The Guardian has good points to make about the lacklustre Labour leadership campaign:

One candidate, Mary Creagh, has already been squeezed off the ballot. Another, Jeremy Corbyn, is in danger of this fate. Neither deserves it. Ms Creagh’s politics may not be obviously different from those of her rivals: like Ms Kendall and Ms Cooper she complains of Ed Miliband’s disregard for business. But she is an assured media performer, less easy than some to dismiss as part of a political class. Why shouldn’t her party be able to consider whether she is its best shot at selling a moderate Labour message? Mr Corbyn is a very different proposition, a radical leftist whom few – and perhaps not even the modestly mannered Mr Corbyn himself – would imagine in No 10. But he too has a right to a place in a contest where his role could prove significant.

The welfare state is set for a sustained assault. That will pose thorny dilemmas for Labour, which could be entirely obscured in an exchange of empty cliches about “reform” if nobody does what Mr Corbyn will do, and vow to fight the cuts. His opposition to Trident could spark an overdue debate about defence, and his concern with civil liberties would be a useful corrective too. It would also be interesting to contrast Mr Burnham’s emphasis on the anxieties that many voters feel about immigration, with Mr Corbyn’s cosmopolitan, inner-London perspective.

In all these respects, having one name on the ballot who is fearless in defining himself could usefully force more definition on the rest of the pack. For the sake of the contest, some of the several dozen MPs who have not yet made a nomination should remember the fate of Mary Creagh and nominate Mr Corbyn.

Source: The Guardian view on Labour’s leadership: don’t narrow down a lacklustre contest | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian