Labour are submitting our resignation letter by electing Jeremy Corbyn, says Liz Kendall

The candidate has said Labour would be consigned to the wilderness

Liz Kendall has called for a voting pact with Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper, her rivals for the Labour leadership, in an attempt to stop the left-wing front-runner Jeremy Corbyn winning the race (PA)

Labour would be handing a “letter of resignation” to the British people by electing Jeremy Corbyn as its leader, one of his competitors has said.

Liz Kendall said she was not “agnostic” about a victory for the radical left-winger and said her supporters should use their second preference votes to stop him winning.

“I think what Jeremy offers is easy answers but the wrong answers. You know, he's not offering anything new, his programme isn't new, it's exactly the same as it was in the 1980s and will get the same result,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“I don't want to see Labour submit our resignation letter to the British people as a serious party of government. Millions of people depend on us to provide an alternative and that's what I'll be doing over the coming weeks.”

She has joined a chorus of Labour establishment figures including Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, and Yvette Cooper in openly attacking Mr Corbyn.

Labour would be "consigned to the wildnerness" under the left-winger, she argued.

Ms Kendall, the last-placed candidate, is however less popular with the public at large than Mr Corbyn, according to a recent poll conducted by Research Now.

The survey found Mr Burnham the most popular with 30 per cent, Mr Corbyn in joint second with Ms Cooper on 24 per cent, and Ms Kendall training on 21 per cent.

Mr Corbyn is the most popular candidate with Labour members and supporters, according to polling by YouGov and constituency party nominations.

Voting in the Labour leadership election begins this weekend, with registrations closed. Over 600,000 people have registered to vote.