John McDonnell: Labour will listen to concerns after MPs quit
Labour remains a broad church and needs contributions from all wings of the party, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has insisted.
Mr McDonnell said the leadership was willing to listen to views from all sides following a bruising week for the party in which it lost nine MPs.
He was speaking during a visit to the Black Country before Dudley North MP Ian Austin announced he was the latest to quit the party.
The Shadow Chancellor struck a more conciliatory tone after initially stating the defectors to the new Independent Group should stand in by-elections.
Mr McDonnell said the Conservatives were in as much as a crisis as Labour, after three of their MPs quit to join the new group.
Asked if there was still a place in the Labour party for centrist views, the veteran left-winger told the Express & Star: "We've always been a broad church.
"I look back on past Prime Ministers, look at Harold Wilson and Clem Atlee, two of our most successful Prime Ministers, they had in their Cabinet left, right and centre and that's what we will do when we go into Government and we have now.
"The reason you want that is because you get better decision making."
Tom Watson suggested the leadership needed to reflect on why MPs were quitting the party and offer an olive branch.
But Mr McDonnell said: "He said it about us all, he said it about himself as well. Some people have left us, I want to listen to what they've said and their criticisms and see how we can address them and we're talking to all our Members of Parliament, going round the country having meetings with members, trade unions but also community representatives and businesses and we're saying if there's differences on policy let's talk about that.
WATCH: John McDonnell speaks at the event
"We'll never always agree 100 per cent on everything but let's talk about the policy, how we operate, let's talk about that and if there's issues there."
Challenged about the loss of MPs from his party, the Shadow Chancellor said: "I think it's even worse if you're losing MPs when you're in Government."
Speaking before Mr Austin announced his decision to leave, Mr McDonnell urged him to stay. He said: "Stay. He's got valid criticisms, he's raised those in the Parliamentary Labour Party and stay, help us sort it out."
Jeremy Corbyn's right hand man was speaking during a visit to Wedge Group Galvanising in Willenhall, where he was looking to galvanise support for Labour's policies on business.
Despite openly describing himself as a Marxist, he insisted he could be trusted with the nation's finances should he ever get the keys to Number 11 and said there would be fairer investment under Labour.
Mr McDonnell said: "I'm a Socialist and that includes the Marxist tradition, includes that communitarian Socialism as well. And what's interesting is all the ideas I have put forward despite some of the gutter press descriptions of me, in the national press, it's interesting in opinion poll after opinion poll they are receiving overwhelming support.
"One of the issues I have raised is how we bring water back into public ownership, people feel they're being ripped off, 40 per cent increase in charges above rate of inflation, £18 billion worth of dividends shared and bonuses being paid out yet poor service, so ideas I am putting forward, like water or rail, public ownership generally, fair wages, restoration of trade unions, they're all common sense Socialism."
He added: "The key issue for this region is decisions will no longer focus on London and the South East. One of the key criteria for us is that investment has to go fairly across the country. At the moment the predominance of London and South East means this region isn't getting a fair deal."
