British Labour MP, a position he’s held since 1997. He recently served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn from 2015 to 2020. McDonnell has attempted to run for Labour Party leader twice, once in 2007 following Tony Blair’s resignation and again in 2010 following Gordon Brown’s resignation however failed to secure enough nominations. He has noted Marx, Lenin and Trotsky as his most significant intellectual influences.
During his time as Shadow Chancellor, he pledged to increase spending on infrastructure and research, describing his vision for the economy as “socialism with an iPad”. Alongside Corbyn, McDonnell has been seen as a key figure on the left-wing of the party. He comes to HowTheLightGetsIn to discuss why left-wing politics is more important than ever.