This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33955719

The article has changed 16 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
First Labour leadership votes to be cast Cooper rejects talk of Mandelson plot to halt Labour contest
(about 3 hours later)
The first votes in Labour's leadership contest are due to be cast, with ballot papers expected to arrive by post on Monday morning. Yvette Cooper has played down reports Lord Mandelson attempted to halt the Labour leadership contest, as voters begin to receive ballot papers.
Left-winger Jeremy Corbyn is still regarded as a clear favourite, by his opponents and by bookmakers. According to the Telegraph, he tried to get Ms Cooper, Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall to quit the race to scupper left-wing candidate Jeremy Corbyn.
Rival candidate Andy Burnham will announce later that he wants to involve Mr Corbyn in rebuilding the party. Ms Cooper said she understood there was a "view" the race should be stopped.
Former PM Gordon Brown has said Labour must be "credible" and "electable" in order to win back power. But she told the Today programme she did not think this was "right" and she had not spoken to Lord Mandelson.
The other two candidates in the contest are Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall. Lord Mandelson, one of the architects of New Labour, is reported to have privately appealed to the three non-Corbyn candidates to stand down last week, believing that the party would then suspend the contest.
Online ballots, which is the way union-affiliated supporters and newly registered voters for the ballot will vote, are to be emailed out on Monday. 'Credible'
But he was informed by party officials that such a move would have meant victory for Mr Corbyn, according to the Telegraph.
Ms Cooper said: "I've not discussed this with Peter Mandelson. I gather there was some view that the whole process should be stopped because so many people were joining at the last minute.
"I don't think that's right. I think it's a good thing that so many people are joining the party."
Senior Labour figures fear the contest has been hijacked by hard left activists signing up to the party to vote for Mr Corbyn, who has emerged from rank outsider to be the favourite to succeed Ed Miliband.
Former prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have both intervened to warn against voting for Mr Corbyn, with Mr Brown saying Labour must be "credible" and "electable" in order to win back power.
Labour leadership contest
Party members began receiving their ballot papers on Monday morning, with online ballots, which is the way union-affiliated supporters and newly registered supporters will vote, also being emailed out.
More than 160,000 people signed up to vote as supporters, full members or union affiliates in the final days before the registration deadline, bringing the total size of the electorate to 610,000.
Andy Burnham, who began the race as the bookmakers' favourite, is to claim in a speech that only he can unite the party and win power at the next general election.
'Big vision''Big vision'
Mr Burnham will say in a speech in Manchester that there are "two visions" for the party but only he could unite it and win power at the next general election. But he will also reach out to Corbyn supporters, in the hope that they will make him their second preference, by saying he would give the veteran left-winger a role in rebuilding the party.
"The race has shown that the Labour Party is crying out for a big vision it can get behind. We can't carry on as we are and the good news is that this leadership election could bring real change to our party," he will say. In a speech in Manchester, he will say: "The race has shown that the Labour Party is crying out for a big vision it can get behind. We can't carry on as we are and the good news is that this leadership election could bring real change to our party," he will say.
"Two candidates have put forward their visions and the party now must decide which way it wants to go."Two candidates have put forward their visions and the party now must decide which way it wants to go.
"I have put forward a plan that is both radical and credible, that can unite our party, that can speak to the country and lay the foundations for a Labour victory in 2020.""I have put forward a plan that is both radical and credible, that can unite our party, that can speak to the country and lay the foundations for a Labour victory in 2020."
Mr Burnham will also promise to involve Mr Corbyn in "rebuilding our party" if he wins. 'Best ideas'
"Jeremy has brought energy to this race. I want to capture that and involve Jeremy and his team in rebuilding our party from the bottom up. Turning to Mr Corbyn, he said: "Jeremy has brought energy to this race. I want to capture that and involve Jeremy and his team in rebuilding our party from the bottom up.
"I want to show how I can take the best ideas of the other candidates, where there is common ground between us, and use them to shape my radical vision. In that way, we will come out of this contest as a strong and united team ready to take the fight to the Tories." "I want to show how I can take the best ideas of the other candidates, where there is common ground between us, and use them to shape my radical vision. In that way, we will come out of this contest as a strong and united team ready to take the fight to the Tories
Labour leadership contest
Mr Brown, speaking on Sunday, did not use Mr Corbyn's name but made it clear he disagreed with many of his economic and social policies.
The ex-PM's comments came as a poll suggested Mr Corbyn is considered the candidate most likely to worsen Labour's prospects of winning the next election.
Concerns have been expressed that some of those who have recently registered to vote in the contest support rival parties.
Deputy leadership candidate Ben Bradshaw said that in his Exeter constituency, it had been found that 10% of new registered supporters had "always said they have been strongly against Labour - they have never voted Labour".Deputy leadership candidate Ben Bradshaw said that in his Exeter constituency, it had been found that 10% of new registered supporters had "always said they have been strongly against Labour - they have never voted Labour".
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "That's a potential problem for the party. The party has assured all of us, the leaders and deputy leader candidates, that it has the systems in place to weed these people out."He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "That's a potential problem for the party. The party has assured all of us, the leaders and deputy leader candidates, that it has the systems in place to weed these people out."
Mr Bradshaw added that "the party needs to be confident that its policies are robust".Mr Bradshaw added that "the party needs to be confident that its policies are robust".
Leadership candidate Yvette Cooper told the programme there should be a deadline by which Sir John Chilcot would be required to publish his report on the Iraq War. She added that Parliament should be able to "express its views", talking of the "joint frustration" across parties.
"This has been going on for too long," she said, adding there was a "need for an end to this".
"Parliament is being asked all of the time to consider further issues around military intervention. We should do so in the light of knowing what went wrong last time around," added Ms Cooper.
Asked about Mr Corbyn's views, Ms Cooper said: "There is false hope being offered to people across the party and we have got to have real hope about."
The party could have radical policies "to get good jobs, to have universal childcare, to tackle inequality in Britain," she said, but must also have a real prospect of putting them into practice "if we, the Labour party, can win the next election."