This article is from the source 'guardian' 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.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/14/liz-kendall-choosing-jeremy-corbyn-labours-resignation-letter

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Liz Kendall: choosing Jeremy Corbyn would be Labour's resignation letter Andy Burnham warns Jeremy Corbyn vote will make Labour 'party of protest'
(about 3 hours later)
Labour will be submitting its “resignation letter to the British people as a serious party of government” if it elects Jeremy Corbyn as leader, Liz Kendall has said. Andy Burnham has appealed to a “silent majority” in the Labour partyto reject Jeremy Corbyn, as his supporters said their data shows the gap between him and the leading candidate is much smaller than previous polls suggested.
In an interview on the BBC, Kendall argued that Corbyn – the leftwinger who has become the surprise runaway favourite in the party’s leadership election – was advocating policies that would lead to certain electoral defeat for Labour. Burnham’s intervention signals a change in tone since Thursday, when he warned that attacks on Corbyn risked misreading the mood of the party.
“He is not offering anything new. His programme isn’t new, it’s exactly the same as it was in the 1980s and we’ll get the same result,” said Kendall, who is seen as the most Blairite of the four leadership contenders and on course to come last, according to the polls. As the first ballot papers are sent out to party voters, the shadow health secretary singled out Corbyn’s plans to nationalise the energy sector and abolish student fees as two policies that were unrealistic.
“I don’t want to see Labour submit our resignation letter to the British people as a serious party of government.” Speaking to PoliticsHome, Burnham said: “There is a coalition of senior voices in the party – John Prescott, Neil Kinnock, Margaret Beckett – backing me, saying: ‘Think carefully before you vote and don’t make Labour a party of protest that is racked by internal divisions rather than focusing on being a proper opposition and taking on the Tories.’
Kendall spoke as Labour prepared to send out the first ballot papers in the election. It was revealed this week that more than 600,000 people could vote in the contest, because of a last-minute surge in the numbers signing up as registered supporters and trade union affiliates. “These are people who lived through the mid-80s. There’s a silent majority in the party who aren’t on social media, who will listen to what people are saying and those are the people who are receiving their ballot papers now. The risk is that Labour becomes internally focused, as we were in the mid-80s, rather than a united opposition, and that is something that people do have to think about as they open up their ballot paper. Can the party be united behind Jeremy? I think that is very difficult.”
In her interview for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Kendall also suggested that Corbyn – who was due to unveil a 10-point policy priority list in a speech in Edinburgh on Friday – could support Britain leaving the EU. The shadow health secretary’s camp claimed internal campaign data had him much closer to Corbyn than other polls, with him on 31% and Corbyn on 35%. A source in Kendall’s camp also said they believed Burnham is closer to Corbyn than Cooper, according to their data.
“I was at a hustings in Warrington where he was explicitly asked: ‘Would you rule out voting no to Britain staying in the European Union?’ And he said no, he wouldn’t rule it out,” she said. Fellow candidate Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, delivered the first detailed critique of Corbyn’s positions on Thursday over his plans to bring back coal mines and print money to pay for infrastructure investment.
After that hustings Corbyn clarified his position, saying his preference was for Britain to stay in a reformed EU. Liz Kendall, the fourth candidate, also joined the fray by questioning whether his views on the IRA could destabilise Northern Ireland. She later went even further than this by saying the choice of Corbyn would be tantamount to submitting “our resignation letter to the British people as a serious party of government”.
Corbyn’s rivals, who for weeks were relatively restrained in their remarks about him, have become increasingly outspoken about the threat they claim he poses to Labour’s future in the light of fresh polling suggesting he is extending his huge lead in the contest. Asked on Thursday about criticisms of Corbyn, such as those from Tony Blair and Cooper, Burnham initially said attacking the Islington MP was misreading the mood of the party “because what people are saying is they’re crying out for something different, they are fed up with the way, particularly Labour, has been conducting politics in recent times”.
On Thursday Yvette Cooper, another leadership candidate, devoted most of a speech in Manchester to a hard-hitting critique of Corbyn’s policies, particularly on the economy, which she dubbed dishonest and not credible. But on Friday, he told the BBC that Corbyn had failed to explain how he would pay for his ideas. “Jeremy’s plans lack credibility. It’s not possible to promise free university education, re-nationalising the utilities, without that coming at a great cost and if you can’t explain how that is going to be paid for then I don’t think we’ll win back the trust of voters on the economy,” he said.
“So there is a real choice here. There are two big visions for Labour going forward. Mine has credibility at its heart, and I believe that is essential if Labour is to win the next general election. As ballot papers land, that is the decision that members of the party have to make.
Corbyn’s rivals, who for weeks were relatively restrained in their remarks about him, have become increasingly outspoken about the threat they claim he poses to Labour’s future in the light of fresh polling suggesting he is extending his huge lead in the contest. However, there is some concern among MPs who do not want to see Corbyn elected that excessive warnings risk looking like the other candidates are ganging up on him and that criticism from people associated with the Brown and Blair eras risks backfiring.
Corbyn is holding a rally on Friday in Glasgow to launch his 10-point Standing to Deliver plan where he has had to book a bigger venue to accommodate all those who want to attend.
It was revealed this week that more than 600,000 people could vote in the contest, because of a last-minute surge in the numbers signing up as registered supporters and trade union affiliates.
It is thought that the surge in the number of people signing up to vote has boosted Corbyn’s chances, because polling suggests people in these groups – registered supporters and trade union affiliates – are even more pro-Corbyn than ordinary party members.It is thought that the surge in the number of people signing up to vote has boosted Corbyn’s chances, because polling suggests people in these groups – registered supporters and trade union affiliates – are even more pro-Corbyn than ordinary party members.
According to the Times, in the light of the new figures and what they say about the composition of the electorate, YouGov has revised the implications of its latest poll, and now estimates that Corbyn is on course to win with 57% of first-preference votes.According to the Times, in the light of the new figures and what they say about the composition of the electorate, YouGov has revised the implications of its latest poll, and now estimates that Corbyn is on course to win with 57% of first-preference votes.
In her Today interview, Kendall urged her supporters to use their second and third preferences to try to stop Corbyn winning. But that would have no impact on the result if Corbyn wins on the first ballot, as the YouGov figures suggest he might, because second and third preferences would be irrelevant. In her Today interview, Kendall urged her supporters to use their second and third preferences to try to stop Corbyn winning. But that would have no impact on the result if Corbyn wins on the first ballot, as the YouGov figures suggest he might, because second and third preferences would be irrelevant. Cooper has also asked her supporters to use all their preferences.
On Newsnight on Thursday, Cooper warned that the party could split if Corbyn won. “I think there is a serious risk that the party will split, will polarise and I cannot bear to see that happen because there is too much at stake,” she said. Cooper said the contest was a “battle not just for the soul of the party but it is a battle for all the people we should be standing up for”. On Newsnight on Thursday, Cooper warned of the risks to the party if Corbyn won: “I think there is a serious risk that the party will split, will polarise and I cannot bear to see that happen because there is too much at stake.” Cooper said the contest was a “battle not just for the soul of the party but it is a battle for all the people we should be standing up for”.
Kendall told Today on Friday that she did not think the party would split. However, Kendall told Today on Friday that she did not think the party would split.
The Conservative party claims Corbyn’s policies would cost every working household £2,431 because of the unfunded spending commitments he has made, the Daily Telegraph reported. According to the Tory figures, Cooper’s policies would cost families £1,385, Kendall’s £1,023 and Andy Burnham’s £1,409.
Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, has welcomed the rise of Corbyn. In an article for the Breitbart website, Farage said: “Whilst I have absolutely no faith in the wisdom of his economics, his victory is seriously good news for the no campaign in the forthcoming EU referendum.
“Under Corbyn, there will be a debate about TTIP [Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership], about the way Greece has been treated, and about the role of national parliaments and democracy.
“I have no idea which side of the fence Mr Corbyn himself will come down on, but I feel the left is finally waking up to what a corporatist, big business club the EU really is.
“I have to say I hope he wins. The best news of all? A Corbyn win will be the death of the Green party. Hooray.”