Labour leadership candidate Liz Kendall has today won the support of one hundred Labour councillors in her bid to succeed Ed Miliband.
Kendall, who is seen to be on the right of the party, will today face frontrunners Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper as well as leftwinger Jeremy Corbyn at the Local Government Association leadership hustings in Harrogate.
In a statement, the councillors write: "In the party and the country that Liz Kendall will lead, local government will be a crucial partner in making the changes that we need. Liz understands that in extremely difficult circumstances local government has responded with innovation, skill and determination. That's how we believe that Liz will lead the whole party.
"Like Liz, we believe the best way to deliver public services is to have decisions made at a local level. If we are serious about reconnecting with voters, and showing them that politics can be a force for good we have to reduce the control that Whitehall has over local communities.
"The challenge that Britain � and the Labour Party � faces is one of putting power into the hands of the people once again. We're endorsing Liz as she understands that change."
On Tuesday, Kendall criticised Burnham and Cooper for playing into the Conservative Party's hands by refusing to accept Labour was not trusted on the economy.
A source from one of Kendall's rivals accused her of having "swallowed the Tory manifesto". But Kendall made clear that it was her that the Tories "fear" as Burnham and Cooper were too wedded to Miliband's failed approach.
The self-styled "councillors for Kenadall" are:
- Adam Harrison,Camden
- Adam Swersky,Harrow
- Alex Bigham,Lambeth
- Alex Norris,Nottingham
- Alex Ross-Shaw,Bradford
- Andrew Lomas,Kensington and Chelsea
- Anne Joynes,Watford
- Arjun Mittra,Barnet
- Arooj Shah,Oldham
- Avis Murphy,Chesterfield
- Barbara Blake,Haringey
- Barry Kirby, Gloucestershire
- Bernard Collier,Brent
- Bill Freeman,Royal Greenwich
- Brendan Chilton,Ashford
- Cherry Parker,Royal Greenwich
- Christopher Hughes,Barking and Dagenham
- Clyde Loakes,Waltham Forest
- Craig Cheney,Bristol
- Damian Egan,Lewisham
- Dan Crawford,Ealing
- Dan Price,Warrington
- Dave Branwood,Dudley
- David Boothroyd,Westminster
- David Rose, Stockton
- Don Navarro,Nuneaton and Bedworth
- Doug James,Walsall
- Douglas James,Walsall
- Edward Davie,Lambeth
- Emily Benn, Croydon
- Fabian Guy, BreckelsBristol
- Florence Nosegbe,Lambeth
- Frank Cassidy,Cumbria
- George Cole,Leicester
- Graham Wright,Knowsley
- Hemant Rae Bhatia,Leicester
- Howard Balkind, Salfird
- Iain Simpson,Lambeth
- Jack Scott,Sheffield
- James Patterson,Haringey
- Jamie Milne,Lewisham
- Jane Edbrooke,Lambeth
- Janice Duffy,Northampton
- Jeremy Wolfson,Liverpool
- Jim Fitzptarick,Stalybridge and Hyde
- John Ferrett,Portsmouth
- John Howard,Redbridge
- John Kerr,Mansfield
- John Wentworth,Croydon
- Jonathan Simpson,Camden
- Jonathon Hawkes,Dartford
- Josh Blacker,Ealing
- Joy Laguda,Newham
- Kaiser Rehman,Oldham
- Kate Crawford,Ealing
- Kiran Ramchandani,Harrow
- Lee Clark,Hastings
- Lee Whitbread,Southampton
- Leon Spence,Leicestershire
- Mark Allison,Merton
- Martin Whelton,Merton
- Mary Curtin,Merton
- Matthew Bennett,Lambeth
- Melvyn Worth,Cumbria
- Michael Thompson,Bromsgrove
- Natasha Ahmed-Shaikh,Ealing
- Nick Crofts, Liverpool
- Nick Small,Liverpool
- Nick Thulbourn,Peterborough
- Nicola Heaton,Nottingham
- Olly Lewis,Croydon
- Olly Parker,Islington
- Patrick Davey,Leeds
- Paul Brant,Liverpool
- Paul Gatsby,Lambeth
- Paul Rowling,Stockton
- Quintin Peppiatt,Newham
- Ray Catt,Chesterfield
- Rebecca Charlwood,Leeds
- Richard Johnson, Cambridge
- Richard Olszewski,Camden
- Richard Robinson,Broxtowe
- Rishi Madlani,Camden
- Ross Garrod,Merton
- Rowan Draper,Stafford
- Roy Emmett,Redbridge
- Seamus Williams,Watford
- Sean Harkin,Barrow
- Sean Woodcock,Cherwell
- Stephen Ronchetti,Gateshead
- Stephen Cox,Three Rivers
- Stuart King, Croydon
- Suzie Perkins,Chesterfield
- Theo Blackwell,Camden
- Tim Moore,Liverpool
- Tim Nicholls,Islington
- Tom Murphy,Chesterfield
- Varinder Singh Bola,Redbridge
- Vijay Riyait,Leicester
- Wayne Lawler,Croydon