John McDonnell admits U-turn on fiscal charter vote might confuse Labour MPs

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/14/john-mcdonnell-admits-u-turn-fiscal-charter-confuse-labour-mps

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The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has admitted that Labour MPs might be confused by his changing stance on a key Commons vote on Wednesday evening, but insisted they would not rise to George Osborne’s call for “moderates” to vote with the government.

McDonnell said he would clarify Labour’s position further in the debate on Osborne’s proposed fiscal charter – a measure that would bind future chancellors to run a surplus in normal economic times. The shadow chancellor had initially said Labour would support the measure, but at a meeting of the parliamentary Labour party on Monday evening he informed MPs that he wanted them to vote against it.

Asked by the BBC about the chancellor’s call for Labour MPs to rebel, he said: “That’s an Osborne stunt, isn’t it? I don’t think anyone will rise to it. They will see it for what it’s worth. It’s just another stunt. We are trying to get on to serious economic debate today.”

Pressed on whether he had confused his MPs, McDonnell said with a laugh: “Well, most probably yes, but we’ll make it clear today. We’ve had to change position on a couple of issues but today will clarify everything.”

At the House of Commons vote, Jeremy Corbyn will face a test of his authority as leader as a number of Labour centrists are contemplating abstaining on Osborne’s fiscal rules. Seeking to exploit divisions in the opposition, the chancellor has urged “moderate, progressive Labour MPs” to defy their leader and support his budget lock.

McDonnell has come in for criticism from his own MPs for having initially told the Guardian two weeks ago that Labour would back the charter, before reversing the decision this week.

Ben Bradshaw, the former culture secretary, left a fractious meeting of the parliamentary party on Monday saying the situation was a “total fucking shambles”. However, the Labour leadership’s decision has been applauded as the right one by figures such as Diane Abbott, the shadow international development secretary. There was also a risk Corbyn could have faced a rebellion from the left of the party if he had stuck to the original plan.

McDonnell has explained his change of heart by saying he was affected by meeting the tearful families of steelworkers in Redcar who have lost their jobs, making him realise Osborne’s “stunt” must be opposed.

Earlier on Tuesday, David Blanchflower, one of McDonnell’s economic advisers, admitted surprise that the shadow chancellor ever said he would sign up to Osborne’s fiscal charter, and applauded Labour for now opposing it.

The former member of the Bank of England monetary policy committee said he had no answer to why McDonnell initially thought it was a good idea to back the tight budgetary rules.

Blanchflower told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that picking a date out of the air by which a surplus must be run “makes no sense” and accused the chancellor of “playing silly stunts and making up rules that no one is going to obey”.

David Gauke, a Treasury minister, denied the move was a stunt, saying it was necessary to run a surplus when the economy was doing well.