Is Jon Cruddas a left candidate?
Jon Cruddas, the Labour MP for Barking and Dagenham who worked as Tony Blair's trade union fixer between 1999 and 2001, has officially announced his bid for Labour deputy leader and was due to hold a rally in Dagenham on the evening of 18 October to launch his campaign. There is no doubt that Cruddas' campaign will play to the left. His campaign website argues that Labour has “lost its way” and promises to “infuse ordinary members around the central values of equality, fairness and a rejection of the politics of hate”. The BBC website quotes him attacking Blair's foreign policy for breeding...