THIS book from Dagenham and Rainham MP Jon Cruddas offers a fascinating analysis of where the Labour Party has been going wrong in distancing itself from working people and their lives by not seeing work as the engine for change but as something increasingly peripheral and irrelevant.

Written during the pandemic, Cruddas detects a reawakening in the recognition of the value of work — nurses, doctors, care workers, supermarket staff and bus drivers have suddenly been seen as those doing the vital front-line work of society.

Cruddas chronicles the approaches of different post-war governments, while always remaining rooted in his own experience of Dagenham and Barking. For the author, the rise and fall of Fords in Dagenham finds its mirror in the postwar Labour governments and their policies.

The Dagenham experience, though, also offers a beacon for revival. In the noughties, working-class disillusionment saw the rise of the BNP, which at one point was poised to take the council. But there was a fightback that saw the fascist party banished and a new resurgent area created, with Labour at its epicentre.

Labour held Dagenham and Rainham in 2019, despite it being a top Tory target and with 70 per cent of its residents voting for Brexit.

Cruddas argues that the demise of work is much overstated and decries those on the left who argue that automation will get rid of many jobs, signalling the way to a new world of work involving “networked” youth and Universal Basic Income (UBI).

He argues that UBI is a false panacea that could take even more control of their lives away from working people.

Cruddas adroitly points out that the furlough scheme can be seen as a dry run for UBI but does not look further at how the present government might adopt UBI, encompassing pensions and universal credit systems in the trade-off.

He argues that the Labour Party must re-embrace the work agenda, looking to promote good work and good jobs and re-engage in the workplace and across communities, via a new work covenant. This would return security to workers and help overcome inequality.

This is an excellent piece of scholarly work, which covers a lot of ground in 190 pages and, while some might get lost in the parts that delve into Marxist theory, the central thrust is clear — the need for Labour to reposition itself at the heart of work and community.

It is a book that should be debated across the party and the wider labour movement — it’s sure to provoke considerable discussion.

Published by Polity, £14.99.