“Austerity is not an economic necessity, it’s a political choice.” 
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell aimed to open up a debate on a brave new world in his speech to Labour Party Conference. His predecessor, Ed Balls, had accepted the fiscal policy of the Conservatives as a necessary evil to secure his party the public’s faith in fiscal prudence and thereby power. Labour’s defeat in May and the ensuing leadership contest had firmly cast that message aside. Now Mr McDonnell had the opportunity to present an alternative vision on the back of Jeremy Corbyn landside on 12 September.
For the once divisive left-wing MP, this speech was an opportunity to strike a more conciliatory tone, but doing nothing to douse his radical notions. The new Shadow Chancellor painted the broadest brush strokes of an alternative means of achieving prosperity, one in which the richest, not the poorest would bear the greatest burden. Whilst the destination was the same, a budgetary surplus, under Mr McDonnell and Mr Corbyn, Labour would offer a very different route.
Strategic investment in key sectors of the economy would help generate growth, whilst the wealthiest and the least deserving in Mr McDonnell’s eyes would see their tax breaks and benefits trimmed. For the first time in decades, a Labour Shadow Chancellor who is unafraid to talk of tax rises. The contrast with the recent past could not have been greater.
However, Labour’s new leadership team knows they cannot carry through these measures without consultation and review. Mr McDonnell announced that a fundamental review of the functions of the Treasury would be conducted by former Head of the Home Civil Service, Crossbench peer Lord Kerslake. The remit of the Bank of England would be reassessed to consider growth as well as inflation, but only after in-depth examination.
Yet the difficulty in carrying their parliamentary colleagues has been made clear in this conference so far. Former Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt has been touring the fringe warning the new Leader to use his mandate carefully. Elsewhere, Progress Chair and MP John Woodcock’s off-hand remarks to a private meeting of the Blairite faithful reflects the deep scepticism many in Labour feel towards “Corbynomics” and its champion, Mr McDonnell.
There are still areas where all of Labour can find common ground. The rallying cry to protect the NHS from Tory cuts will offer Shadow Health Secretary Heidi Alexander a chance to unite her party around a cause that has long been close to its heart. Both the new, leftist leaders and the old Blairite guard can agree on one thing, Labour created the NHS and the party sees itself as the guardian of this modern British religion.
Shadow Cabinet members, including Owen Smith and Michael Dugher, have clearly delighted in some good, old-fashioned Tory bashing in their speeches. Mr Smith in particular earned a standing ovation for his denouncing of the Government’s Welfare Reform and Work Bill.
Whilst opposition can be a unifying force, as Mr McDonnell fills in the finer detail of his economic programme, he could find that the toughest sell will be to those within his own party.
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