THE Labour leader of Ealing Council has urged supporters to back Liz Kendall for the national party leadership, on the day fellow candidate Jeremy Corbyn brought his campaign to Ealing.

Yesterday Julian Bell signed an open letter, along with 20 other members of Ealing Council, saying they are supporting Ms Kendall as they believe she is “Labour’s best chance of beating the Tories in 2020”.

The letter reads: “As Councillors from Ealing we know how hard the Tory government has hit our Borough. Ealing Council funding has been cut by £183m between 2010 and 2018 - that is over 50% of our budget - and the Borough has also been hit hard by unfair welfare cuts that target the poorest and those on low pay.

“Since the General Election in May, we're already seeing communities throughout the Borough suffering because of the Tory government and one of their first acts was to close down Ealing Hospital's Maternity Unit. As Councillors we can see first-hand how much Ealing needs a Labour government.”

“We believe that Liz is Labour's best chance of beating the Tories in 2020. For the communities let down by Labour failing to win in May - and for the millions who need us - that's what really matters. If Labour doesn't win elections, we can't put any of our values into action to improve the lives and life chances of ordinary working people.”

The letter recommends voters cast their second and third preference votes for Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham in the order of their choice.

The only candidate to be omitted from the letter is 66-year-old socialist Mr Corbyn, who attracted a big turnout when he gave a speech in Ealing Town Hall last night.

Some of his supporters were left in the street as not everyone was able to fit inside.

Mr Corbyn, who has been MP for Islington North since 1983, said: "People have had enough of the politics of abuse and the politics of control. This is about the politics of democracy."

He has support locally from Ealing Central and Acton MP Rupa Huq, who nominated him for the Labour leadership.

Ealing Southall MP Virendra Sharma and Ealing North MP Stephen Pound both gave their vote to Yvette Cooper.

Voting closes on September 10 and the new Labour leader and deputy leader will be announced two days later.