At this year’s Labour conference, John McDonnell went somewhat off message when the shadow chancellor announced at a fringe event that his party was ‘war-gaming’ for a ‘run on the pound’ if elected. Given that this hardly signs like a desirable outcome for a party of government, the shadow chancellor has since tried to retract his comments – claiming there will not be a run on the pound.
But that hasn’t stopped them ‘war-gaming’. On today’s Sunday Politics, Richard Barbrook, a key member of the McDonnell’s Treasury ‘war-gaming’ team, made an appearance to explain how he is helping prepare the party for power. Barbrook, who runs an organisation called ‘Class Wargames’, said it was important to plan in a ‘game-like’ atmosphere as you can re-iterate the game ‘again and again’ until you get it right.
Alas for all his talk on learning, Barbrook didn’t take so kindly to those who raised doubts over Labour’s financial proposals. Isabel Oakeshott – the co-author of Call Me Dave – put to Barbrook that the ‘fear in the City’ is that they would get wiped out within a day as Jeremy Corbyn’s economic policy is ‘so outdated’.
His reply? ‘She’s just a Tory troll.’
So much for a kinder, gentler politics…
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