U.K. Shadow Chancellor McDonnell Vows to Overthrow Capitalism
U.K. Shadow Chancellor McDonnell Vows to Overthrow Capitalism
(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. Labour Party chief economic spokesman, John McDonnell, said his job is to overthrow capitalism, transforming the Britain into a socialist society.
The lifelong anti-capitalist said he wanted to “radically challenge the system” to prevent another financial crash like the collapse in 2007 and 2008, which “we all paid for” through bailing out banks and more than seven years of austerity.
“Only a few months ago we had someone die, a homeless person die, within feet of a door at Parliament. I don’t want to live in a society like that and I don’t think the British people do either,” the 66-year old told the BBC “Sunday Politics” broadcast.
The Labour Party has pledged higher income and business taxes, as well as a financial transaction tax, along with nationalizing the nation’s railway and water industries. McDonnell has also promised to review the Bank of England’s mandate if Labour is elected to govern.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Steve Geimann, Kim Robert McLaughlin
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