'We'll all go now': John McDonnell to stand down from Labour frontline politics

Shadow chancellor names Long-Bailey, Rayner and Burgon as part of a ‘new generation’ who he wants to take Labour forward

John McDonnell has said that he will not be part of the shadow cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn’s successor as Labour leader, saying: “I’ve done my bit.”

The shadow chancellor suggested that there will be a broader clear-out of Labour’s upper ranks, telling ITV News: “We will all go now. The new leader will come in place and appoint the shadow cabinet.”

In a sign that the Corbynite group at the top of Labour want a successor who will stick with his ideological programme, Mr McDonnell named Labour’s shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner and shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon as part of a “new generation” that can be expected to take leading roles.

A source close to the shadow chancellor stressed that Mr McDonnell was not stepping down immediately, saying: “John will stay in place until a new leader and new frontbench team is in place."

Meanwhile, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry refused to say whether she will stand for the leadership, telling Sky News: “Let’s have a period of mourning. We need to have a chance to stop and think. I have nothing else to say.”​

Mr McDonnell has previously said it is time for Labour to have a female leader.

He rejected the argument that Mr Corbyn had been “the wrong person” to lead Labour, insisting he could have won power in 2017 and that it was the domination of the debate by Brexit which prevented him doing so this year.

But he also suggested that the swing against Labour in seats the party had held for generations was part of a deeper-rooted disillusionment with politicians.

“It wasn’t just Brexit, it was a long history of maybe 40 years of neglect and them saying to politicians, ‘You never listen to us and you have allowed our communities to be run down in this way.’”

He said Labour needed to go through a process under its new leader of “learning lessons, talking to people, constructing a broad coalition right the way across the country”.

He said: “I’m hoping that that will enable us to construct a programme that will address these issues. It’s got to be from the grassroots and the community upwards.”

Mr McDonnell stopped short of naming a preferred candidate to replace Mr Corbyn.

But he said: “There is a new generation come through – Rebecca Long-Bailey, Angela Rayner, Richard Burgon. There’s a whole group of them. We can see a coalition forming that can give us, I think, the future that this country needs.”