Labour leadership: At-a-glance guide to the contenders - BBC News Labour leadership: At-a-glance guide to the contenders 12 September 2015 Image copyright Getty Images The candidates: Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, Jeremy Corbyn and Liz Kendall Key dates: Ballot papers will be sent out on 14 August; voting can take place by post or online. They must be returned by 10 September. The result is on 12 September Who can vote? All party members, registered supporters and affiliated supporters - including those joining via a union The voting system? The Alternative Vote system is being used so voters are asked to rank candidates in order of preference How does it work? If no candidate gets 50% of all votes cast, the candidate in fourth place is eliminated. Their second preference votes are then redistributed among the remaining three. If there is still no winner, the third place candidate is eliminated with their preferences redistributed. It is then a head-to-head between the last two candidates Andy Burnham Image copyright Getty Images The Labour MP for Leigh since 2001, Andy Burnham has plenty of government experience. He served as health secretary under Gordon Brown and previously as culture secretary and chief secretary to the Treasury.

He stood for the leadership in 2010 but lost out to Ed Miliband, going on to hold the shadow health brief under Mr Miliband's leadership. Declaring his intention to stand, he said Labour must support the "aspirations of everyone". Mr Burnham says he'll widen Labour's appeal by taking the party out of the "Westminster bubble", with a vision to helping "everyone get on in life". Media captionAndy Burnham: Modern Labour 'couldn't have created NHS' He has also pledged to take a tougher line on opposition to the government's welfare reforms, following a split within the party over its stance not to oppose the welfare bill. Mr Burnham is married with three children. Before he entered politics he worked for a newspaper and a publishing company. Yvette Cooper Image copyright HoP Another former chief secretary to the Treasury - as well as a work and pensions minister under Gordon Brown - Yvette Cooper has been shadow home secretary for the past four years. A strong Commons performer, she has given Home Secretary Theresa May a hard time over matters including passport delays, border controls and extremism. She did not stand to succeed Mr Brown in 2010 - her husband Ed Balls did.

Announcing her bid this time around, she said: "Our promise of hope wasn't strong enough to drown out the Tory and UKIP voices of fear. That's what we need to change." She says she has the "strength, experience and progressive ideas" that Labour needs to win again, promising a "stronger" economy and "fairer, less divided society". Media captionYvette Cooper rejects claims her campaign is "boring" She says she wants to combat child poverty, has pledged to campaign against government plans to limit future child tax credit to two children and to bring about a childcare and digital "revolution". Ms Cooper is married to former Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls, and the couple have three children. She worked as a journalist prior to her political career. Jeremy Corbyn Image copyright Labour The veteran left-wing MP for Islington North entered the contest to get an "anti-austerity" voice into the debate on Labour's future. The 66-year-old told his local newspaper, the Islington Gazette, he had decided to stand in response to an "overwhelming" desire among Labour members for a "broader" range of candidates.

After a last-minute scramble for nominations, he made it on to the ballot paper just before the deadline thanks to a number of MPs who did not want him to be leader "lending" him their nominations "to broaden the debate". Mr Corbyn, who is promising to protect public services and increase taxes on the wealthy, was seen as a rank outsider, but support for his candidacy has risen significantly - with one poll putting him in the lead. His campaign has received trade union backing, with Unite and Unison - Britain's two biggest unions - among those endorsing his candidacy. Media captionJeremy Corbyn criticises MPs' 'faux drama' in Parliament A vice-chair of CND and a columnist for the Morning Star, Mr Corbyn has frequently been at odds with his party over the past 20 years, opposing the Iraq war and other foreign interventions and backing public ownership of the banks. He also wants to scrap Britain's nuclear weapons programme, and tuition fees in England. Mr Corbyn has been married three times and has three children with his second wife. He used to be a trade union organiser and a Haringey councillor, in London.

Liz Kendall Image copyright Getty Images Shadow health minister Liz Kendall was the first Labour MP to say they wanted a crack at the party's top job, saying a "fundamentally new approach" was needed. First elected to Parliament in 2010 as MP for Leicester West and appointed to the shadow front bench the same year, Ms Kendall is seen as a Blairite contender. She is a former special adviser to Harriet Harman and then Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt who has argued for reform of public services. Ms Kendall has acknowledged she is the "outside candidate" but says the party needs "a fresh start". She rejected calls to stand down from the contest and back another candidate to beat Mr Corbyn. She says she'll regain the public's trust in Labour on the economy, promising sound public finances and protection of the poor and vulnerable. Her pitch stresses the need to make the party electable, saying that the party won't be able to help people if it is in opposition. Media captionLiz Kendall on the perceived sexism she says she's received on her campaign Ms Kendall is not married and does not have children.

She worked for two think-tanks: the Institute for Public Policy Research and the King's Fund, and was also a political adviser to Harriet Harman in the 1990s. Liz Kendall's vision for government Deputy leadership contenders At the same time, a election is taking place for deputy leader, with five candidates in the frame. Ben Bradshaw Image copyright Getty Images A former journalist and Labour cabinet minister, Ben Bradshaw has been the MP for Exeter since 1997. He plans a "big tent" approach to ensure Labour does not miss out on votes in the south of England, saying the party has to "broaden its appeal". Reflecting on who should replace Ed Miliband, he said: "I would prefer to see one of the new generation come forward rather than someone associated with the Blair and Brown era. "If we really want to win in 2020 - and I think we need to for the country's sake - I would like to see someone from the new generation without that baggage from the past." Stella Creasy Image copyright PA The Walthamstow MP has a growing reputation as a hard-working campaigning MP.

Another from the 2010 intake, she was praised for campaign against payday loans companies, and has a strong following on social media. She told the Sunday Mirror : "Too many voters think Labour is no longer a movement for social justice but a machine that only kicks in to gear at election time." Angela Eagle Image copyright labour party Shadow Commons Leader Angela Eagle plans to travel the country to speak to people who did the "hard graft" in the election campaign. The MP for Wallasey said Labour could not be "complacent" if it was to reverse its general election defeat. Ms Eagle, an MP since 1992, held a number of ministerial jobs during the last Labour government and in 2013 became chair of the Labour Party. She is arguably best-known for having a twin sister, Maria, who is also a Labour MP. Caroline Flint Image copyright PA The MP for Don Valley has been Labour's shadow energy and climate change secretary since 2011, after a stint heading up the Department for Communities and Local Government. Ms Flint held on to her current position in the latest shadow cabinet reshuffle.

She also held various ministerial positions during Gordon Brown's premiership, but famously resigned as Europe minister after accusing him of treating her and her female colleagues as "window dressing". Tom Watson Image copyright Getty Images The MP for West Bromwich since 2001. He has made a name for himself as a prominent backbench campaigner against phone hacking and child sex abuse. He also played a minor role in the toppling of Tony Blair after resigning as a defence minister and calling for the-then PM to quit in the interest of party and country. Watson became Labour's campaign chief under Ed Miliband but he quit after a he became embroiled in a row about the role of the Unite union in the candidate selection in Falkirk. Setting out his pitch for the job, he said: "I'm seeking the deputy leadership to do one thing: write and execute the election battle plan so that our new leader will be prime minister." Labour candidate for London Mayor Sadiq Khan was selected as Labour's candidate in next year's London mayoral race. He won 48,152 votes - a 58.9% share - in the fifth round of voting beating five other candidates.

Sadiq Khan - selected Image copyright PA Sadiq Khan launched his bid to be London mayor with an attack on incumbent Boris Johnson, describing him as a "red carpet mayor, somebody who is fantastic going to openings, great with a flute of champagne in his hands". The son of a bus driver, Mr Khan worked as a human rights solicitor before becoming an MP in 2005. He is shadow London minister. A close ally of former Labour leader Ed Miliband, Mr Khan served in junior ministerial roles in Gordon Brown's government. Mr Khan, the MP for Tooting, said his top priority if elected would be to tackle London's "housing crisis", ensuring "genuinely affordable homes to rent and buy". Mr Khan said he would also focus on affordable public transport and confirmed he had changed his mind on the issue of a third runway at Heathrow Airport over air pollution fears, and would be campaigning against expansion. Tessa Jowell - runner up Image copyright Getty Images Ex-minister Dame Tessa Jowell was regarded as the frontrunner going into the contest, but ultimately came second with 41.1% of the vote in the fifth round of voting.

The former Dulwich and West Norwood MP, who stood down at the general election after 20 years in Parliament, earned widespread plaudits for the role she played in London's bid for the 2012 Olympics and her subsequent performance as Olympics minister. The former culture secretary, who was a psychiatric social worker before entering politics, was a key figure at the heart of New Labour - she once said she would "jump under a bus" for Tony Blair. Diane Abbott - eliminated A familiar face to viewers of BBC One's This Week, Diane Abbott is a veteran left winger who first entered the Commons in 1987, as one of Britain's first black MPs. She came third in the vote. The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP was shadow public health spokesman under Ed Miliband, after losing out to him in the 2010 Labour leadership contest. Launching her mayoral bid, she had said she would bring London's communities together and be the "genuinely independently minded Mayor that London needs".

David Lammy - eliminated The MP for Tottenham, who placed fourth in the vote, was the first person to publicly weigh up a Labour leadership bid, telling the BBC that he would consider standing if colleagues wanted him to. But he later ruled himself out of the top job, saying his principal aim was to become Labour's candidate for Mayor of London in 2016, saying "my strengths are in London and the south". One of the most prominent black MPs in the party, the former barrister is regarded as being on the right of the party, having served as a minister under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. His national profile rose during the 2011 riots in London, when he appealed for calm and reconciliation in the wake of the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan in his north London constituency. Christian Wolmar - eliminated A journalist and railway historian, Christian Wolmar is one of Britain's most in-demand transport pundits, and was the only non-politician in the race. He came in fifth place, after David Lammy.

He said he would be an "ideas driven mayor", avoiding "partisan and personality politics" - and promised during his campaign to tackle London's "housing crisis", improve the transport network and revitalise public spaces. The 65-year-old cycles to campaign meeting and claims to have clocked up more than 2,000 miles already. Gareth Thomas - eliminated Image copyright Labour Party The MP for Harrow West came in last place after being eliminated in the first round of voting with 1.2% of the vote. He had campaigned on a promise of more affordable homes, a better transport system and a living wage "that reflects the reality of living in our great city". Mr Thomas is a former international development minister and chairman of the Co-operative Party. The non-runners: Mary Creagh - withdrew Image copyright Getty Images The shadow international development secretary announced her intention to join the race for the Labour leadership, via an article in the Daily Mail. However, with fewer nominations than anyone else in the field - and short of the 35 MP nomination target - she pulled out of the contest on 12 June.

The Wakefield MP said she was "proud to have played my part" in the race but had decided to withdraw so her supporters could nominate another candidate. Chuka Umunna - withdrew Chuka Umunna was the second candidate to declare he would stand for election as leader of the Labour Party. A rising star of the party, the Streatham MP was first elected to Parliament in 2010 and appointed shadow business secretary the following year. He announced his intention to stand via a post on his Facebook page . He said he had spoken to half the Labour 80 candidates standing in Tory seats targeted by the party and other MPs before making his announcement. However, three days later Mr Umunna withdrew from the leadership contest. He said in a statement posted on his Twitter feed that had been uncomfortable with the level of "sheer pressure" and scrutiny that came with being a candidate. The 36-year-old added that it had perhaps been "too soon" for him to launch a leadership bid.

Rachel Reeves - ruled out Image copyright AFP Another rising star of the 2010 intake, the MP for Leeds West was appointed shadow chief secretary to the Treasury in 2011 and shadow work and pensions secretary in 2013. She told BBC News Labour needs "to be in the centre ground to win a general election" but ruled herself out of a leadership bid. Alan Johnson - ruled out A former home secretary and shadow chancellor, Alan Johnson is the Labour leadership candidate who never quite was. The popular MP declined to stand in 2010 and stepped down from his shadow cabinet role in 2011 for personal reasons. Earlier this year it was reported that senior New Labour figures Lord Mandelson and Alistair Campbell approached Mr Johnson over a leadership bid, although all three later distanced themselves from the story. But the former postman, who has been MP for Hull West and Hessle since 1997, had seemingly ruled himself out again, saying it is a "10-year job" and he does not have the "right qualities".

Dan Jarvis - ruled out Image copyright Other Former army officer Dan Jarvis was elected MP for Barnsley Central in a by-election in 2011, having resigned his commission as a major in the Parachute Regiment to contest the seat. After entering Parliament in 2010, he quickly became a shadow culture, media and sport minister and later a shadow justice minister. In 2011, Mr Jarvis became the first serving politician in more than 60 years to be awarded a military honour, when he was made an MBE for his services to the armed forces. He has been touted by some colleagues as a future Labour leader but Mr Jarvis, who was widowed in 2010 and has a young family, ruled himself out, saying it is not the "right time" for him and his family. Tristram Hunt - ruled out Historian and journalist Tristram Hunt entered Parliament in 2010 as Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central and he became shadow education secretary in 2013.

Speaking in the aftermath of the election results, he called on Labour's ruling National Executive Committee "not to rush our election", saying there was time for a "brutal post-mortem" about Labour's "underlying philosophy and thinking". As for his own ambitions, he said "it's about the lyrics as much as the lead singer I think". He later said he was not confident of getting enough nominations to stand, and would support Liz Kendall. Rushanara Ali - withdrew Rushanara Ali withdrew from the deputy leadership campaign shortly before the deadline for nominations after it became clear she would not garner enough support. Her exit allowed her supporters to transfer their backing to other candidates to enable them to get onto the ballot paper. She was praised by fellow candidate Ben Bradshaw for her "incredibly selfless" decision. John Healey - withdrew Image copyright PA John Healey has pulled out of the race to be Labour's next deputy leader despite gaining the backing of 20 MPs, putting him within striking distance of the 35 needed to get on the ballot paper. When he entered the deputy race he said he was concerned about how "narrow and shallow" the debate about Labour's future direction has been so far.

He now says he wants to give other candidates, from different wings of the party, a chance to be deputy. The 55-year old is backing Yvette Cooper for leader. Gloria de Piero - withdrew Image copyright Getty Images A former GMTV presenter, Gloria de Piero joined Parliament as the MP for Ashfield in 2010. She immediately rose to shadow ministerial ranks, taking on a culture, media and sport brief and then home affairs. She expressed an interest in becoming deputy leader but withdrew early in the contest, instead backing Tom Watson. Simon Danczuk - ruled out Image copyright Getty Images The MP for Rochdale says the deputy leader vacancy has "come a bit too soon" for him. He previously said a number of colleagues had asked him to put his name forward for the role. Mr Danczuk is well known for his prominent campaigning against child sex abuse and leading calls for an inquiry into allegations of historical child sex abuse by senior figures at Westminster.

He was a vocal critic of Ed Miliband and in an article for the Daily Telegraph on Thursday he said Labour needed to "step out if its Metropolitan comfort zone" and "reach out to the country once more." Keir Starmer - ruled out Image copyright Reuters The former director of public prosecutions has only just become an MP after being elected in Frank Dobson's old seat of Holborn and St Pancras, in North London at the general election. He was forced to rule himself out of the race to be Labour leader following a social media campaign urging him to stand. He said he was "flattered" by the campaign but the party needed someone with "more political experience". David Miliband - cannot stand in election The older brother of ex-leader Ed, David Miliband was frontrunner to replace Gordon Brown in 2010, until his sibling beat him by a whisker. A former foreign secretary and MP for South Shields, he was the Blairite choice for leader but eventually quit Parliament to become head of the International Rescue Committee charity in New York in 2013.

Speaking to the BBC from the US on the Monday after the general election, Mr Miliband criticised his brother's campaign in the 2015 general election, saying he and Mr Brown had "allowed themselves to be portrayed as moving backwards from the principles of aspiration and inclusion that are the absolute heart of any successful progressive political project". While he acknowledged the two men were "brothers for life", he also confirmed he was not eligible to stand for the party leadership as he is not an MP. Labour's election rules Image copyright AFP MPs wishing to stand as leader and deputy leader have to be nominated by 15% of their colleagues in the Parliamentary Labour Party to be eligible to stand. As Labour now has 232 MPs, this means prospective candidates had to get at least 34 signatures. That means the maximum size of any field is six contenders. Under rules agreed last year, all Labour Party members, registered supporters and affiliated supporters - including union members - will be allowed a maximum of one vote each on a one member, one vote system. When the election is held, they will be asked to rank candidates in order of preference.

If no candidate gets 50% of all votes cast, the votes will be added up and the candidate with the fewest votes eliminated. Their 2nd preference votes will then be redistributed until one candidate has 50% of all votes cast. Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn elected with huge mandate | Politics | The Guardian Jeremy Corbyn Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn elected with huge mandate Election of backbench MP and anti-war campaigner means party now has one of the most leftwing, anti-establishment leaders in its history Saturday 12 September 2015 08.27 EDT First published on Saturday 12 September 2015 06.42 EDT Close This article is 1 year old Jeremy Corbyn has been elected leader of the British Labour party, in a stunning first-round victory that dwarfed even the mandate for Tony Blair in 1994. He won with nearly 59.5% of first-preference votes, beating rivals Andy Burnham, who trailed on 19%, and Yvette Cooper who received 17%. The “Blairite” candidate Liz Kendall came last on 4.5%.

Labour frontbenchers rule out serving in Corbyn's shadow cabinet Read more Minutes after his victory, Corbyn said the message is that people are “fed up with the injustice and the inequality” of Britain. “The media and many of us, simply didn’t understand the views of young people in our country. They were turned off by the way politics was being conducted. We have to and must change that. The fightback gathers speed and gathers pace,” he said. The north London MP is one of the most unexpected winners of the party leadership in its history, after persuading Labour members and supporters that the party needed to draw a line under the New Labour era of Blair and Gordon Brown. Attention will now turn to who serves in Corbyn’s top team, with MPs such as John McDonnell, Angela Eagle, Sadiq Khan, Ken Livingstone and possibly leadership rival Burnham tipped for key roles. Liam Byrne, Mary Creagh and John Healey have also indicated they would be willing to serve on his frontbench. He faces the task of constructing a broad-based shadow cabinet, pulling out of his major TV interview with Andrew Marr on the BBC on Sunday to start the process.

However, within two hours it was clear that Rachel Reeves, Emma Reynolds, Tristram Hunt, Chris Leslie and Liz Kendall as well as Cooper would not serve his leadership. Jamie Reed, a shadow health minister, published his resignation letter on Twitter while Corbyn was still delivering his victory speech. Watch highlights of Jeremy Corbyn’s victory speech Having been catapulted from a little-known member of parliament to leader of the opposition, Corbyn will now set about apologising for the Iraq war and strongly opposing cuts to public services and welfare. He began his leadership on Saturday with a speech to a rally in London in support of refugees. Addressing the party’s new members who helped propel him to victory, he said: “Welcome to our party, welcome to our movement. And I say to those returning to the party, who were in it before and felt disillusioned and went away: welcome back, welcome home.” Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn wins race in stunning victory – live updates Read more Corbyn also launched a forthright attack on the media, saying its behaviour had been at times “intrusive, abusive and simply wrong”. “I say to journalists: attack public political figures. That is ok but please don’t attack people who didn’t ask to be put in the limelight.

Leave them alone in all circumstances,” he said. In generous tributes to the other candidates, he applauded Burnham for his work on health, Kendall for her friendship during the campaign and Cooper for helping to shape the political narrative on Britain taking more refugees. Leadership result graphic The new leader concluded by saying the poorest were suffering a terrible burden of austerity and have seen their wages cut or are forced to rely on food banks under the Conservatives. “It’s not right, it’s not necessary and it’s got to change,” he said. “We go forward as a movement and a party, stronger, bigger and more determined than we have been for a very long time ... We are going to reach out to everyone in this country, so no one is left on the side, so everyone has a decent place in society.” Throughout his speech, Corbyn stressed that he would be inclusive, in comments designed to allay the fear of centrist MPs that they may no longer have much of a place in his party. Pinterest Andy Burnham, left, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall congratulate new leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Former leader Ed Miliband broke his silence on the contest to appeal to the new leader to reach out to all sections of Labour “because he has a big job to do to unite the party”. He said he would be offering Corbyn his support but has turned down the chance to be part of the new shadow cabinet. “Jeremy has won a very clear victory in all sections. I believe we should respect that mandate,” Miliband said. “The task of the leader is to reach all parts of that movement and I believe that’s what Jeremy should do. It’s about the fact that right across our party they voted for Jeremy Corbyn. It’s a massive opportunity for our party.” Pinterest Newly elected Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, left, embraces newly elected leader Jeremy Corbyn. Photograph: Rex Shutterstock Corbyn’s victory is all the more remarkable because he started as the rank outsider, behind rivals Burnham, Cooper and Kendall, and only scraped on to the ballot paper when about 15 Labour MPs lent him their votes in order to widen the debate.

Initially, the odds of him winning were around 100-1, but his campaign was boosted when he won the support of two of the biggest unions, Unite and Unison, and became the only candidate to vote against the Conservatives’ welfare bill while the others abstained. Leadership result shows dramatic shifts within Labour party Read more Corbyn’s campaign has also been helped by a surge in new members and supporters who paid £3 to take part in the vote, leading to a near-tripling of those eligible to about 550,000 people. Throughout the campaign, he addressed packed rallies and halls, where he had to give speeches outside the buildings to crowds gathered in the street. While his supporters will be jubilant about Labour taking a turn to the left, his triumph will be deeply disappointing to the parliamentary party, which overwhelmingly backed other candidates by 210 to 20. Pinterest Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Despite talk over the summer among Labour MPs about the possibility of challenging Corbyn’s election, this threat to his authority appears to have somewhat dissipated.

Labour has been severely criticised for its chaotic handling of the contest, after Miliband introduced the new system whereby new supporters could pay £3 to take part in the vote. It meant the party had to scramble to weed out infiltrators from other parties and many members complained about not getting ballot papers. All camps, however, have ruled out mounting a legal challenge to the result. During his three decades in parliament, Corbyn has spent much of his time championing causes such as the Stop the War coalition, campaigning against the private finance initiative and supporting peace efforts in the Middle East. In the campaign, he promised to give Labour members a much greater say in the party’s policymaking process, in a move that could sideline MPs. His key proposals include renationalisation of the railways, apologising for Labour’s role in the Iraq war, quantitative easing to fund infrastructure, opposing austerity, controlling rents and creating a national education service. He is also likely to prove an obstacle to David Cameron’s ambition to launch airstrikes on Syria, although some Labour MPs could defy the whip to vote with the government. MP Tom Watson: Labour Party deputy leader? | Our Birmingham MP Tom Watson: Labour Party deputy leader?

0 A message in support of ‘unifier’ Tom Watson has been received from a Labour Party registered supporter who had been ‘terribly downhearted and disillusioned by the election result but didn’t necessarily believe that anything would change’. This correspondent signed up to vote in the leadership election because she now thinks it might and is convinced that, whoever we elect as leader, (and she is backing Jeremy Corbyn) choosing Tom Watson as deputy is a crucial part of the change the country needs. Many potential CLP electors agree as the snapshot from his website on the left shows. She points out: He’s also a conviction politician who stood up against Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation when nobody else would. He had his garage broken into, people went through his bins and he was put under covert surveillance. At times he feared for his own and his family’s safety, but he kept going because that’s what he’s like, and he won. Other points: Historic child abuse survivors began to contact him about organised cover-ups at the heart of the Establishment. The world told him to leave it alone. Again, he refused, and now several police inquiries are underway. He set up the All Party Drones Group to campaign against CIA extra-judicial killings.

Some Labour politicians said it was bad politics. Tom said it was the right thing to do. He became the first MP to Judicially Review government primary legislation, successfully, over the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act – in a joint action with Liberty and the Open Rights Group. In the last Parliament he opposed the military actions in Libya and Syria. Wide experience: MP since 2001, former full-time trade union official, Government Minister, Government Whip, Deputy Chair of the Party. She ended: “I think it’s vital that we put Tom Watson beside our new leader as deputy”. – And sent a link so that readers can have more information about MP Tom Watson and his campaigns . Labour leadership results in full - BBC News BBC News Labour leadership results in full 12 September 2015 Read more about sharing. Close share panel Veteran left-wing MP Jeremy Corbyn has been elected leader of the Labour Party by a landslide, with MP Tom Watson elected deputy. A total of 422,871 people took part in the vote for the two positions, with 343,995 votes cast online making it the UK's largest ever online ballot.

New Leader This was the first Labour leadership contest to be fought under the new "one member one vote" system. There was also a new category of so-called registered supporters, who paid £3 to join. Mr Corbyn was way ahead of his rivals among party members, trade unionists and the registered supporters. Leadership results in full Jeremy Corbyn wins Labour leadership contest and vows 'fightback' - BBC News BBC News Jeremy Corbyn wins Labour leadership contest and vows 'fightback' 12 September 2015 From the section UK Politics comments Read more about sharing. Close share panel Media captionJeremy Corbyn: "We don't have to be unequal. It does not have to be unfair, poverty isn't inevitable. Things can, and they will change" Jeremy Corbyn has promised to lead a Labour "fightback" after being elected the party's new leader by a landslide. The veteran left-winger got almost 60% of more than 400,000 votes cast, trouncing his rivals Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall. He immediately faced an exodus of shadow cabinet members - but senior figures including Ed Miliband urged the party's MPs to get behind him.

Mr Corbyn was a 200-1 outsider when the three-month contest began. But he was swept to victory on a wave of enthusiasm for his anti-austerity message and promise to scrap Britain's nuclear weapons and renationalise the railways and major utilities. He told BBC News he had been a "bit surprised" by the scale of his victory but his campaign had showed "politics can change and we have changed it". 'Jez we did' He will now select his shadow cabinet. Labour has confirmed Rosie Winterton will return as chief whip, but a string of existing cabinet members including Ms Cooper, Tristram Hunt and Rachel Reeves, have all ruled themselves out of serving on the front bench. He has hinted that he wants to change the format of Prime Minister's Questions - he faces David Cameron across the dispatch box for the first time on Wednesday - suggesting other Labour MPs might get a turn. And on Saturday night, he emailed party members asking them to submit questions the weekly exchange. "I want to be your voice," he wrote.

The Islington North MP won on the first round of voting in the leadership contest, taking 251,417 of the 422,664 votes cast - against 19% for Mr Burnham, 17% for Ms Cooper and 4.5% for Ms Kendall. Former minister and Gordon Brown ally Tom Watson was elected deputy leader. Media captionNew Labour deputy leader Tom Watson says "this has never been a Conservative country" Corbyn supporters chanted "Jez we did" as he took to the stage, putting on his glasses to deliver his acceptance speech. The left-winger, who has spent his entire 32-year career in the Commons on the backbenches, promised to fight for a more tolerant and inclusive Britain - and to tackle "grotesque levels of inequality in our society". He said the leadership campaign "showed our party and our movement, passionate, democratic, diverse, united and absolutely determined in our quest for a decent and better society that is possible for all". "They are fed up with the inequality, the injustice, the unnecessary poverty.

All those issues have brought people in, in a spirit of hope and optimism." He said his campaign had given the lie to claims that young Britons were apathetic about politics, showing instead that they were "a very political generation that were turned off by the way in which politics was being conducted - we have to, and must, change that". Media captionIn his one of his first speeches since being elected Labour leader on Saturday, Jeremy Corbyn addresses a rally about rights for refugees Mr Corbyn added: "The fightback now of our party gathers speed and gathers pace." His first act as leader was to attend a "refugees welcome here" rally, joining tens of thousands of people marching through central London in support of the rights of refugees. Addressing cheering crowds in Parliament Square, he delivered an impassioned plea to the government to recognise its legal obligations to refugees from Syria and elsewhere and to find "peaceful solutions to the world's problems". "Open your your hearts. open your minds, open your attitude to suffering people, who are desperate and who are in need of somewhere safe to live," added the new Labour leader. Singer Billy Bragg then led the crowd in a rendition of socialist anthem The Red Flag.

Mr Corbyn earlier told supporters his first day at the helm of his party in Parliament would be spent opposing government plans to "shackle" trade unions by imposing higher thresholds for strike ballots. Analysis by BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg There are problems everywhere for Labour's new leader. He has always been an outsider, an insurgent in his own party. How can he expect loyalty from his colleagues, unite the party, when he has rarely displayed it himself? MPs have been discussing ousting him for weeks. There is likely to be initial faint support from most. Don't expect a rapid coup. But don't doubt most smiles behind him at the despatch box will be through gritted teeth. And shadow ministers' resignation letters have already been written. The Jeremy Corbyn story An overwhelming 85% of people who signed up as affiliated supporters for £3 voted for Mr Corbyn - but he also topped the ballot among party members and trade unionists. The BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith said this broad support gave Mr Corbyn a strong mandate and would silence those on the right of the Labour Party who had been plotting to get rid of Mr Corbyn at the earliest opportunity, as he had "totally obliterated" his opponents.

Mr Corbyn's predecessor as Labour leader Ed Miliband gave his "full support" to Mr Corbyn and said he expected him to "reach out to all parts of our party" but ruled out a return to the front bench himself Media captionEd Miliband: ''I'll be offering Jeremy Corbyn my support, and I hope people across the party do so too'' Former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott urged Labour frontbenchers thinking of resigning to think again, saying the party had "overwhelmingly endorsed" Mr Corbyn, who he said had got more votes than Tony Blair when he won the leadership in 1994. "The party has spoken with a very strong voice. Get out and fight the Tories," Lord Prescott told BBC News. 'Divided party' Len McCluskey, general secretary of the UK's biggest union Unite, congratulated Mr Corbyn and Mr Watson, saying: "Voters can now look at Labour and see, unquestionably, that it stands for fairness, justice, peace and strong communities.

It is the party of hope, ready to take on a Government hell-bent on making life worse for ordinary people." SNP leader and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon congratulated Mr Corbyn and offered to work with him to oppose the renewal of Trident nuclear weapons and against "Tory austerity". But she added: "The reality today is that at a time when the country needs strong opposition to the Tories, Jeremy Corbyn leads a deeply, and very bitterly, divided party. "Indeed, if Labour cannot quickly demonstrate that they have a credible chance of winning the next UK general election, many more people in Scotland are likely to conclude that independence is the only alternative to continued Tory government." Image copyright PA Image caption There has been a surge in support for Jeremy Corbyn, who was initially seen as an outsider The prime minister spoke to Mr Corbyn on the phone to congratulate him on becoming the new leader of the opposition. But Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, giving the Conservative Party's reaction, said: "Labour are now a serious risk to our nation's security, our economy's security and your family's security.

"Whether it's weakening our defences, raising taxes on jobs and earnings, racking up more debt and welfare or driving up the cost of living by printing money - Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party will hurt working people." Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood congratulated Mr Corbyn but said his election "cannot alter Labour's dismal record in government in Wales". Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said: "The selection of Jeremy Corbyn, combined with the remarkable Green surge of the past year, and the SNP's success at the general election, shows how many people support an alternative to austerity economics." Results of the Labour Leadership elections – The Labour Party Share with your friends Tweet this story The Labour Party has elected our new Leader and Deputy Leader. Jeremy Corbyn is the new Leader and Tom Watson is the new Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. The results are as follows: Labour Party Leadership

Question: Who became the deputy leader of the Labour party in September 2015?
Answer: TOM WATSON