There will be no recovery in the UK with conservative economists in charge. It is conservative economics that have done this to us.

I would be concerned that a weakness of Cruddas is that he seems (from his recent articles) to have abandoned specificity for the feelgood factor of cuddly politics. The left instead must rally its shock troops and take specific bridgeheads.

Regrettably it can't indulge in debate on specifics when the windbags full of empty phrases on the conservative front bench carefully avoid any concrete proposals.

Nonetheless it would be amusing to see Cruddas and Marshall-Andrews on a platform together. Shame Marshall-Andrews is retiring.