John McDonnell tops LabourList Shadow Cabinet rankings

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has topped this week’s rankings of Shadow Cabinet members, as judged by LabourList readers. It comes after a fortnight in which McDonnell has been prominent in the news attacking George Osborne over the Google tax deal.

It is the first time he has topped LabourList’s Shadow Cabinet rankings – although he has always scored highly, and was voted by readers as their favourite frontbencher of 2015.

As one of Jeremy Corbyn’s closest political allies, his popularity shows the wealth of support for the Labour leadership from the grassroots. This week Ken Livingstone suggested that McDonnell would be the natural successor to Corbyn as leader, and these figures suggest he would be an attractive choice for many activists.

With readers ranking each Shadow Cabinet member on a scale of one to five, the Shadow Chancellor received the highest average score, with 3.37 – but he also had by far and away the most top marks, with 42% giving him a rating of 5. The second place by that scale would be Hilary Benn, with 32% of readers giving him full marks – far behind McDonnell. Interestingly, by this measurement, last placed Diane Abbott would actually come fourth.

You can see the table by average scores here, with the numbers below. (Click to enlarge)

As with the last two Shadow Cabinet rankings, Hilary Benn, Lisa Nandy and Angela Eagle all perform very well, while Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Owen Smith has shot up the table to take second place. Smith has been noted for his competence, both in his work and media appearances, in one of the toughest briefs for Labour. Hilary Benn’s continued popularity could be as a receptacle for Corbynsceptic attitudes among some activists, whereas Lisa Nandy has long been spoke of as a future star of the soft left.

1,929 people voted in this week’s survey. Thanks to all who took part.

You can see the full table of average scores here: