Cooper has taken on Corbyn, gloves off. Could this be a knockout blow? | Polly Toynbee
The Labour party is erupting. As ballot papers go out tomorrow, the number electing a new leader has tripled to an astounding 610,000. But they need to remember they are still a few straws in the giant haystack of the real electorate.
Some infiltrators will be weeded out, but most newcomers are likely to be sincere Corbyn believers. Tony Blair's second and more ferocious intervention is unlikely to persuade them. Indeed, his "modernising" wing, so aggressive from day one in their support for the unlikely Liz Kendall, helped stoke the Corbyn phenomenon and divide the party. It's they who seem like the outsiders from yesteryear, still harping on about "reform" of public services that simply won't be there by 2020. Putting the party back together will take a leader of rare skill.
Related: Cooper speech and Blair warning: Politics live - readers' edition
This isn't religion, it's about how to save Sure Start, abolish the bedroom tax, stop savage benefit sanctions
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