John McDonnell: We cannot go back to austerity after coronavirus, we need a 'new normal'

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has said the coronavirus has shone a light on the damage done by 10 years of austerity and could kickstart a “new normal” in the economy.

Mr McDonnell was speaking virtually at an event on Monday, organised by campaign group Sheffield Needs a Payrise, which calls for a real living wage, guaranteed hours and union rights.

The group focuses on reaching workers who may not previously be engaged with trade unions.

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Discussing how grassroots organising could help Labour regain seats lost in the December election, especially in the North, Mr McDonnell said a decade of cuts had left the country “so unprepared to deal with this pandemic”.

Former Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. Photo: PAFormer Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. Photo: PA
Former Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. Photo: PA

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“It isn't just about the cuts in public services,” he said. “The appalling failure to invest in our care services has meant, of course, our caring services have been stretched to almost breaking point.”

He added: “This pandemic is terrible, it is an absolute tragedy. But if some good is going to come out of this tragedy, I think it’s the lessons that people are learning at the moment, and they're learning the lessons of how they've been treated over the last 10 years.”

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He said “the commitment and dedication of the workers” had helped to tackle the virus but he said: “They're looking back on the last 10 years, and many of them are saying - because they've learned the lesson of the implication of austerity - never again.”

Mr McDonnell, who stepped down from the shadow frontbench earlier this year, said recognising those low-paid workers on the frontline was essential, and they had been “undervalued for so long”.

He said: “We've got to make sure that people now recognise that they've learned that lesson about who are the real important people in our society and make sure we create a society and an economy where they're properly rewarded and properly respected.

“That will mean that we need to start taking control of our economy and planning it better and redistributing the wealth, the wealth that workers create, so we have fair wages, but also we have democratic control of our economy at the local level of the firm, and of course, we have public ownership at the national level as well.

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“That's the sort of conversations that we need to be having during this pandemic crisis, because we want to come out of it, not to return to what some people think is normal, we should never go back to that.

“There's got to be what we create a new normal, and a society based upon fairness, equality, democracy, and solidarity.”

Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake, chairing the event, said there had “never been a more important time” for low-paid workers to become involved in unions.

She said: “Workers are at breaking point now and it is our duty as the Labour movement to do better.

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“These low wage workers could be the future working class leaders of our unions and in our party, but they do not owe us their votes. If we have to learn from our defeat in December, we must look to support and extend campaigns like Sheffield Needs a Payrise, not just to every red wall seat, but to every corner of the country.”

Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery added: “If the Labour Party's ever going to win an election again, then we need the young people [...] to organise young people.”

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