Burnham: ‘I can still win’
by Peter Wozniak
Andy Burnham has made a last-ditch attempt to regain some momentum in the Labour leadership contest, insisting that he is still capable of winning as the voice of so-called ‘true’ Labour.
The shadow health secretary made a vicious attack on the other candidates, branding the old Labour/New Labour rhetoric being employed by their supporters as “self-indulgent factionalism”.
Despite the odds on Mr Burnham’s victory being at the length of 40/1 he argued that his position remains strong, even claiming to be “gaining ground” on the front-runners.
With the news cycle dominated over the last few days by the Miliband feud and Ed Balls’ well-received economic speech, Mr Burnham has failed to create the level of impact he might have hoped for with his campaign for ‘aspirational socialism’.
Ballot papers are being sent out on Wednesday, and this may supply some of the reasoning behind all the candidates’ sudden push for media attention.
The contest is now largely considered to have boiled down to that between David and Ed Miliband, though the second preference votes for the other candidates may still have an unexpected impact on the result.
