Labour conference: McDonnell tones down radical rhetoric

Has the radical firebrand really gone? The Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell joked this morning that he would come across as a "boring local bank manager" today. He was not, from the conference platform, announcing a sweep of firm new policies, fundamentally changing Labour's positions immediately.

Although Team Corbyn keeps reminding us, we are all now living in the "new politics", they have come up with a rather familiar political strategy - announce a review. But John McDonnell did not quite live up to his own promise of being completely dull.

The hall loved his promise to pursue companies aggressively to pay tax; his promise to build homes for all homeless families; to end the pay gap; to reject austerity.

Mr McDonnell and Mr Corbyn want to raise taxes on the City, get businesses and the wealthy to pay more of their fair share of tax. But crucially, he believes Labour can balance the books and rejects accusations he's a "deficit denier".

He knows it is important for the public and the rest of the party that he is seen to be trying to stitch the party's economic credibility back together.

So those really radical ideas? Reviewing how the whole economic system works? Changing how the Bank of England and the Treasury work? But first he wants members of the public and experts to take part in a big conversation about the economy, a fundamental look at everything.

We know his views make him the most radical shadow chancellor in many years. And more to the point, Mr Corbyn's campaign succeeded based on big, bold promises about transforming how the country pays its way. But the really fundamental transformations? For now they wait.

But perhaps old habits die hard. Whatever McDonnell's ambition to be dull, his hope not to frighten off his party's moderates today, when I asked him if he still wanted to work to overthrow capitalism, he didn't demur - "it's already happening", he told me, "bit by bit".