Well, this is going well. In less than two hours Labour will launch its 2017 manifesto and John McDonnell has already got things off to a bad start with a questionable appearance on the Today programme. Aside from praising the decision by Labour’s new election aide Andrew Murray to trade the Communist party for the Labour party, the interview proved notable thanks to McDonnell coming unstuck on Labour’s financing.
After the party’s draft manifesto leaked last week, critics were quick to point out that the many policies were yet to be fully costed. However, party brains assured us that by the day of the launch, all proposals would be. Unfortunately that doesn’t appear to be the case. Speaking with Nick Robinson on Today, McDonnell insisted the policies had all been fully costed. However, when he came to specifics the shadow chancellor came up short. Asked how much Labour’s plan to nationalise water would amount to, McDonnell was forced to admit that he did not know.
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