Jon Cruddas: You Ask The Questions

Why is the Labour Party wasting £2m on an election for deputy leader, a job that really has little function? KATE COURTNEY, by email

It depends on how you view it. If you regard being deputy leader as some sort of consolation prize then, yes, the post as well as the election are a waste of time. But that's not where I am coming from. I am standing because we need serious debate about how we renew our party. You can't put a price on that. But seeing as you asked, I'm told the election is not costing nearly as much as you say.

Do you think John Prescott has been a successful deputy PM, or is he just an embarrassing waste of time and money? K HADIJH, Ealing

He has played an important role in the Labour Government - his commitment to "social justice in a modern setting" shouldn't be forgotten and everyone makes mistakes - as he has acknowledged.

You have admitted you were "mistaken" to vote for the war in Iraq. If you get such a momentous decision wrong, why on earth do you think you are fit to be deputy leader? DAVID MOON, Hackney

One of the reasons people get disillusioned with politics is they get told that we can be perfect somehow. We're no different from everyone else - struggling to make judgement calls with the facts in front of us, and sometimes getting it wrong. On the flip side, it is incumbent on us politicians to admit when we are wrong. That's why I've said I got it wrong on Iraq.

Gordon Brown voted for the war. Unlike you, he could have prevented British involvement. Do you think he was deluded, a coward or a fool? BRUCE GRANT, Kentish Town

Erm, none of the above? I assume that is the price of cabinet collective responsibility.

What will be your priorities if you get in? NIGEL HARRIS, Hertfordshire

My number one priority will be rebuilding the party, to get us ready to beat the Tories at the next election. I'll have others, but they'll be irrelevant unless the first priority is achieved.

You've talked a lot about rebuilding Labour from the bottom up. What do you think should be the role of members in today's Labour Party? NEIL FOSTER, Morpeth, Northumberland

The members are absolutely crucial. We can't go down this route of a "virtual party" where members are just cheerleaders for people at the top. We need to involve members much more. If they had been listened to over issues like top-up fees, or the need to build more council houses, we would be in better shape now. We need to respect and value members a lot more than we have been doing.

Why should any disillusioned Labour voter return to the fold once Blair has gone? Most of the people who will take over key positions will still have voted for every unpopular policy of his, including the Iraq war, so what will have changed? KEN CONNOLLY, Forest Hill

It's up to us to change. And we do have to change. Labour's lost half its members in 10 years. we can't pretend that it's just one of those things. I'm not going to spout a load of platitudes but people deserve better from us, we have to show you that we've changed. Come back in a few months and see what you think.

Would you turn down a cabinet post if Gordon Brown offered you one? ARLEEN O MARA, by email

The Deputy Leader should be in the Cabinet. But I don't think you can do justice to the job of building the party if you had a large department to run as well.

How would you have any influence on the government if you were deputy Labour leader, but not Deputy Prime Minister? Wouldn't you just be shouting from the sidelines? GRAHAM DEE, Carlisie

The next deputy leader will be elected by hundreds of thousands of party members and trade unionists. Compare that mandate to a cabinet appointment through patronage, then decide who you think will have influence. I'd rather be the elected voice of members at the cabinet table, so members aren't having to shout from the sidelines as is the case now.

Are you looking forward to taking over Dorneywood? SEB WRAFTER, London

Not interested in Dorneywood thanks all the same. I am told it's a nice place, but I'm happier relaxing at home. I don't want any of the trappings or baubles.

Shouldn't the public get an early chance to choose the next Prime Minister of this country? PIA ANGLIM, Highgate

Voters don't choose prime ministers, they choose parties. I got re-elected in 2005 to serve a term representing the people of Dagenham. I don't think they're desperately keen for another election just because Tony Blair has decided to resign. That said, I like fighting elections, so if there's one coming up, then fine.

What is the proper role for modern trade unions? Should they enjoy more influence under the next Labour leader than they did under Tony Blair? J AINSWORTH, Manchester

Trade unions form the bedrock of a free society and the basis of our party and the wider labour movement. As a party, we've treated the unions badly over the last few years, that needs to change.

What will be the most disappointing part of Blair's legacy? TERRY MURTHA, by email

Iraq and enduring inequality.

Do you think the favoured status of the Church of England in Britain is discriminatory? MATTHEW HARRINGTON, Leicester

It's not something I can get worked up about. I never wanted to marry into the Royal Family anyway.

As a Catholic, are you comfortable that the Labour party is not allergic to your religion - particularly after the row over Catholic adoption agencies? CHRISTOPHER LAMB, London

There was an undertone of intolerance in that debate. For me, the beauty of the Labour Party was always its essential pluralism - different faiths (and no faiths), classes, and belief systems coming together within a party built on tolerance and respect. That must be defended.

What's a fair minimum wage? TARIQ AKBAR, by email

A minimum wage of £5.35 isn't a bad start, especially when the Tories and Liberals said a minimum wage of £3 would result in millions of job losses (the opposite has happened). But going forward, I am really excited about the community campaigns for a living wage of over £7 an hour that are springing up. We should support those grassroots campaigners acting to pressure multinationals to pay higher wages.

How do you get your kicks? OLIVER ROWSON, Leicester

I fish. I play golf. I swim and I am learning to surf.

Do you think MPs and ministers are overpaid and over-pampered? CAROLINE MCNULTY, Maidstone

Overpaid? maybe; over-pampered, no. Compared to MPs in other countries we get less support to provide the services that our constituents want. People grumble about MPs, but most do their best with large workloads. I am not complaining though.

What's your view on the National Union of Journalists call for a boycott of Israeli goods and services? JOY ANNELS, by email

I'm not that keen on it. I don't think it is the best way to influence the situation. That said, I am not advocating we do nothing. People in Palestine are suffering under the occupation, and we can't just walk by on the other side of the road.

You were born in Helston. do you regard yourself as Cornish, English or both? JEFF HANNING, St Ives

Well, born in Cornwall to an Irish mum, dad in the Navy. I lived in Portsmouth, Australia, America and London so I don't know what to feel. I'm pretty proud of being British, in that Billy Bragg, George Orwell sort of way.

You are the MP for Dagenham where the BNP have unfortunately been doing rather well at council level. How do you explain the rise in their support? OSSIE MCTERNAN, London

We beat them back at the elections last week. The BNP were talking up their chances. They thought they'd make a breakthrough. But strong, effective campaigning, ward by ward and street by street pinned them back. There are some really complex reasons behind the advance of the BNP to do with some basics issues of housing, work insecurities and the main political parties' preoccupation with a small segment of the political landscape - mythical "middle England" - which leaves many feeling disenfranchised.

Has multiculturalism in Britain had its day? BEN PADGETT, by email

No it hasn't. Quite the opposite. We should be defending the multicultural society rather than running from it. This country is built on migration, diversity and tolerance. I don't think we should turn our backs on that.

Do you think there are too many immigrants being allowed into Britain? JON O'NEILL, Wolverhampton

No, I don't. They do deserve a better deal when they're here though.

Do you support the pathetic war on drugs? And have you ever used illegal drugs? and if so, which ones? JAMIE MACKIE, Edinburgh

I am concerned about the number of prisoners with drug problems. A war on drug addicts is not the answer. We must tackle the organised crime dealers who wreck communities and exploit the vulnerable. Personally, I don't think people should be subjected to the raking over of every mistake they may or may not have made in the past. I will own up to a 25-year addiction to nicotine which I managed to kick in 2005.

What's your favourite political joke? IAN ANDREWS, by email

With thanks to Matt the cartoonist, when we announced that yobs could be marched to the cashpoint for on the spot fines. A man sitting in a bar tells the bartender "I'm drinking to forget my pin number."

Tell me something that I don't know about you. ANJANA INGRAMS, Bristol

I once wrote a doctorate criticising Marxist determinism - to my certain knowledge only three people have read it.