Andy Burnham announces Labour leadership bid

Just like Labour’s shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna, who declared earlier in the week Mr Burnham decided to launch his bid via a video.

He says: “The plain truth is this. The party that I love has lost its emotional connection with millions of people.

“The way to get it back can’t possibly be to choose one group of voters over another – to speak only to people on zero hour contracts or only to shoppers at John Lewis.

“Our challenge is not to go left or right, to focus on one part of the country above another, but to rediscover the beating heart of Labour,” he said.