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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Aletha Adu Political correspondent

John McDonnell calls for grassroots leadership challenge to Starmer government

John McDonnell in central London protesting against redundancies and education cuts. McDonnell was among seven Labour MPs suspended last July for defying the whip on a Commons vote to end the two-child benefit cap.
John McDonnell in central London protesting against redundancies and education cuts. McDonnell was among seven Labour MPs suspended last July for defying the whip on a Commons vote to end the two-child benefit cap. Photograph: Krisztián Elek/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

The suspended Labour veteran John McDonnell has called for a grassroots leadership challenge to the Labour government, warning that unless party members, unions and MPs “stand up and assert themselves to take back control of our party”, Labour risks losing not just its power: “We could lose a party.”

The former shadow chancellor accused Keir Starmer’s government of “callousness and political incompetence”, criticising its hesitance in abolishing the two-child limit on benefits, and what he calls a “brutal launch of an attack on benefits of disabled people”.

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