Labour Leadership Battle: The Final Debate

Tonight the four MPs hoping to lead the Labour Party will go head to head on Sky News with just a week left to vote in the leadership election.

In the last televised hustings of the campaign, to broadcast live from The Sage in Gateshead, a studio audience will question Liz Kendall, Andy Burnham, Jeremy Corbyn, and Yvette Cooper.

You can read all you need to know about the candidates here.

The special programme will be hosted by Adam Boulton, while Kay Burley will be presenting reaction and analysis on the debate.

The first half of the 90-minute debate will focus on questions from the audience in the room.

The second half will see control of much of the questioning handed to the viewing audience on TV and online.

During the debate you will be able to vote on whether you agree with what's being said at any given moment, using the Sky Pulse tool on our website.

Mr Corbyn, the frontrunner since July is expected by all campaigns to be clearly ahead on first preferences.

The rivals are in an uncertain battle to see if that predicted first round lead can be overturned - with their hope that Mr Corbyn's first round showing will be below 43%.

Mr Corbyn's rapid ascent over summer from no-hoper to hot favourite has shocked the party.

Thousands of volunteers have flocked to the veteran anti-war campaigner's "movement", packing out nearly 100 public meetings in scenes reminiscent of last year's Scottish independence referendum.

Hundreds of thousands of Labour members and supporters have joined, transforming the dynamics of the election.

But rival campaigns have accused unions, left-wing protest groups and even other political parties of packing the electorate with "entryist" supporters of Mr Corbyn.

An occasionally vicious internal battle within Labour has raged over whether to welcome or reject the apparent increase in the number of Labour activists.

Mr Corbyn has had to answer for the apparent views of some associates in the anti-war movement.

A rival campaign's private polling, seen by Sky News, suggests the campaign has tightened in the past few weeks.

Corbynmania appears to have peaked last month, opening up a path for other candidates to overturn the left-wing veteran's lead on first preferences.

Mr Burnham has stressed the need to recognise voters scepticism on parts of Labour's economic record.

Ms Cooper in recent days has suggested the UK take 10,000 refugees.

Meanwhile, Liz Kendall has set the party must modernise to win back key swing seats in England.

Former London mayor Ken Livingstone told Sky News Mr Corbyn had something in common with former Tory leader John Major.

"If you think back to when John Major, to everyone's surprise, won the 1992 election, one of the biggest factors was that people said he was a nice guy," Mr Livingstone said.

"And this is what comes over about Jeremy - he's a regular guy, people like him, that's a big factor."

But Mr Livingstone said Mr Corbyn had the added advantage of having the most detailed economic policy too.

"That's what we didn't have back at the election in May (...) and so we fell apart.

"There's an awful lot of Tories who are worried their kids will not be able to buy a home - we can reach them."

A survey of Sky News viewers weighted to be nationally representative showed Mr Corbyn ahead among the four candidates, and in a wider field of Labour figures including David Miliband.

He is now second overall as preferred next Prime Minister to the Conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

:: Watch the live debate tonight from 7pm on Sky News, skynews.com and our mobile apps.