Last summer I read Thurston Clarke's The Last Campaign, an account of Robert F Kennedy's 1968 presidential bid. It is inspiring for two reasons. First, it describes Kennedy's acute awareness of the poverty and inequality in America in the 1960s and the moral unacceptability of it. We will never know what would have happened if RFK's life had not been cut short, but perhaps some of the compassion and anger that Kennedy demonstrated during his life might have been directed towards addressing the social challenges America faced then (and indeed now). It's inspiring for a second reason, especially with distrust of politicians so high. RFK was a compelling figure because he was willing to challenge his audiences, and in turn connect with them in a unique way. Kennedy showed that our values define us and can inspire others to believe in the possibility of change and a better society.

What is it about your political beliefs that puts you on the left rather than the right?

I want a more equal and democratic society. I believe that no one is "born to rule" and that everyone should pay fair taxes. It is not natural or inevitable that half the world goes hungry; that the freedom of markets trumps protection of the planet; or that citizens' rights come second to those of corporations. I think governments can and must intervene in the market, and that common ownership has a role to play. I cherish the creation of public space and services, especially health, housing and the comprehensive education system which dared to give so many of us ideas "above our station". And I know that, because the relationship between employers and workers is a fundamentally unequal one, strong trade unions are an essential force for fairness in any healthy democracy.

What do you consider made you leftwing?

Of course family, but also being brought up in a city at a time when contests over politics and power were never far from the surface. Oxford in the 1970s was host to the first-ever women's liberation movement conference, the ground-breaking Randolph Hotel strike and that academy for a new generation of working-class intellectuals, Ruskin College. The culture clash between local teenage "townies" and the privileged offspring of the wealthy who dominated the university student population – and whose meals I was employed to serve in my evening job – could not have been starker. I joined a union.

How would you describe the sort of society you want Britain to be?

The evidence is clear: more equal societies are greener, healthier and happier. In less equal societies, those born poor are more likely to stay poor. Tackling poverty is essential but not sufficient. The super-rich must be brought back from the margins to the mainstream too. I want a society that provides decent jobs for those who can work and decent security for those can't. And I want a new kind of politics where that dangerous drift of disconnection from formal politics is reversed, where people feel inspired and engaged, and where they choose to use their vote because they are confident it will make a difference.

What one or two changes would make the biggest difference to bringing that about?

The key test is what follows after the economic crash: will it be back to "business as usual" or a new settlement of fair and sensible rules? The continued domination of the City is not sustainable in any sense of the word. We also need a fundamental rethink of company law and governance, a crackdown on tax avoidance and – given the size of our stake in the banks – a redirection of investment towards the real economy: high-value manufacturing, upgrading the National Grid and high-speed rail, just for starters. Standing up to powerful interests that oppose change is never easy and we need a more vibrant political culture to deliver it, one which values the contribution of wider civic society – inside the workplace as well as in communities.

What makes you most angry about the way Britain is now?

The cockiness of the financial "masters of the universe" – those self-styled untouchables who assume the rest of us will have to pay for their catastrophic mistakes and that they will get away with it.

Which person, event, era or movement from the past should we look to for inspiration now?

The Ford sewing machinists who won equal pay: a reminder that strike action is a fundamental human right, and that the collective courage of ordinary working women can transform societal attitudes and the law of the land.

Open Left, a new project at the thinktank Demos to provide a forum for rethinking political values and ideas is launched today. What does it mean to be on the left at a time of economic and political upheaval? Read responses from Jon Cruddas, Philip Collins, Stuart White, Alan Simpson, Harry Brighouse, Rachel Reeves, Tom Bentley, Julia Gillard, Jess Asato, James Purnell, Sunder Katwala, Lewis Iwu Brian Brivati and others and add your own at www.openleft.co.uk