John McDonnell says ‘compromise’ could be reached over Labour leadership rule book change

A compromise could be reached over changing the rules for a future Labour leadership contest, making it easier for a left-wing candidate to stand, the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has said.

The rule change – dubbed the “McDonnell amendment” due to his two failed bids for the leadership in 2007 and 2010 – would mean lowering the threshold of the number of nominations needed from parliamentary colleagues from 15 per cent to 5 per cent, essentially guaranteeing a left-wing figure a place on the ballot.

But while efforts were concentrated on the rule change among Labour’s left before the general election, Mr McDonnell now believes the “heat is off” after Jeremy Corbyn defied pundits and outperformed expectations in June.

“For propaganda purposes people are calling it the McDonnell amendment, but I’ve distanced myself from it all along: one, I’m never standing for leader of the Labour Party, and two, it wasn’t my idea in the first place,” he told The Guardian.

The Shadow Chancellor continued: “I think there’s a demand for change in terms of the nomination procedure and in the usual Labour Party way, if it does get pushed by some, there will be a compromise around what’s liveable. But the heat is off really: it’s not as critical for some people as it was in the past.

“The nature of the PLP has changed, so there’s less a sense of urgency in that sense. The atmosphere’s changed; people are thinking it’s better to have a range of candidates if there’s a leadership at some time in the future, and what’s wrong with that?”

In the interview Mr McDonnell, a key ally of the Labour leader, added that Labour is “working on the basis that the Government could collapse at any time” due to the instability of Theresa May’s fragile supply and confidence agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

He said Labour needed to “divide and demoralise” the Conservatives, adding: “People now understand what Jeremy Corbyn is as an individual. I think he’s won people’s respect. I think he’s grown in the job as well. People need to be absolutely clear where we’re taking the country.”

His comments came as Mr Corbyn continues his whirlwind tour of marginal constituencies across the UK, in an effort to shore up support should Ms May’s Government collapse in the coming months and years.

On Saturday, the Labour leader visited the Conservative-held Aberconwy and Plaid Cymru-held Afron in north Wales. Aberconwy is held by Tory Guto Bebb with a slim majority of 635 votes, while Plaid’s Hywel Williams holds Arfon with an even tighter lead of 92 votes.

Ahead of the visits, Mr Corbyn said: “We can win here and form the next government that will work for the many not the few.”