John Mcdonnell

John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn since 2015. He served as chair of the Socialist Campaign Group in Parliament and Labour Representation Committee; McDonnell also chaired the Public Services Not Private Profit Group. He is also parliamentary convenor of the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group of eight left-wing trade unions representing over half a million workers. McDonnell attempted to stand for the position of Labour Party leader following Tony Blair's resignation in 2007, but failed to get enough nominations. He was a candidate for the party leadership again in 2010 following Gordon Brown's resignation after Labour's electoral defeat, but withdrew in favour of Diane Abbott, feeling that he would be unable to secure enough nominations. Following his election as Labour leader in 2015, Jeremy Corbyn appointed McDonnell as his Shadow Chancellor. Alongside Corbyn, McDonnell has been seen as a key figure on the left-wing of the party. As Shadow Chancellor, McDonnell pledged to increase spending on infrastructure and research, describing his vision for the economy as "socialism with an iPad".