Seema Malhotra: the centrist who might be the Corbynistas’ secret weapon

The shadow chancellor's pro-business deputy has George Osborne's 'tax credit fiasco' firmly in her sights as the autumn statement approaches

Seema Malhotra, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, could hardly be more different from her boss and constituency neighbour in west London, John McDonnell.

While the shadow chancellor - and Jeremy Corbyn's righthand man - cites Marx as a major intellectual influence, Malhotra, a rising Labour star, is a former management consultant who grew up above a shop in Hounslow, the daughter of Indian immigrants, and speaks in glowing terms of the contribution business can make to society. Halfway through an interview dissecting the Tories' economic policies, a division bell rings, and she swaps her heels for trainers and bolts off to vote.

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