Century of Labour (eBook)

Jon Cruddas has worked for and represented the Labour Party for 35 years and is the Member of Parliament for Dagenham and Rainham. He is a visiting fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, a visiting professor at the University of Leicester and Honorary Professor at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham. He has been head of the office of the party General Secretary, Deputy Political Secretary to Prime Minister Tony Blair, a candidate for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and a member of the Shadow Cabinet. His 2021 book The Dignity of Labour explored the economics and future of work.

Acknowledgements
Preface

Chapter 1: History
Chapter 2: Justice
Chapter 3: Origins
Chapter 4: Minorities: 1924-1931
Chapter 5: Thirties: 1931-1939
Chapter 6: Jerusalem: 1939-1951
Chapter 7: Waste: 1951-1964
Chapter 8: Strife: 1964-1979
Chapter 9: Wilderness: 1979-1987
Chapter 10: Revival: 1987-1997
Chapter 11: Landslides: 1997-2010
Chapter 12: Isolation: 2010-2024
Chapter 13: Purpose

Appendices
Notes
Index

'This dense history of ideas is not a breezy read - but it adds up to a heartfelt plea for pluralism from a Labour thinker whose parliamentary career is drawing to a close just as his party enters a new chapter.'
The Guardian

'Jon Cruddas is a member of that relatively rare species, an active politician who is also an intellectual.'
Chris Mullin, The Spectator

'If the Labour Party is to win office and govern effectively, it should study A Century of Labour, and embrace the deep lessons it offers about success built on tolerance, respect and pluralism.'
Neal Lawson, Director of Compass

'Cruddas' clear-eyed analysis gets to the very heart of the ideas and the personalities that have united and divided the Labour Party. A must-read from one of Labour's most insightful and original thinkers.'
Lisa Nandy MP

'A brilliantly bold and bracing journey through Labour's rich yet troubled history.'
Adrian Pabst, author of Postliberal Politics

'An outstanding dissection and celebration of the modern Labour movement. Jon Cruddas is that rarest of breeds, a genuine scholar-politician.'
Jesse Norman MP, author of Adam Smith: What He Thought, and Why it Matters

'Quite simply the best history of the Labour Party I have read. Cruddas' retrieval of the ethical tradition will serve as a guide to the Labour Party's future.'
Lord Glasman, Labour Peer

'An incisive, original, and thought-provoking account of the different political strands that have defined the Labour party's outlook over the decades. This book will be required reading, not only for those engrossed in the party's past, but for those concerned about its future under Keir Starmer.'
Mark Wickham-Jones, University of Bristol

'In this absorbing new history of the Labour party Jon Cruddas analyses the party's successes and failures...An important contribution to the debate on Labour's future.'
Andrew Gamble, University of Sheffield

'important and authoritative'
Labour Hub

'a thorough and enlightening analysis of Labour's strengths and weaknesses'
Professor Pat Thane, Society

'timely [...] full of excellent analysis'
Morning Star

'a sweeping history of the party over the last 100 years'
Ian Bullock, Independent Labour Publications

'thoughtful'
History Today

'invaluable'
Unison Magazine

'a sweeping historical survey of the party's ideas and personalities since its formation'
The Observer