John McDonnell was forced to take time off work. John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British Labour Party politician who was appointed the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in September 2015. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since the 1997 general election. He has served as chair of the Socialist Campaign Group in Parliament and the Labour Representation Committee, and was the chair of the Public Services Not Private Profit Group. He is also parliamentary convenor of the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group of eight left-wing trade unions representing over half a
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is in the gift of the Leader of the Opposition but is informal. The Shadow Chancellor has no constitutional role. The name for the position has a mixed history. It is used to designate the lead economic spokesman for the Opposition, although some Shadow Cabinets have not used the term (the Thatcher Shadow Cabinet in the Conservative Party Campaign of 1979). The term has been