Tony Blair served as prime minister of the United Kingdom between 1997 and 2007. The first Labour prime minister in 18 years, Blair took Labour away from its left-wing roots towards a less ideological position focused on winning elections. Whilst successful in this aim (Labour won three general elections in a row), Blair is now deeply unpopular among the British public, and Labour has not won an election since he left. Why (and when) Blair's popularity took such a drubbing is the central investigation of today's episode. My guest is Jon Cruddas, who worked for Blair in the late 1990s before becoming member of parliament for Dagenham and Rainham in 2001.