McDonnell urged to withdrawal Byrne support
Hard-left Labour activists have urged John McDonnell to reconsider his support for Liam Byrne as the party's candidate for West Midlands Mayor.
Labour Shadow Chancellor Mr McDonnell endorsed Birmingham MP Mr Byrne last month, describing him as "the sort of person we need to lead our campaign and implement the policies that Labour will be implementing in government".
But the city's Momentum group have urged Mr McDonnell to think again, accusing Mr Byrne of supporting "austerity-based politics" and of attacking "socialist principles".
The group says that only an "anti-austerity candidate" will have a chance of beating Conservative Mayor Andy Street in next May's election.
Hodge Hill MP Mr Byrne, a shadow digital minister on Labour's frontbench, served in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and is considered to be a centrist.
He is battling to get Corbynites on side in a bid to gather enough support from members to secure the Labour nomination.
The letter to Mr McDonnell says: "We wish to raise a matter of concern – your support for Mr Liam Byrne as a possible Labour candidate for the West Midlands Mayor in advance of any timetable being disseminated for the selection.
"Mr Byrne is the founder of Progress, whose austerity-based politics were responsible for the significant loss of popularity of the party which led to the 2015 election loss and the collapse of party support in Scotland.
"His attacks on socialist principles are many."
It adds: "It is only with a candidate who advocates the popular anti-austerity policies of the party under Jeremy Corbyn that we stand a realistic chance of winning the Mayor election, end austerity and begin to regenerate the region in the interests of the many."
As part of his campaign Mr Byrne has pledged to tackle homelessness and launch a Green Industrial Revolution across the region.
He said: "I'm really grateful to John McDonnell not only for his political support but for his policy partnership; a partnership that's helped craft the most radical mayoral manifesto ever written to end the moral emergency of homelessness and hungry families, put us at the forefront of the Green Industrial Revolution and rebuild the solidarity of our region against the forces of division and hate."
In a swipe at Mr Street, he added: "As members of Jeremy Corbyn's front bench team in parliament, we stand shoulder to shoulder in the fight against the Tories' austerity in parliament.
"That's the fight Labour now needs to lead in our region because right now we have a Tory mayor who's so supine he's not even written once to the DWP about the catastrophe of universal credit.
"United, Labour can beat Andy Street so let's get on with it."
Former Stourbridge MP Lynda Waltho has confirmed she is standing for candidacy, while Dudley councillor Pete Lowe is expected to announce his decision in the coming days.
