LABOUR figures warned leader hopefuls today that returning to “austerity-lite” policies would harm the party, as a likely left leadership candidate, Rebecca Long Bailey, received the “anti-endorsement of the century.”

Speaking on Sky News, Tom Watson said that Ms Long Bailey is “the one that I worry about” because of her loyalty to Jeremy Corbyn.

The former West Bromwich MP, who resigned ahead of the December 2019 general election, added: “I don’t know what she stands for.

“I mean, when I look at Rebecca Long Bailey, she’s really the continuity candidate.

“She sort of stands for Corbynism in its purest sense, and that’s perfectly legitimate, but we have lost two elections with that play.”

Mr Watson admitted that Ms Long Bailey “hasn’t said anything yet,” but urged her to “take the party in a different direction” and be “very candid” about the supposed shortcomings of Mr Corbyn’s leadership.

He also criticised the party’s move to the left under Mr Corbyn, saying that shadow cabinet ministers “have a harder task” to explain themselves to Labour members because “they have to explain why they signed up to manifestos that lost us two elections.

But Claudia Webbe, a longstanding ally of Mr Corbyn and the Labour left on the party’s governing national executive committee (NEC) before being elected as an MP this December, told the Morning Star: “Tom Watson does not appear to have any positive way forward for the Labour Party.

“Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Labour became a firmly anti-austerity party, committed to putting people and planet before private profit.”

She also warned: “Returning to ‘austerity-lite’ policies would hinder us challenging the Tories and lead to us losing more support.

“We will not win by rolling back on this anti-austerity agenda — policies such as new green jobs, scrapping universal credit, public ownership of railways and an end to tuition fees are popular with both Labour members and the public, and should be maintained and developed.”

A senior Labour figure who chose to remain anonymous also told the Star: “Tom’s attacks on Becky are the anti-endorsement of the century. You just can’t buy that sort of credibility.”

Ms Long Bailey has not announced her candidacy at the time of print, but is widely expected to be a frontrunner.

Her closest rival is thought to be shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, while Clive Lewis, Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips and Emily Thornberry have all formally entered the race. Labour Party  chairman Ian Lavery has also attracted considerable support without having yet declared.

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner also launched her campaign for deputy leader today.

Speaking in a venue on the estate she was brought up in, Ms Rayner warned that the party must “win or die,” and said that the current state of Labour is the “biggest challenge” the party has faced in its history.

It is thought that she will face competition from shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon, shadow equalities minister Dawn Butler and Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood.

But Ms Long Bailey has endorsed Ms Rayner, saying she was a “committed trade unionist and fighter for equality.”

In return, Ms Rayner said that she would back Ms Long Bailey if she declared her candidacy, adding that the party leadership should be a “team effort.”