Review: The book that reveals John McDonnell’s economic world view

In 1995, the Labour party voted to amend Clause IV of its constitution, ditching its historic commitment to mass public ownership. A significant victory for Tony Blair, it sparked a modernisation process that saw New Labour win three successive elections.

On Monday John McDonnell drew wild cheers from Labour delegates in Liverpool when he directly rebuked Blair, insisting Clause IV is ‘as relevant today’ as a century ago.

The Shadow Chancellor certainly rolled back the years during his conference speech, unveiling the most radical Labour prospectus of modern times – an unashamedly socialist pitch, calling for aggressive re-nationalisation and sweeping trade union powers.

Listed UK companies will be forced to transfer 10pc of their equity to ‘Inclusive Ownership Funds’, said McDonnell, from which their workers, but mostly the government, would take dividends. A third of board seats are to be reserved for employees. The ‘commanding heights’ of the economy will be ‘taken back into the hands of local councils, workers and customers’, with senior executives getting ‘dramatically reduced salaries, capped by our 20:1 wage ratio policy’.