Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Labour leadership: 'Back anyone but Corbyn', Kendall urges

by Selina O'Grady and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, London

30 minutes ago


Liz Kendall has urged her supporters to back anyone other than Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour leadership contest.
In an interview for The Independent, Ms Kendall said voters should mark Andy Burnham or Yvette Cooper as their second and third preferences, and not give any votes to the frontrunner.
Mr Corbyn is due to unveil a 10-point policy plan while in Glasgow later.
It comes as Labour begins sending out the first ballot papers to more than 600,000 people qualified to vote.
Ms Kendall, who is polling in last place in the contest, admitted she had "a hell of a long way to go" to convince enough people to back her.
She called for a voting pact with Ms Cooper and Mr Burnham, saying: "I have set out very clearly where I differ with all the candidates but our differences with Jeremy's kind of politics are far greater."
She is heading on a 72-hour tour around Britain to try to boost her campaign.

'Values and ideas'

Meanwhile Mr Corbyn has promised a "new kind of politics" if he wins the contest.
His policy programme includes a commitment to "growth not austerity", nationalising the railways and energy sector, and a plan for nuclear disarmament.
"I have chosen Scotland to set out the values and policies I'm standing to deliver, on the day the ballot papers are sent out, because Scotland is one of several examples of how Labour has become disconnected," he said.
"This plan of the values and ideas I'm standing to deliver are intended to speak to all parts of Britain, not setting one against another as the Tories have done."
"Combined, they are a new kind of politics: a fairer, kinder Britain based on innovation, decent jobs and decent public services."

Newspaper backing

Yvette Cooper used a speech on Thursday to criticise Mr Corbyn, accusing him of proposing "old solutions to old problems" and presenting herself as the "real radical".
Ms Cooper told BBC Newsnight there was a serious risk that the party would split if Mr Corbyn won.
She said: "I don't want to see that happen, I can't bear to see that happen because I think there is too much at stake and when you've got families who depend on Labour to stop their tax credits being cut, to say goodbye to power and to the possibility of winning the next election is wrong."
Asked if she would sit in a Jeremy Corbyn shadow cabinet, Ms Cooper said she would not be able to argue for policies such as the return of the Labour Party's Clause IV.
She said she feared Labour could be out of power for a generation, but would not walk away from the party.
The Guardian newspaper has endorsed Ms Cooper for the leadership.
In an editorial, it said Mr Corbyn had "breathed extraordinary life" into the leadership campaign, while his three rivals came across as "a triple-headed embodiment of the well-dressed, smooth-talking Westminster class".
But the paper said he would not win the votes necessary to clinch a general election - and instead Ms Cooper would be best placed to take on David Cameron, and perform the "formidably difficult task" of uniting the party.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror has endorsed Andy Burnham, for the leadership.
But the paper urged him to "find a role" in his team for Mr Corbyn, who it says has "lit up the election campaign".
Mr Burnham, Mr Corbyn's closest challenger according to opinion polls, said it was unhelpful to "second guess" and make "dire predictions" about the outcome of the vote.
He said: "I think people are well aware of the issues at stake and I think the time has come to trust the members of our party and the supporters of our party to make the right decision about its future."

Labour leadership contest in-depth

A look at what each of the candidates would do if they won power:
Left-winger Mr Corbyn began the race as a rank outsider but has shot to the top of the opinion polls on the back of a social media campaign and backing from the two biggest unions.
Meanwhile, Labour Party officials have rejected calls to pause the contest over fears the process is being sabotaged by members of other parties.
The party will begin sending out ballot papers on Friday, with the first going to long-standing members who have already been verified.
The result of the four-way contest will be declared on 12 September.

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