McDonnell & Charles Dickens.

Miserable John McDonnell: the greatest character Dickens never created.

John McDonnell is the greatest character Dickens never created. He’s just so… Victorian. In appearance, manner, mood, everything. His black suits. His grinding jaw. His leaden gloom. His thudding sanctimony. In the 21st century, Mr McDonnell unexpectedly finds himself cast in the role of shadow chancellor – but in the Victorian age, his true milieu, he would surely have been an undertaker. You can just picture him. The fingerless black gloves. The battered top hat. The scowl. Michael Deacon.