Controversy marked the end of the Labour leadership round of hustings as contender Diane Abbott broke publicly accused rival David Miliband of “buying the election”.
The remark, which broke ranks with the agreed line that candidates would not attack each other personally, came amid unease and resentment in the different camps over the sums of money and resources pouring into Mr Miliband’s campaign.
In a video interview with The Guardian, Ms Abbott claimed that Mr Miliband had “£400,000 in cold cash” to finance his leadership bid. Declared figures put the figure at around half that, though still six times the next highest level of funding, declared by Ed Balls.
‘There is something unfortunate about even the appearance that someone is buying the election, “ said Ms Abbott, who declared that she has raised just £1,700. Although party chiefs have set a cap on spending of £1 per member at the time the contest began, making a total of £156,000, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, argued that the cap did not include staff and volunteers.
While David Miliband had a support team of dozens to canvass for votes she said she has a staff of “two and a half”, adding: “You do get very, very tired when you are facing those sort of odds….there is no doubt that money is making a huge difference in the election.”
Ms Abbott called for a system which “doesn’t allow people to buy elections”.
The race is now widely considered to be a face-off between the two Miliband brothers, with Ed hoping to gain ground on frontrunner David. The ballot opens on August 16 and closes on September 22. The result is declared at the Labour Party conference on September 25. Anybody who joins the party by September 8 will be eligible for a vote.
In a message to Labour members and the leadership contenders, Ed Balls urged the party to avoid David Cameron’s “trap” by focusing its attack on the Liberal Democrats. The coalition is “fundamentally a Conservative Government” and the Tories should not be let off the hook, the Shadow Education Secretary said, describing the Lib Dems as “cannon fodder shielding Mr Cameron”.
In an interview with the Northern Echo, Ed Miliband courted controversy with a proposal for mechanisms that would ensure a living wage – one of the key planks of his campaign – should deliver more spending power in the more expensive south than the north of England. He also warned the final hustings meeting in Manchester: “We could be out of power for a long time. History tells us we will be. I want to buck that trend.”
