Labour ‘war-gaming’ for run on pound if Jeremy Corbyn becomes PM
Shadow chancellor says Labour is preparing to ‘hit the deck running’

The Labour party is prepared for a run on the pound if Jeremy Corbyn is elected prime minister, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said today.
Speaking during the party conference in Brighton, McDonnell said Labour were “scenario-planning” for a drop in the value of the currency in order to “hit the deck running” following a prospective electoral victory.
As part of their “war-game type scenario-planning”, Labour has discussed what would happen if Corbyn's election spooked currency markets, Sky News reports. The party is “hoping to use their annual gathering to present themselves as a Government-in-waiting”, the broadcaster adds.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
McDonnell said Labour had to prepare for a “potential assault” by opponents in the City, media and parliament should Corbyn enter Downing Street, with the party putting together "detailed implementation manuals" and draft laws.
He told followers of Momentum, a hard-left activist group that he “doesn't think” there will be a slump in the currency, but “you never know, so we've got to scenario-plan for that”.
Later, Corbyn backed his shadow chancellor, telling BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg that “John is making the point that you've got to look at all these things and all these scenarios.”
The Conservatives suggested that Corbyn's election would precipitate just such a crisis, as renationalisations led to “a collapse in business investment and a crash in the value of the pound”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - May 9, 2025
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - India-Pakistan tensions, pope hopeful, and more
-
The Week US terms and conditions
-
Leo XIV vs. Trump: what will first American Pope mean for US Catholics?
Today's Big Question New pope has frequently criticised the president, especially on immigration policy, but is more socially conservative than his predecessor
-
Where is the left-wing Reform?
Today's Big Question As the Labour Party leans towards the right, progressive voters have been left with few alternatives
-
Ed Miliband, Tony Blair and the climate 'credibility gap'
Talking Point Comments by former PM Tony Blair have opened up Labour to attacks over its energy policies
-
Is the UK's two-party system finally over?
Today's Big Question 'Unprecedented fragmentation puts voters on a collision course with the electoral system'
-
Will divisions over trans issue derail Keir Starmer's government?
Today's Big Question Rebellion is brewing following the Supreme Court's ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex under equality law
-
Labour and the so-called 'banter ban'
Talking Point Critics are claiming that a clause in the new Employment Rights Bill will spell the end of free-flowing pub conversation
-
Did China sabotage British Steel?
Today's Big Question Emergency situation at Scunthorpe blast furnaces could be due to 'neglect', but caution needed, says business secretary
-
What is Starmer's £33m plan to smash 'vile' Channel migration gangs?
Today's Big Question PM lays out plan to tackle migration gangs like international terrorism, with cooperation across countries and enhanced police powers
-
The tribes battling it out in Keir Starmer's Labour Party
The Explainer From the soft left to his unruly new MPs, Keir Starmer is already facing challenges from some sections of the Labour Party