British MP turns to Mao’s ‘Little Red Book’ in jest

The moment John McDonnell pulled out Mao’s ‘Little Red Book’

Labour MPs were left dumbstruck after their shadow chancellor fished out a copy of Chairman Mao’s “Little Red Book” and recited passages aloud to the House of Commons, the Financial Times and Associated Press both reported yesterday.
John McDonnell has demonstrated Marxist leanings over the years and is a key figure on the hard left of the Labour party, the London-based FT noted.
The AP detailed how, to the bemusement of the chamber, he waved a copy of the late Mao Tse-Tung’s little red book, quoted the Chinese leader’s advice on economic policy and joked about the government’s recent overtures to attract Chinese investment.
Mr McDonnell was trying to poke fun at chancellor George Osborne’s attempts to seek infrastructure funding from the Beijing government.
“To assist Comrade Osborne in his dealings with his newfound comrades, I have brought along a book,” he said, as cited by the FT. “Let me quote from Mao, rarely done in this chamber.”
Labour MPs were aghast as Mr McDonnell made a clumsy attempt at showmanship, flicking his red book across the dispatch box.
The tossed book landed in Osborne’s direction, and McDonnell added, “I thought it would come in handy for you in your new relationship.”
The Treasury chief picked it up and replied: “Oh look! It’s his personal signed copy.
“The problem is half the shadow cabinet have been sent off to re-education,” Osborne said of the Labour leadership.
Chairman Mao was responsible for tens of millions of deaths during China’s cultural revolution, representing one of the worst genocides of all time.
The Financial Times professed on this occasion, however, that the gesture was designed as a piece of political theatre, according to McDonnell’s advisers. “It was a joke,” said one.
“The last thing we want is to look like a bunch of communists and he goes and does that,” said one MP afterwards. “I just don’t get what he was trying to do.”
Another simply said: “Mao? Sweet Jesus.”
Others said the joke fitted a pattern of self-deprecating — but ultimately unstatesmanlike — behavior by the shadow chancellor.
Up until his Mao moment, Mr McDonnell had been making a decent fist of his first response to a set piece Budgetary occasion in parliament.
The shadow chancellor has been a fierce critic in recent weeks of the Tory government’s plans to cut tax credits for low-income workers. He has also warned about the consequences of mooted cuts to police numbers.