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| Cooper rejects talk of Mandelson plot to halt Labour contest | Cooper rejects talk of Mandelson plot to halt Labour contest |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Yvette Cooper has played down reports Lord Mandelson attempted to halt the Labour leadership contest, as voters begin to receive ballot papers. | Yvette Cooper has played down reports Lord Mandelson attempted to halt the Labour leadership contest, as voters begin to receive ballot papers. |
| 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. | 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. |
| Ms Cooper said she understood there was a "view" the race should be stopped. | Ms Cooper said she understood there was a "view" the race should be stopped. |
| But she told the Today programme she did not think this was "right" and she had not spoken to Lord Mandelson. | But she told the Today programme she did not think this was "right" and she had not spoken to Lord Mandelson. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 'Credible' | 'Credible' |
| But he was informed by party officials that such a move would have meant victory for Mr Corbyn, according to the Telegraph. | 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. | 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." | "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, according to opinion polls and his three rivals. | 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, according to opinion polls and his three rivals. |
| 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. | 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 | 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. | 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. | 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, claimed in a speech that he was now the only candidate that could beat Mr Corbyn and unite the party. | Andy Burnham, who began the race as the bookmakers' favourite, claimed in a speech that he was now the only candidate that could beat Mr Corbyn and unite the party. |
| 'Fighting to win' | 'Fighting to win' |
| He said he shared a "good deal of common ground" with Mr Corbyn, on issues such as transport and education, and he would offer the veteran left-winger a role in rebuilding the party if he won. | He said he shared a "good deal of common ground" with Mr Corbyn, on issues such as transport and education, and he would offer the veteran left-winger a role in rebuilding the party if he won. |
| But he said it was crucial for Labour to have a "credible" plan for public finances and criticised the Islington North MP's sceptical stance on the European Union and his plans for the renationalisation of utilities and "printing money" to fund new infrastructure. | But he said it was crucial for Labour to have a "credible" plan for public finances and criticised the Islington North MP's sceptical stance on the European Union and his plans for the renationalisation of utilities and "printing money" to fund new infrastructure. |
| "My worry is that policies like these would leave us open to losing the argument on the economy on day one," he told supporters in Manchester. | "My worry is that policies like these would leave us open to losing the argument on the economy on day one," he told supporters in Manchester. |
| He added: "I won't let our party repeat the history of the early 1980s when we were more interested in fighting each other and we left the pitch clear for Margaret Thatcher to bulldoze her way through Labour communities up and down the country." | He added: "I won't let our party repeat the history of the early 1980s when we were more interested in fighting each other and we left the pitch clear for Margaret Thatcher to bulldoze her way through Labour communities up and down the country." |
| He said he was now "fighting to win this contest with everything I've got because the very future of our party hangs in the balance". | He said he was now "fighting to win this contest with everything I've got because the very future of our party hangs in the balance". |
| He also told supporters he would oppose the government's controversial Welfare Bill if he wins the contest, saying he only abstained in a Commons vote on the issue - a move which attracted criticism from Mr Corbyn's supporters - to preserve party unity. | He also told supporters he would oppose the government's controversial Welfare Bill if he wins the contest, saying he only abstained in a Commons vote on the issue - a move which attracted criticism from Mr Corbyn's supporters - to preserve party unity. |
| 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". |
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