‘There must be a reckoning if Gordon is to survive’

James Forsyth

13 June 2009

Jon Cruddas, tribune of the left and foe of the BNP, tells James Forsyth his support for the PM is not unconditional, and praises James Purnell for being ‘true to himself’

Jon Cruddas, the Labour MP for Dagenham, isn’t your typical 21st-century politician. He’s relaxed, unconcerned about his appearance: the amount of spare cloth in his suits would appal a Cameron or a Clegg, and his hair is more barber-shop than salon. When I meet him in his Westminster office it quickly becomes clear that his political worries aren’t those of your average ambitious MP either. His Labour colleagues are obsessing over the wave of resignations and how best to position themselves for the coming drama, but Cruddas is keenest to talk about the campaign against the BNP.

‘You must read this book, The Ethics of Authenticity by Charles Taylor [the Canadian philosopher],’ he says. ‘It’s about the crisis of identity and material transformation and de-industrialisation. It’s what the BNP tap into.’

Cruddas has made his name campaigning against the BNP, who view his constituency as a target: they are the second largest party on the local council. Even since winning the most first-preference votes and coming a strong third in the 2007 deputy leadership contest, he has kept his focus on the BNP. He’s turned down two job offers from Gordon Brown and has instead concentrated on the anti-BNP ‘Hope Not Hate’ campaign which mobilised 50,000 activists against the far right party. ‘It is truly inspiring and is a model for the Labour party in the future,’ he says.

It is the draining away of Labour support that has enabled the BNP to win two seats in the European parliament, Cruddas admits. ‘The BNP has traction because this is a movement for Labour supporters and the BNP is now developing a culture of class politics which we have left behind,’ he said. He is scathing about those who dismiss the BNP success as just a protest vote. ‘If we are actually just caricaturing this as protest votes, caricaturing this as protectionism, xenophobic, etc, etc, you are not showing respect for the people themselves who are voting this way. It is not just about race, it is not just about protest, it is actually much more enduring... we are not even getting to first base on this stuff.’

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Mr Green

June 11th, 2009 1:45pm Report this comment

So Cruddas says he knows what the people of Dagenham want. Fair enough, I think we all do. But as that completely conflicts with Labour policy, and indeed it was Labour's immigration policy which caused it all, why on earth does he feel that Labour are the right party to resolve the issue.

Cruddas may be an honourable, principled man, but if has to lie in order to win votes then he is as bad as the rest of them.

Andy

June 11th, 2009 2:57pm Report this comment

Why, despite the evidence of the votes when people were given a chance to cast them, does Labour persist in asserting it knows what the electorate wants? Let's have an election asap so we can SHOW what we want at the ballot box. Clearly, people do not want Labour in any way, shape or form and that's why we won't be allowed to have our say.

Ruth

June 11th, 2009 3:10pm Report this comment

There wouldn't be a problem with the BNP if the Labour Party didn't have such visceral hatred of the white working class.

Cruddas is not part of the solution, he's part of the problem.

Alex

June 12th, 2009 4:55pm Report this comment

Why does the Spectator of all publications insist on describing the BNP as a party of the far right? The BNP is a party of the left, like the Nazis (if you don't believe me have a look at the discussion on Ian Dale's blog).

This is an important battle. The left-leaning media routinely and without explanation dismiss the BNP as a far-right party because it does not suit the Left to examine the BNP closely. If you do examine it closely, you find that many of its policies are characteristic of the Left, in that they are big-government policies.

The conservatives have got to challenge the notion that they are somehow a watered-down version of the BNP. They aren't: Labour is, with its authoritarian disregard for the freedom of the individual and, let's face it, their commitment to "British jobs for British workers."