Liz Kendall says she won’t drop out of the leadership contest

Liz Kendall has made it clear that she won’t be dropping out the leadership contest, following rumours that some within the party are calling for her to back either Yvette Cooper or Andy Burnham to ensure Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t become leader.

The Times (£) have today reported that there is growing pressure on Kendall to quit the leadership race and back another candidate to stop Corbyn becoming leader. This comes following a YouGov poll published on Tuesday night which showed Corbyn taking a 17-point lead in first preferences and eventually triumphing, 6 points ahead of Burnham, once second and third preferences had been eliminated. Kendall came in fourth.

This has prompted Peter Mandelson to intervene in the debate. Last night he said: “Those of us who fought to save Labour in the 1980s will be experiencing a growing sense of déjà vu. The last five years have left us with a terrible legacy to overcome with the existence of Labour as an effective electoral force now at stake.”

It’s thought a senior Labour figure told The Times that “There’s quite a bit of private pressure building up on Liz”. While an MP said: “It may have to be Liz saying, ‘Look, I’m not going to win’. The worrying part of the poll is it puts Jeremy so close to winning on the first ballot. That’s the shock. It was higher than anyone could possibly imagine.”

However, a spokesperson for Kendall’s campaign has rejected any calls for her to drop out, saying: “It’s not going to happen. Why should the one person who is putting forward the right message for Labour’s future pull out? Liz Kendall’s argument that the party must change to win in 2020 is essential in this contest.”

Another source reportedly told the BBC: “Both Andy and Yvette have seen their numbers fall this week following the flip flop over welfare and that’s what is making these campaigns try and make Liz somehow the problem to distract from their own issues.”

Cooper has also argued that Kendall shouldn’t withdraw from the contest. She told the BBC that the Leicester West MP shouldn’t drop out and “leave it to the boys, just because of one poll”.