John Cruddas

[egb_hibs]

One of the few Labour party figures who consistently impresses me, in everything I hear or read from him. That said, don't know the guy much beyond that. What's the verdict from those with a closer perspective?

[Hibbie0762]

Originally Posted by egb_hibs
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One of the few Labour party figures who consistently impresses me, in everything I hear or read from him. That said, don't know the guy much beyond that. What's the verdict from those with a closer perspective?

He is presenting himself to Party members as the acceptable face of Old Labour. Some of the membership regeneration stuff sounds superficially attractive, but when you dig deeper into his personal manifesto it seems to me to be little more than the Longest Suicide Note in History recast in Third Millennium language.

There are issues with New Labour's headlong rush to woo middle England's floating voters, but no Labour Party member who prefers to have a Labour Party in Government rather than in opposition believes that relying on Tony Benn's "seven million real Socialist voters" to deliver power is the answer either. The world has moved on since 1983. I am not sure Mr Cruddas has (though he has certainly got to grips with email, Party members have been getting almost daily homilies from him for months).

The Party's Lentilistas will no doubt vote for him in droves, especially if he plays the Iraq card wisely. I haven't yet decided which of the six candidates I will support, but it is more likely to be one of the ones conducting their campaign within the Party rather than via the national media. So far as I am aware, only actual Party members have a vote, so a daily piece in the national press seems an odd tactic.