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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

Corbyn holds rally as Labour leadership ballot papers go out - Politics live

Jeremy Corbyn speaking at a rally in Edinburgh
Jeremy Corbyn speaking at a rally in Edinburgh Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

Afternoon summary

  • Jeremy Corbyn has received a rapturous reception at a rally in Edinburgh where he defended his policies as credible and said he was not bothered by the criticism he was receiving. He said:

[People are] totally and absolutely and completely turned off by the politics of celebrity, personality, name calling, abuse and all that kind of behaviour, so I’m not really very bothered about what anybody says about anybody in our campaign, including me. We are not responding, we are not dealing with that level of politics.

The only thing that is going to come from us is engagement with ordinary people, policy ideas which I hope are interesting and exciting, and above all they are going to be very credible policy ideas.

  • A poll for the Evening Standard has found that Londoners favour Corbyn as the next Labour leader. (See 1.20pm.)
  • Gordon Brown has revealed that he will intervene in the Labour leadership contest with a speech on Sunday. He is not expected to endorse any of the candidates, but it would be surprising if his analysis - he is speaking on “Power for a Purpose - the Future of the Labour party” - turned out to be favourable to Corbyn. (See 2.18pm.)
  • Yvette Cooper has described the Conservative government as “very nasty”. She said:

They promised they would cap social care - they are not. They promised the transpennine rail route - it has been shelved. Time and again the things they said they would do in order to get votes they have ripped up afterwards.

And now they are coming along with a plan for 40% cuts in public services which goes way beyond anything that you need to cut the deficit and is just an ideological assault on the public services. I think this is a very narrowing, very nasty Tory Government that is setting out a very ideological stall for the next five years. We have got to be strong enough to take them on.

  • Andy Burnham has said that Corbyn’s plans “lack credibility”. Burnham’s critics have departure from the line he took yesterday, when he said that attacks on Corbyn “misread the mood of the party”. (See 11.38am.)

That’s all from me for today.

Thanks for the comments.

Jeremy Corbyn arriving for his rally in Edinburgh
Jeremy Corbyn arriving for his rally in Edinburgh Photograph: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

The Independent says today that moderate Labour MPs fear being “purged” if Jeremy Corbyn becomes leader. (See 12.23pm.) But the Staggers says that Corbyn has ruled out introducing mandatory reselection, and that he will not support moves to depose sitting MPs.

The Press Association’s Lynsey Bews says the Corbyn event was like a yes rally during the independence campaign.

And the Herald’s Iain Macwhirter says the SNP should be worried by the appeal of Corbyn.

The Corbyn team have been tweeting pictures from his Edinburgh rally.

Here’s a Guardian video showing Andy Burnham on ITV’s Good Morning Britain saying that he is the only candidate who can beat Jeremy Corbyn.

According to PoliticsHome’s Kevin Schofield, Gordon Brown won’t be endorsing Yvette Cooper (or anyone else) in his speech on Sunday.

This is from the Evening Standard’s Joe Murphy.

Burnham suggests Labour could not unite behind Jeremy Corbyn

Andy Burnham has given an interview to PoliticsHome. He said he did not think the Labour party could unite behind Jeremy Corbyn.

The risk [if Corbyn becomes leader] 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.

While I will do my best, is this party capable of being united behind Jeremy as leader? I think there is real doubts about that, partly because will he be able to command the loyalty of the parliamentary Labour party?

Politics is a team sport. If you play it that way you can expect loyalty off people, but if you’ve rebelled 500 times it’s not easy then to say to the PLP ‘I want you to back me 100%’. People thinking of voting for Jeremy have to make a real judgement call. Are they voting for a disunited party if they vote for him?

According to PoliticsHome, the Burnham camp also do not accept that Corbyn has a massive lead over his rivals. According to their figures, Corbyn is on 35%, Burnham 31%, Cooper 23% and Kendall 11%. Based on those figures, the Burnham team think Burnham would beat Corbyn by 52% to 48% in the final run-off.

Andy Burnham
Andy Burnham Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

And Liz Kendall has been in Edinburgh too. But, according to Channel 4 News’s Matthew Moore, she did not get quite the same reception as Jeremy Corbyn.

Yvette Cooper is speaking at an event in Chester.

Updated

Jeremy Corbyn's Edinburgh rally

Here is more from the Jeremy Corbyn rally in Edinburgh.

Neil Findlay, the Labour MSP, has been speaking.

And Jeremy Corbyn has been speaking too.

Gordon Brown, the former prime minister, is going to give a speech in London on Sunday with the title: “Power for a Purpose – The Future of the Labour party.”

There is speculation that he will endorse Yvette Cooper. After all, although she was identified with Brownite factionalism much less than some others when Labour was in power, she is married to Ed Balls, Brown’s closest ally for more than 15 years, and it is very hard to imagine that Brown won’t be supporting her. But whether he chooses to say so publicly or not is another matter.

In a speech earlier this week Jeremy Corbyn said he admired the way Labour’s Rhodri Morgan tried to put “clear red water” (as Morgan called it) between Cardiff and London when he was first minister of Wales.

Morgan has now responded. Speaking to the BBC, Morgan said that was a “bit of a cheek” because his politics were very different from Corbyn’s. Morgan said:

There’s a massive gap between what you could call Corbynism and Blairism, and I attempted to fill that gap with what I call classic Labour. [Corbyn’s] not classic Labour - he’s old, hard left Labour, so it’s got nothing to do with my clear red water speech at all.

Morgan also said Yvette Cooper “represents that space between Corbynism and Blairism which is where I think Labour ought to be”.

You can see the interview here.

Rhodri Morgan
Rhodri Morgan Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian

At the Corbyn rally Katy Clark, the former Labour MP, has been introducing Jeremy Corbyn.

Here’s another tweet from the Corbyn rally.

Jeremy Corbyn is about to speak at a rally in Edinburgh.

I’m not aware of a live feed, but I be covering what emerges from Twitter etc.

Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA transport union, says the Evening Standard poll (see 1.20pm) shows that Jeremy Corbyn does have wide appeal.

Londoners overwhelming back Corbyn for Labour leader, poll suggests

But Londoners don’t agree with Ivan Lewis. A YouGov poll for the Evening Standard suggests Jeremy Corbyn is more popular with members of the public in London than Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham combined.

Here’s an extract from the Evening Standard story.

An exclusive YouGov poll for the Evening Standard reveals [Corbyn] has more support among the London public than his nearest rivals, Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper, put together.

Moreover, he is more popular with the better-off ABC1 social classes, among both younger and older people, and those who voted Ukip or Liberal Democrat at the general election.

YouGov found 46 per cent of Londoners with an opinion thought Mr Corbyn would make the best Labour leader.

Shadow health secretary Mr Burnham came second on 21 and Ms Cooper, the shadow home secretary, third on 20 per cent. Liz Kendall, the Blairite candidate, trailed at 12 per cent.

Among people who voted Labour at the May election, Mr Corbyn enjoys a clear majority with 52 per cent.

Jeremy Corbyn speaking in Aberdeen on Thursday.
Jeremy Corbyn speaking in Aberdeen on Thursday. Photograph: Russell Cheyne/Reuters

Updated

Ivan Lewis, the shadow Northern Ireland secretary, has written a blog for his website explaining why he is voting for Liz Kendall for Labour leader, with Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham getting his second and third preference votes. And he has set out why does not want Jeremy Corbyn.

Here’s an extract.

I will not be voting for Jeremy Corbyn because on too many issues he advocates solutions which belong to the past and will not equip the country or the Labour party with the vision and policies, which can rise to the challenges of the future. I fear his leadership would prevent us rebuilding the mainstream majority support of working and middle class voters, which is essential if we are ever to win an election. Some of his stated political views are a cause for serious concern. At the very least he has shown very poor judgment in expressing support for and failing to speak out against people who have engaged not in legitimate criticism of Israeli governments but in anti-Semitic rhetoric. It saddens me to have to say to some on the left of British politics that anti-racism means zero tolerance of anti Semitism, no ifs, and no buts. I have said the same about Islamaphobia and other forms of racism to a minority of my constituents who make unacceptable statements.

Here are two Labour leadership stories from today’s papers which I haven’t mentioned already and which are worth flagging up.

Jeremy Corbyn has set out his plan to contain and marginalise MPs who oppose his drive to make Labour more left-wing.

In the most detailed explanation to date of how he intends to run the party, the hard-left candidate said he was preparing to mobilise his new army of supporters by giving them many more votes on policy and party direction. According to a pamphlet for the Fabian Society to be published today, they would be pitted against the party’s representatives in Westminster, many of whom are hostile to his objectives ...

In the pamphlet, Mr Corbyn has set out his plans for running the Labour party, making it a priority to swell the number of new members further beyond the 299,755 announced on Wednesday. He also wants to change the membership fees structure to convert registered supporters and affiliates — the new Corbyn army — into full members with voting rights on the future direction of the party.

He will then hold regular votes on policy issues and organisational changes with a newly expanded left-wing membership, most of which he is likely to win, while arguing that MPs who oppose him are part of an out-of-touch Westminster bubble. Mr Corbyn wrote: “Labour has drifted into a presidential model of politics in which the leader and their office comes up with all the policies. I want to change that.

“In the past when Labour party conference voted for something the leadership didn’t like, senior MPs were wheeled out to tell the press that it would be ignored. That alienates our support and undermines our principles as a democratic socialist party. That top-down behaviour has to end.”

He pledged to hold votes on issues more regularly through the year, adding: “We cannot simply make policy at party conference once a year. We need to review our policy-making process to ensure that it is inclusive, accessible, participatory and able to take democratic decisions quickly when necessary.”

Senior figures in the parliamentary party told The Independent that there is growing concern that Corbyn supporters will use “trigger ballots” in Labour seats across the country to eject MPs considered to be too right-wing.

Under party rules, MPs have to win approval from their local party to be reselected to fight the next general election. Normally this is a routine process. But Labour now has 100,000-plus new members who will be entitled to vote for the first time in such elections and are believed to be overwhelmingly to the left of the existing membership.

Those on the right fear union figures around Mr Corbyn will use the process – along with the upcoming boundary review – to deselect those MPs who are not “ideologically pure”.

“There is a complete divergence between the parliamentary party and the broader party,” said one senior MP.

“If Corbyn gets hold of the Shadow Cabinet and the NEC then you’re right back to Tony Benn. There is no doubt about that. I don’t think Corbyn wants to exclude people but there are a lot of aggressive factional nutters around him who do. They want to deliver his mandate no matter what and the only way to do that will be to purge the parliamentary party of those who don’t go along with him.”

Burnham says Corbyn's plans 'lack credibility'

As I mentioned earlier (see 10.14am), Andy Burnham criticised Jeremy Corbyn’s policies this morning. Here is the key quote.

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.

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.

You can watch the clip here.

This is interesting because Burnham has been more reluctant to go for Corbyn than Kendall or Cooper. Only yesterday he told the World at One that attacks on Corbyn “misread the mood of the party”. He said:

I would say the attacks we’ve seen on Jeremy, I think, misread 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. They want a bigger vision that can inspire and excite them. They want something more to sell on the doorstep at election time, and that’s what I’ve offered.

Burnham’s opponents are interpreting this as a U-turn. A source from one of the rival camps said:

This is typical. Just imagine what it would be like if Andy were leader? He zig-zags. We’ve seen it on big issues, like NHS privatisation, to smaller things like this. You’d get this every day.

Yvette Cooper has released a new campaign video. It highlights, among other things, her stress on the importance of creating more high-tech jobs.

Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary who is backing Liz Kendall, has written a long Facebook post setting out his second and third preference choices (Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham) and explaining why he wants to stop Jeremy Corbyn winning. He says he is particularly alarmed by the idea that it is not important for Labour to aspire to power.

Here’s an extract.

Keir Hardie founded a political party, not a debating society or left-wing pressure group - the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants did not need any extra help protesting the Taff Vale Railway Judgement in 1901. What it needed was political representation and power.

In the last few months it has seemed almost as if it has become unfashionable for our Movement to aspire to government. Some have suggested that power’s appeal holds limited currency due to the performance of the last Labour government. I cannot agree with this – from the national minimum wage act; to the energy windfall tax; Sure Start; civil partnerships; a revolution in international development; a more redistributive welfare state; new schools; new hospitals; devolution for Scotland and Wales; peace for Northern Ireland; Millennium Goals; the Decent Homes programme; tax rises for the NHS; child poverty slashed; and the biggest sustained period of public service investment this country has ever seen, the last Labour government radically transformed both the country and its political values. True, put next to the clarity of conviction, compromise can sometimes come across as meek and instrumental. But as the radical, anti-Vietnam War Democrat Congressman Eugene McCarthy put it: “As long as the differences and diversities of mankind exist, democracy must allow for compromise”.

Talking of endorsements, the Guardian’s decision to back Yvette Cooper has not gone down well with all our readers.

There’s an online petition at change.org saying the Guardian should back Jeremy Corbyn instead. As I write, it has 220 supporters.

It is not just the Guardian that is backing Yvette Cooper. Paul Goodman, the former Tory MP who now edits ConservativeHome, has written a ConservativeHome endorsement. He says Britain needs an effective opposition and that Labour should choose Cooper.

Here’s an extract.

In the early days of his challenge, we described him as ConservativeHome’s candidate for Labour’s leadership. This was fun at the time, as were those merry attempts from some on the Right to sign up for a vote. But the summer has turned serious. Liz Kendall isn’t going to win. And Andy Burnham doesn’t deserve to win. The man who started out in the Commons as the model of a modern Blairite is now sucking up to Unite. This tells you everything that you need to know about his campaign.

During her own, Yvette Cooper has said very little of any consequence. But we know enough about her to grasp that she is the Brownite continuity candidate – part of the failed legacy of Labour’s 13 years. However, she will have to do, given the absence of a more sparky candidate. She is the last man standing, so to speak. Far be it from this site to give Labour tactical advice, but the Conservative Party didn’t do badly when it chose a woman leader. It is time for Labour to have a go.

Cooper thus finds herself endorsed by the Guardian and ConservativeHome. We have an uneasy feeling that the backing of either, let alone both, is unlikely to do her any good.

Yvette Cooper speaking in Manchester yesterday.
Yvette Cooper speaking in Manchester yesterday. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

Good morning. Today’s the day the ballot papers start going out in the Labour leadership contest and so we’re breaking the August purdah and bringing Politics Live back to cover all today’s developments.

Jeremy Corbyn, the favourite, is in Scotland today where he will holding rallies - the first in Edinburgh at 1.30pm - and he will be publishing his “Standing to Deliver” plan. Other candidates will be campaigning too.

Here are the key Labour leadership stories around so far.

  • Liz Kendall has said that Labour would be submitting its resignation letter to the British people if Jeremy Corbyn wins the leadership. This is what she said on the Today programme.

He [Corbyn) 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. I don’t want to see Labour submit our resignation letter to the British people as a serious party of government.

  • Andy Burnham has criticised Corbyn’s policies, apparently in stronger terms than before.
  • YouGov has revised his polling forecast, in the light of the latest information about the number of new supporters signing up to take part in the contest, and concluded that Corbyn is now on course to get 57% of the vote in the first ballot, according its most recent survey. This is from the Times’s story (paywall).

Jeremy Corbyn’s position as the front-runner in the race to be Labour leader has been further strengthened by the late surge of voters joining the contest, pollsters said last night.

According to an updated analysis by YouGov, the hard-left MP is now on course to win 57 per cent of the vote ...

Tuesday’s YouGov Times poll was recalculated to take into account almost 220,000 new members and supporters who signed up in the final days. It pushes Mr Corbyn’s total up four points to 57 per cent, with Mr Burnham on 20 per cent. Ms Cooper falls two points to 16 per cent and Liz Kendall is down one point on 7 per cent.

Anti-Corbyn Labour rhetoric has now hit levels of hysteria. All of the great and the good are saying what a catastrophe Mr. Corbyn may be. It reminds me of my own press in the run up to the European Elections.

The effect of all of that was that we still came first, as will Mr. Corbyn. And 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, 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.

If you want to follow me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

Updated

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