A leading supporter of Liz Kendall has accused Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper of offering 'continuity Miliband' in the Labour leadership contest, in a sign that the race is turning sour. John Woodcock, the Barrow and Furness MP, made the claim in a blog after a hustings event on Sunday.
Woodcock said he was prompted to speak out by two 'heart-sinking' moments during the hustings. He cited Burnham's proposal to give councils powers to compulsory purchase properties from slum landlords as 'precisely the kind of measure the public rejected at the ballot box as unworkable'. He also criticised Cooper for being unwilling to identify anything Ed Miliband got wrong during his leadership.
Writing in the blog, due to be published on Monday, Woodcock argued that both candidates were offering only 'superficial modifications' to the approach that led to one of the party's worst election defeats. He insisted that Kendall was the only candidate serious about restoring Labour's economic credibility.
Responding to the attack, a source in the Cooper camp described the article as 'pretty desperate stuff', noting that Cooper had put forward new ideas, particularly on improving Labour's relationship with business. A source from Burnham's team said he was the candidate who could achieve 'big change' by attracting voters across the UK, and pointed out that Kendall had failed to secure the support of any shadow health ministers she had worked with.
Woodcock also acknowledged that Jeremy Corbyn, the fourth candidate, had received a 'great' reception at hustings, but warned that applause from activists did not necessarily translate to a majority among the wider selectorate of members and registered supporters.
