Labour starts leadership vote with Corbyn in front

Mr Flynn, writing on his blog, said that he would not be voting for the Islington North MP as he didn’t believe the electorate would support his Left-wing views if he was the Labour leader. And if none of them are seen as a Prime Minister in waiting, the second instrumental quality, competence, matters less.

Representatives of the Yvette Cooper, Liz Kendall and Andy Burnham campaigns have written to the party’s general secretary expressing concerns about the decision to withold these lists. “If a party is divided, it has no chance”.

These perceptions remove the main cost of casting an expressive vote-the fear that the outcome would deprive Labour of an election victory that it would otherwise be fairly sure to secure. A report by lawmaker Jon Cruddas found Labour was defeated because voters saw it as opposing austerity and having abandoned the center ground.

Corbyn, launching a 10-point policy plan which included pledges to nationalise rail and energy sectors and end austerity in favour of higher investment, said Scotland was an example of how the party had become “disconnected” from its supporters.

The 66-year-old only entered the race as a wildcard but has attracted surging grassroots support, prompting backers to adopt the slogan “Jez We Can” in an echo of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign rallying call. “All of our focus must be on channeling this extraordinary movement towards a united party that is able to find its confidence and defeat the Conservatives in 2020”.

It added: “If Mr. Corbyn is not to be regarded from the day of his election as an enemy of Britain’s Jewish community, he has a number of questions which he must answer in full and immediately”.

They have previously said Mr Blair’s interventions could boost their support. Kendall, 44, seen as the Blairite candidate, has been accused of being a Tory by some Corbyn supporters.

“I will be using my second and third preferences…It won’t be for Jeremy”.

More than 600,000 people have signed up to vote in the four-way contest but Labour has said applications are still being verified. Despite the parties having similar average popularity and membership, only around half as many British people identify as Conservative as do Labour (roughly 15 v 30 per cent).

“The mood is there and we happen to be in the middle of it”, Corbyn said in a Guardian interview this month. But I think if a politician at a Tory gathering used that sort of language someone in the audience would probably vomit.

Burnham joined the attacks on Corbyn Friday, telling the BBC that “Jeremy’s plans lack credibility”.

However, I also wonder if the Tory party is more pragmatic and less tribal than its opponents; Yvette Cooper talked this week of “the party she loves”, which many in Labour would empathise with. “It will make the Tories’ job much easier”.