Labour leadership race: Three mainstream candidates booed at hustings

Jeremy Corbyn was nominated for the Labour leadership to ensure that the party's members had the widest possible choice of candidates to consider, some MPs have said.

However, Labour backbencher John Mann was scathing about Mr Corbyn's presence on the ballot paper.

"So to demonstrate our desire never to win again, Islington'sJeremy Corbyn is now a Labour leadership candidate," Mr Mann said on Twitter.

Jeremy Corbyn, who scraped through to the next round of the Labour leadership contest just two minutes before the deadline, has said that his success marks the launch of a "broader anti-austerity movement".

Hailing the role social media played in his campaign, he said: "We secured these nominations as a result of a massive campaign across the country by Labour supporters urging Labour MPs to allow for a wide-ranging democratic debate within our party.

"My candidacy marks the launch of a broader anti-austerity movement to shift the terms of political debate in this country by presenting an alternative to the socially devastating and widely discredited austerity agenda."

But not everyone is happy: Labour backbencher John Mann was scathing on Twitter.

"So to demonstrate our desire never to win again, Islington's Jeremy Corbyn is now a Labour leadership candidate," he said.

Labour leadership frontrunner Andy Burnham has used a speech to focus his campaign on apprenticeships and technical education.

He said: "I believe we need a revolution in technical education, giving it all the support and prestige that comes with the university route. And that means access to financial support too."

"My ambition is for a national Ucas-style system for apprenticeships, raising sights, rewarding those who work hardest, giving all children hope and a goal in life."

Mr Burnham indicated that he would back changes to the tuition fees system for university students, which he said burdens young people with too much debt.

Speaking ahead of her nomination for the race to become Labour leader, Yvette Cooper made her case in a speech in central London.

She said the leadership contest "needs to be about the future of the country not just the past of our party if we are to win again".

"We have a long, hard road to support Scottish Labour rebuilding trust in Scotland. A task to win back the trust of Labour voters who switched to Ukip, angry with us and at the world."

She added: "We won't deliver a Labour government by swallowing the Tory manifesto, Tory plans or Tory myths. In the end the Tories don't have the right values or the right answers for our country.

Andy Burnham is, as expected, the early frontrunner in the race to become the next leader of the Labour Party. The MP for Leigh received 68 nominations from fellow MPs, beating Yvette Cooper into second place with 56.

Liz Kendall received fewer nominations than expected with 41 - just six over the threshold needed to keep her on the ballot.

The left-wing outsider candidate Jeremy Corbyn scraped through at the last minute, meanwhile, with 36 votes, according to a tally at Labourlist.org.

Jeremy Corbyn, the left-wing outsider candidate for the Labour leadership contest has secured his place on the ballot just minutes before the deadline passed, according to his campaign agent.

Mr Corbyn, the MP for Islington North, scraped 35 nominations in the dying seconds of the first major hurdle in the race.

The line up of candidates vying to become the leader of the Labour Party will be finalised at midday, when the deadline for nominations passes.

Currently, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper and shadow health minister Liz Kendall, are all in the race, each having received at least 35 nominations from other Labour MPs.

However, dozens of the party's 232 current MPs are yet to declare their support, and left-winger Jeremy Corbyn, who is currently 13 short, might yet force his way into contention.

Once nominations are over, candidates will take part in a series of debates in marginal seats Labour failed to win this year all around the country. The eventual winner will then be voted on by members of the Labour Party as a whole, and announced on 12 September.