John McDonnell to warn Davos of 'political and social avalanche' unless global economic system changes

John McDonnell has warned of a looming "political and social avalanche" unless the global economic system is replaced by a model which benefits everyone on the planet.



The Shadow Chancellor will deliver his stark message when he attends the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Mr McDonnell will represent the Labour party at the event after Jeremy Corbyn snubbed an invitation to attend.

Speaking ahead of the trip, the left-wing veteran said he would be going to the event - which attracts financiers, politicians and other influential economic figures - "with a warning for the global elite".

He said: "Many of those attending the World Economic Forum have been patting themselves on the back as international growth figures have begun to pick up.

"But they should be worried. In the real world, outside the Davos bubble of Alpine restaurants and chalets, the global economic system they have built isn’t working for billions of people.

"And just as Davos faces the risk of an avalanche this week, growth for a few risks a political and social avalanche unless there is fundamental change to our rigged economic system.

"In the depths of a recession people focus on getting by. But when they are told things are getting better and see no evidence of it in their own lives, they begin to demand real change."

Mr McDonnell said a decade of austerity sparked by the financial crash had been "a con trick" on ordinary people.

He added: "My warning is this. If the current system isn’t radically changed and its rules rewritten, people are not going to put up with it.

"Real change to the system is Labour’s mission, one we share with parties and movements all over the world. The real wealth creators - that means all of us, not just those with offshore bank accounts - must share in the prosperity we all create.

"To achieve that, we must launch a global drive against tax dodging and financial secrecy, for democratic control over our economy and to protect our planet.

"The Davos few have hoarded power and wealth and failed the many. If they stand in the way of the change that’s needed, they risk raising the price they pay. Change is coming either way."

CHINA

Earlier, a spokesman for Mr Corbyn had said it was only economic growth in China which had prevented a global slump.

And he said it would not have been "appropriate" for the Labour leader to go to an event designed to showcase an economic system which he is determined to change.

He said: "The Davos event has become representative of a system and a set of global elites which have clearly failed and it’s clearly a broken system for people. That doesn’t mean that it is not worthwhile for Labour politicians to go there. So, Jeremy won’t be going but John McDonnell will be going and will be attending and will be making some of those points."