article: Jon Trickett, who had been close to Ed Miliband, declined to stand and Diane Abbott, who came last in her previous attempt, was concentrating on her bid to become Labour's candidate for London Mayor. Twice, in 2007 and 2010, John McDonnell tried to get on the ballot to lead his party. Twice he failed to garner enough support from his fellow Labour MPs. He has had a heart attack since - and didn't feel like a third attempt. But Mr McDonnell was a lynchpin of the Corbyn campaign - the "agent" that helped persuade 36 MPs, just one more than the minimum necessary to get on the ballot, to support the Islington North MP. Remarkably, this included 14 who "lent" him their backing in order to broaden the debate. Mr McDonnell will be hugely influential. He is the chair of the Socialist Campaign Group. He was elected for Hayes and Harlington in 1997 when Tony Blair swept to power but in many ways he formed - with Jeremy Corbyn - an unofficial opposition. He voted against many things which defined the Blair era. He opposed the Iraq war, foundation hospitals, and top-up tuition fees. He had represented the same area of west London on the Greater London Council between 1981 and its abolition by Mrs Thatcher's government five years later, serving as deputy leader to Ken Livingstone. He championed causes which were dubbed "loony left" by opponents at the time - from support for women's sections within the Labour Party to campaigning for a united Ireland. He would argue when it came to positive discrimination, and a peace process in Northern Ireland, he was ahead of the curve. He - unlike some on the left - has widespread experience of running things. He was chief executive of the Association of London Authorities and its successor body, the Association of London Government. A former colleague once said life at the ALG was a bit like in medieval times - "nasty, brutish and short." Mr McDonnell is certainly more personally pugnacious than the new Labour leader but is not without charm and certainly not without intelligence. 24 things that Jeremy Corbyn believes A guide to Labour's new leader The Jeremy Corbyn Story Corbyn victory: How did he do it? What Corbyn's victory means for Labour When Jon Cruddas - Labour's former policy chief - suggested swing voters had abandoned the party because it wasn't trusted on the economy, he posted this on his website: "First, it is unarguable that no modern party leader can win an election if behind in the polls on economic competence. Ed Miliband, sadly, was proof of this truism. Second, deficit denial is a non-starter for anyone to have any economic credibility with the electorate. This was a key finding of the poll recently published by Jon Cruddas, examining why Labour lost the election. "So let me make it absolutely clear that Labour under Jeremy Corbyn is committed to eliminating the deficit and creating an economy in which we live within our means. Where the Corbyn campaign parts company with
summary: Jeremy Corbyn wasn't the left's first choice for Labour leader.