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Huddersfield MP calls for a ‘pause’ to Labour leadership contest

Mr Corbyn is now favourite to win the leadership race with several bookmakers and polls tipping him to win.

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Corbyn has faced criticism during his leadership campaign for calling Arab groups Hamas and Hezbollah “friends, ” and insisting they be involved in regional peace talks”.

Unlike previously, anyone can now sign up for £3 to become a “registered supporter” rather than a full member – but there are concerns the party machine has no time to check if they have legitimate motives.

Mr Corbyn – who came under fire over the weekend after he hinted he could restore Labour’s historic commitment to the public ownership of industry – has already pledged to scrap university tuition fees and restore student grants.

He ran as an independent candidate in the last election, but felt he had to abandon his campaign and back Labour “in order to defend the NHS and protect the more vulnerable in society”.

With just 34 days until the new Labour leader is announced the battle for the top spot of the opposition party is well under way.

Most of the electorate has switched off. They have decided, one way or the other: Jeremy Corbyn is either a madman or a messiah, Andy Burnham either Labour’s next Prime Minister or a panderer, Yvette Cooper either boring or reassuring, Liz Kendall the purveyor of harsh truths – or simply harsh.

What is the voting system?

“I believe Mr Burnham is the right man to become leader because he has a lot of experience which will stand him in good stead and the skills needed to hold the party together”. Their second preference votes are then redistributed among the remaining three.

YouGov themselves issued a note of caution about reading too much into one poll, given the difficulties of carrying out a representative survey of Labour’s membership and those who have signed up as party supporters.

If there is still no victor, the third place candidate is eliminated with their preferences redistributed.

A Labour spokesman said: “The party has an absolute focus on ensuring the rules agreed in 2014 for electing the new party leadership are complied with and the integrity of the process is upheld”.

Mr Campbell was criticised by left wing Labour MP and former leadership hopeful Diane Abbott, with the two clashing on Twitter about Labour’s record.

“That’s got to be the key to it. Whether they want to return or not is another matter,” Corbyn added.

Mr Burnham appealed to Labour supporters not to take the party “backwards” as he launched a direct attack on Mr Corbyn’s economic plans, which include the possibility of the Bank of England effectively printing money to finance public investment.

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MP Barry Sheerman has called for the Labour party’s leadership contest to be halted for an investigation into the “malign” motives of some of those signing up to vote.

Jeremy Corbyn