“Elect a leader to fight the Bullingdon Boys, not Blair” – Andy Burnham makes final plea to voters

In his final speech of the leadership contest, Andy Burnham will tonight make final plea to voters in which he’ll urge them to “elect a leader to fight the Bullingdon Boys, not Blair”.

This is a veiled dig at fellow leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn, who it’s thought is on course to be elected as the party’s next leader on Saturday. While he will not naming the Islington North MP, he will argue that he would be a “radical, but credible” leader – after claims that Corbyn does not offer a plausible plan.

At this speech tonight in Watford, the Shadow Health Secretary will also say that he will “unite Labour and save it from repeating the mistakes of the past – those of the 1980s and also the last Parliament”.

Although many believe Corbyn victory is on the cards, both Burnham’s and Yvette Cooper’s teams have said in recent days that the race is not over. This comes after it emerged yesterday a number of Labour party members had not yet received their ballots. Labour have re-issued ballots by e-mail today.

Cooper also said that at the middle of last week half of all those eligible to vote had not yet done so, while Burnham claimed the figure was around one third.

In this final speech of the campaign, Burnham will not only try to set himself ahead of Corbyn, he will also try to set himself apart the other two candidates in the race, Cooper and Liz Kendall. He will claim that he will make Labour a “proper opposition” that is no longer a “pale imitation of the Tories”.
“But make no mistake – I will also change Labour. For too long now, our party has been dancing to the tune of the Tories and our members are sick of it. I will give them a Labour Party they can believe in again. 

“I have no doubt that, whoever wins, Labour will change quite profoundly but we need to ensure it is the right kind of change: change that unites, puts us back in touch with the public and can win a General Election. That is what I am offering,” he will say.