Contributor(s): John McDonnell | John McDonnell (@johnmcdonnellMP) has been the MP for Hayes and Harlington since 1997 and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since September 2015. He was born in Liverpool and stood as a candidate for Leader of the Labour party against Gordon Brown in 2007 and again in 2010. In 1981, he was elected to the Greater London Council as a member for Hayes and Harlington. He became the Chair of Finance, responsible for the GLC’s budget, and was Ken Livingstone's deputy leader until 1985. From 1985-87, he was Head of the Policy Unit at Camden Borough Council, then Chief Executive of the Association of London Authorities from 1987 to 1995 and the Association of London Government from 1995-97. Tony Travers is Director of LSE London, a research centre at the London School of Economics. British Government @ LSE (@lsegovernment) is an initiative currently based in the Government Department to promote and develop research on British Government being conducted at the LSE. So far world class speakers have attended our events, talking on a range of topics.