Labour's Liz Kendall: I have no problem aiming for budget surplus

Leadership candidate admits there are merits in George Osborne's plans, while two rivals struggle to get nominations to stand in race to succeed Ed Miliband

Liz Kendall has become the first candidate for the Labour leadership to say she is willing in principle to sign up George Osborne's new fiscal rules requiring a government to aim for an overall budget surplus in normal times. She added, however, that more detail was needed on what precisely the chancellor was proposing.

She said: "Labour should never be in favour of budget deficits for the sake of it. I have no problem aiming for a surplus. We must learn the lessons of what happened after the 2010 election and make sure our economic policy is defined by us and not by the Conservatives.