What is Labour’s priority at the moment? Normally the sensible answer for an Opposition party would be that it needs to focus on policy, and particularly on talking about next week’s Budget. But it is very difficult for a party polling so far behind the one in government and that is so divided to have much authority when it criticises ministers on policy. So when John McDonnell gave his pre-Budget speech today, his focus couldn’t just be on what he expects Philip Hammond to get up to and what Labour would want from the forthcoming economic statement.
The speech itself wasn’t about Labour’s divisions, of course: McDonnell set out plans to make people who earn at least than £1 million publish their tax returns, an independent body to allocate funding to the NHS as the debate about the health service had become too ‘politicised’ and more hypothecation for health spending. But in the question and answer session afterwards, the Shadow Chancellor made a striking point about those in his party who oppose him and Jeremy Corbyn.
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