Labour Ballot: Legal Challenge Ruled Out

All four candidates for the Labour leadership have ruled out a legal challenge over the validity of the vote.

Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, Liz Kendall and Jeremy Corbyn dismissed future action amid claims that Conservative supporters are trying to influence the outcome.

For £3 anyone can register as a Labour supporter and secure a vote in the poll.

Some within the Labour Party fear that infiltration would lead to a swing in favour of left-winger Mr Corbyn.

The four contenders today met acting leader Harriet Harman to discuss concerns about the ballot.

They were seeking clarity about the process for vetting new members and supporters to ensure a fair contest.

But all four made it clear they would not challenge the ballot's validity.

Mr Corbyn told Sky's political editor Faisal Islam: "I'd rather these things were resolved democratically by discussion. Running to the court is not really a great idea."

Ms Kendall added: "Everyone must accept the result - I certainly will."

Ms Harman, meanwhile, said she was "confident that there won't be questions of the integrity of the result".

So far, more than 120,000 people have signed up, swelling the electorate to more than 600,000.

Mr Burnham's campaign had argued the process could leave the result open to a legal challenge.

He told supporters at a rally on Monday that he was determined not to allow his party to become divided over the leadership contest.

"Have you heard the big news today? One Direction are splitting up next year. I'm here to tell you, I'm not going to let the same thing happen to the Labour Party," he said.

"We are here to get a Labour government back. We're here to win."

Senior party figures have warned that a win for favourite Mr Corbyn on 12 September could consign Labour to electoral defeat for a decade.

Former PM Gordon Brown has publicly backed Yvette Cooper for the job, with Mr Burnham and Ms Kendall his second and third choices.

:: The four candidates for the Labour leadership will go head-to-head for the final time before voting ends, live on Sky News on Thursday, 3 September. The debate is taking place in Gateshead and if you want to be part of the audience, you can apply here .