Jon Cruddas, the Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham, and author of The Dignity of Labour. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Observer
Jon Cruddas, the Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham, and author of The Dignity of Labour. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Observer
The MP and torchbearer of Labourâs intellectual history thinks his party is losing sight of its historical mission to stand up for the working classes. His new book is a plea for a change of course
Sun 11 Apr 2021 06.00 EDT
Last modified on Mon 12 Apr 2021 09.32 EDT
A little over a decade ago, Jon Cruddas was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and found himself spending a lot of time on a neurology ward. âWhen you confront death you rethink what is important to you,â he says. âMy personal sense of ambition dissolved straight away. I became massively preoccupied with what constitutes a life well lived, both personally and in terms of a society.â