Diane Abbott and Andy Burnham join Labour leadership race

Ms Abbott became the sixth (and most unexpected) Labour leadership candidate to declare. Speaking on the Today programme Ms Abbott said she was confident of securing the necessary 33 signatures from her fellow MPs. She said that it was time that the Labour party became more democratic, more civil libertarian and focused on the underlying problems facing poor communities, not least access to housing.

In The Mirror, former Health Secretary Andy Burnham identifies three of the key reasons why voters turned away from Labour:

• "That we were doing more for those who didn’t want to work than those in work but struggling, particularly with no children.
• That we were in denial about the effects of immigration on wages, housing and anti-social behaviour in places where life is hardest.
• That pensioners who had done the right thing and saved found they were above the line for help."

Read Mr Burnham's full article here.

Tim Montgomerie

4.30pm Video of Diane Abbot discussing her leadership bid: