This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/25/john-mcdonnell-mao-zedong-little-red-book-george-osborne
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| John McDonnell under fire for quoting Mao Zedong in Commons | John McDonnell under fire for quoting Mao Zedong in Commons |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| John McDonnell provoked controversy in the Commons by quoting from the Little Red Book of Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong in his response to the spending review. | John McDonnell provoked controversy in the Commons by quoting from the Little Red Book of Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong in his response to the spending review. |
| The shadow chancellor pulled out a copy of the book to make a point about George Osborne’s relationship with the Chinese, read out a passage and then threw it across the dispatch box. | The shadow chancellor pulled out a copy of the book to make a point about George Osborne’s relationship with the Chinese, read out a passage and then threw it across the dispatch box. |
| McDonnell said: “To assist comrade Osborne about dealing with his newfound comrades, I have brought him along Mao’s Little Red Book.” | McDonnell said: “To assist comrade Osborne about dealing with his newfound comrades, I have brought him along Mao’s Little Red Book.” |
| McDonnell was forced to break, amid laughter from the Conservative benches. | McDonnell was forced to break, amid laughter from the Conservative benches. |
| Related: Mao in demand than ever: Chinese actors line up to play leader | Related: Mao in demand than ever: Chinese actors line up to play leader |
| After the Speaker restored order, McDonnell said: “Let’s quote from Mao, rarely done in this chamber. The quote is this: ‘We must learn to do economic work from all who know how, no matter who they are, we must esteem them as teachers, learning from them respectfully and conscientiously, but we must not pretend to know what we do not know.’ I thought it would come in handy for him in his new relationship.” | |
| Although McDonnell appeared to have been joking, critics were quick to point out that it may not have been wise to quote from a communist leader who has been blamed for the famine that cost up to 45m lives in China during the Great Leap Forward. | |
| Former Labour MP Tony McNulty tweeted: | Former Labour MP Tony McNulty tweeted: |
| Whoever said "I know, let's see if we can get a quote from Mao's little Red Book to accentuate point" probably shouldn't have done. Really? | Whoever said "I know, let's see if we can get a quote from Mao's little Red Book to accentuate point" probably shouldn't have done. Really? |
| Responding to McDonnell’s speech, Osborne expressed incredulity about his opponent’s move. “So the shadow chancellor literally stood at the dispatch box and read out from Mao’s Little Red Book,” he said. | Responding to McDonnell’s speech, Osborne expressed incredulity about his opponent’s move. “So the shadow chancellor literally stood at the dispatch box and read out from Mao’s Little Red Book,” he said. |
| Opening the book, the chancellor said: “Oh look! It’s his personal signed copy. The problem is half the shadow cabinet have been sent off to re-education.” | Opening the book, the chancellor said: “Oh look! It’s his personal signed copy. The problem is half the shadow cabinet have been sent off to re-education.” |