Andy Burnham: The Labour party lacks the courage to win back voters

Radical left-winger Jeremy Corbyn is on course to take Labour’s top job after storming 22 points ahead of his rivals, as mentioned by private polling.

But the Mirror reports that once Kendall has been knocked out and her second preferences sent to other candidates, it is a dead heat with Corbyn on 51 per cent and Cooper on 49 per cent – both figures within the margin of error.

‘Labour should set out its own clear position to influence negotiations, working with our European allies to set out a reform agenda to benefit ordinary Europeans across the continent, ‘ he said in a statement to The Guardian. But that does not mean walking away, but staying to fight together for a better Europe.’.

But she warned that Labour must not “go back to the 1980s and just be a protest movement”, arguing that the party can only change the world by defeating the Conservatives in the 2020 election.

Earlier, Mr Corbyn described his embarrassment after women on an internet website branded him “very sexy” and “attractive in a world-weary old sea dog sort of way”.

The Daily Mirror reported on Tuesday that Corbyn has opened up a 20-point lead in the leadership contest after a YouGov/Times poll last week gave him a 17-point lead.

“It is very important that our party is connected to the people that we want to represent and that includes people who voted for us this time but also the people who voted for us in the past who didn’t this time”. He said: “A poll is something done by a recognised company with data published for all to see”.

But he told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour he “had a bit of a chuckle” about it.

The Labour frontbencher said he had been accused of trying to “stifle democracy” in the party for disagreeing with Mr Corbyn’s policies, noting he gets on well with the Islington North MP personally.

As said by the poll’s findings, 76 percent of people think Labour is less electable than in May, while just 24 percent take the opposite view.

Mr Burnham said Labour must re-invent itself as a “proper opposition”, step outside the Westminster bubble to connect with voters across the country and “think big”, for example by bringing social care into the NHS.

Corbyn’s candidacy has been seen as evidence of a desire for Labour to tack left, prompting dire warnings from more centrist elements of the party, including former prime minister Tony Blair. But she defended the new rules, saying they were more robust because registered supporters had to make a declaration that they were committed to the values of the Labour party. Critics say it has left itself vulnerable to mass infiltration by hard leftwingers as well as Tories seeking to discredit the process.

The leadership contest, which will be decided on September 12, has sparked an acrimonious debate about the political direction of the party.