Ed Miliband said he was not the candidate of the Labour ­establishment and would win back the people’s trust. Photograph: Nick Ansell/PA Ed Miliband’s campaign for the Labour leadership claimed that vital second preference votes were heading to their man by a proportion of three to one, greatly increasing his chances of victory. On the [...]

Cyril Smith (centre) with Alan Beith (left) and Paddy Ashdown in 1987. Photograph: Rex Features The gentle giant of Rochdale, Sir Cyril Smith, has died aged 82 after a career in parliament which helped to rescue the Liberal party from the political fringe. Outsized in every way, he defected from Labour in the late 1960s, [...]

Ed Balls: disagrees with Tony Blair on the deficit. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images Ed Balls today rounded on Tony Blair for his claim that Labour had been wrong to allow the structural deficit to build up during the last decade. The Labour leadership contender said Blair was mistaken in his apparent support of the coalition’s [...]

Blair’s comments forced would-be Labour leaders to show their hands on the economy – and delighted the government. Photograph: Bob Strong/Reuters Candidates for the Labour leadership moved tonight to limit the impact of politically explosive remarks in Tony Blair’s memoirs in which he backed the economic strategy of the Conservative-led coalition government. Blair shook the [...]