An extremely reliable source has informed me that Jon Cruddas rejected a return to government because Gordon Brown only offered him a junior ministerial position, that of Housing Minister.
There had been much speculation that Cruddas would join the government, especially due to his support on the Left of the Labour Party and that he came third in Labour's deputy leadership contest last year.
My source, a senior Labour figure, says Cruddas wanted a position within the Cabinet but Brown refused on the grounds that it was a step up too far. Therefore Cruddas refused the lesser position offered and spun the line that he was far too busy fighting the BNP to return to government.
My source said he felt Brown made a mistake in not bringing Cruddas back - and had told the PM so - but tipped Cruddas as a future Labour leader in the event that Labour suffers a landslide defeat at the next general election as the Labour Party would no doubt shift to the Left and would need to rebuild from scratch.
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