Cooper Makes Bid To Become First Woman Leader

Yvette Cooper has officially launched her Labour leadership campaign by saying it is time to break through the glass ceiling and deliver the party's first ever woman leader.

In a leadership contest with only one man in the running, Ms Cooper said it was time for women to change the way Britain did politics, and that could start with a female Labour leader.

Speaking at Tech City in London, the shadow home secretary, whose husband Ed Balls challenged for leadership in 2010, said: "It would be fantastic if we could break through the glass ceiling and have the first ever woman leader and also use that as a way to do politics differently.

"To shake up the old Westminster old boys' network we need to reach out."

She told people at the event: "Britain is changing fast - through technology, global competition, travel, trade and migration - changing jobs, changing family life, changing communities. Yet politics isn't keeping up.

"In a digital world, Westminster politics is stuck in an analogue age. And Labour just got left behind."

:: What you need to know about Yvette Cooper

Her event came on the same day that fellow leadership contenders Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall were laying out their own visions for a Labour government.

At a separate London event, Mr Burnham attempted to avoid being typecast as the Left-wing candidate by championing business and enterprise.

Mr Burnham said the party could not return to power unless it got things right on the economy and won back business support.

And he said Labour had become synonymous with "giving people who don't want to help themselves an easy ride".

He said the party could not just talk to the John Lewis shoppers, but those who frequent Aldi and Asda as well.

:: What you need to know about Andy Burnham

Mr Burnham said drafting a plan for growth, the economy and jobs would be his "single biggest priority" in Government.

The shadow health secretary has won the backing of Rachel Reeves, who is coordinating his economic policy and is widely expected to be made shadow chancellor if Mr Burnham's bid is successful.

Mr Burnham admitted Labour had got it wrong when it ran a deficit ahead of the financial crash and that it had taken its eye off wealth creation under Ed Miliband’s leadership.

Mr Burnham said: "I think part of the way Labour got it wrong on business in the last parliament was that we simply didn't say enough that we value what you do - creating jobs and wealth.

"We didn't celebrate the spirit of enterprise. Far too rarely over the last few years has Labour spoken up in praise of the everyday heroes of our society - the small businessman or woman, the sole trader, the innovator, the inventor, the entrepreneur, the businesses that feed us, clothe us, keep our houses warm, get us to work, entertain us."

:: What you need to know about Liz Kendall

Speaking ahead of Mr Burnham, Ms Kendall, who was also laying out her policy vision, told an audience at De Montfort University in Leicester that the country could not keep making the mistakes of the past.

Echoing Tony Blair's "education, education, education" refrain, she said economic credibility depended on "transforming the life chances of all our children, by backing our teachers and parents".

She said: "So my approach to building a fairer Britain - and reducing the crippling inequality that shames our nation and holds it back - will be rooted in transforming the life chances of all our children, by backing our teachers and parents, but challenging them too.

"And our economic credibility will be based on having a plan that starts before children are born and follows them through the ups and downs of their lives."