Labour’s love in: shouldn’t people outside the cabinet develop the manifesto?

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

At the Fabian fringe event ‘Next Labour’, both James Purnell and Jon Cruddas ruled themselves out of standing for the Labour leadership in the future. Both prefer, they said, developing the ideas that will contribute to a radical new agenda and that are impossible to contribute in government.

There was warm applause from the large audience at the idea that individuals from outside the cabinet should be the ones who carry the responsibility of writing the Labour manifesto; those inside government are too focussed on their ministerial briefs, they agreed.

It’s good news for the future of the Labour party that these two potentially divisive figures are working together – and finding increasing amounts they can agree on.