LABOUR’S internal strife has been further laid bare by frontbencher Emily Thornberry, who has launched an outspoken attack on the party hierarchy for trying to “quash” Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership over fears of support among members.

With less than a month to go before the result of the leadership vote is known, the shadow foreign secretary professed her “disgust” at attempts to stop the Islington MP from even appearing on the ballot paper because of his lack of support among colleagues at Westminster.

Mr Corbyn’s fellow London MP accused some in the party of doing their "level best" to deny the flood of new members and supporters the equal chance to make their voices heard in the looming leadership contest.

Her broadside against the party’s ruling national executive committee comes after another ally of the leader, John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, accused senior party figures, most notably Iain McNicol, the Labour general secretary, of attempting a “rigged purge” of members in the leadership contest following the suspension of Corbyn-supporting Ronnie Draper, who heads the bakers’ union.

It also comes as former shadow chancellor Ed Balls launched his own damning critique of the Corbyn leadership, branding it "leftist utopian fantasy" and “devoid of connection to the reality of people's lives".

In his serialised memoirs, he noted: "Refusing to listen to the electorate has never been a winning formula, any more than Jeremy Corbyn thinking the volume of the cheering from your core supporters is a reliable guide to wider public opinion."

Mr Balls offered his reflections as MPs prepare to return to Westminster and he prepares to appear on Strictly Come Dancing.

A pro-Corbyn source said: "Ed should concentrate more on his Paso Doble. As the general election proved, when it comes to politics he is out of step with the British people."

In a post on Facebook, Ms Thornberry, who is also the shadow Brexit secretary, confirmed she would be voting for Mr Corbyn in the upcoming election and hit out at the failed High Court bid to stop him being placed automatically on the leadership ballot papers.

"Here we are now, less than a year after Jeremy's overwhelming victory and the party hierarchy - through decisions of the national executive committee - is attempting to overturn that result, quash Jeremy's mandate, and put the party's members back in their box. And they are doing so in the most naked way,” declared the shadow cabinet member.

She went on: "I was disgusted to see the attempts to try to stop Jeremy from getting on the ballot. And then, if that wasn't bad enough, hundreds of thousands of fully paid-up Labour party members were excluded from taking part in the election, having been told the opposite when they joined.

"Third, your membership fees were spent on securing that decision through the courts. And then lastly, registered supporters, who had been told they could be involved in the leadership election, were then told that they must increase their donation to £25 within two days to remain eligible for a vote."

Ms Thornberry then wrote: "In short, some people have done their level best to deny the party's full membership a fair and equal vote in this contest or even the chance to make their voices heard.

"Instead of welcoming the enthusiasm of our new members, instead of celebrating the strength of our mass membership, they have been behaving as if it is something to be afraid of."

She accused sections of the Labour Party of "turning their back" on the surge of new members and supporters who had signed up to the party rather than harnessing their energy.

The shadow secretary of state argued that in the wake of the historic Brexit vote it was more important than ever for the party to unite and present a viable opposition.

"I believed that this was a time for people to unite and think of the country, not to turn inwards and indulge in a coup attempt against a leader elected with an overwhelming mandate less than a year ago.

"It will therefore come as no surprise to my local party to learn that, having remained totally loyal to the democratically-elected leader of our party since his election, I will stay loyal to Jeremy during the contest that has arisen from that coup, and he will have my vote in this election."

Ms Thornberry added the growing divide between the party hierarchy and its members could see the Labour Party repeat mistakes made under Tony Blair when the rank and file members were left "alienated, demoralised and ignored".

Meantime in his memoirs Speaking Out, Mr Balls, who lost his seat of Morley and Outwood to a Conservative in last year’s poll, admitted Labour was “not ready and didn't deserve to return to government".

He admitted the weakness of his relationship with Ed Miliband, writing: "Having kept me at a distance in the run-up to the election in 2015, we probably only spoke twice in the whole four-week election campaign. That was astonishingly dysfunctional when I compare it to how Tony and Gordon worked."

In a separate development, Mr Corbyn vowed that Labour would fight for a "diverse and united Britain" as he launched a new consultation on tackling discrimination and promoting racial equality.

The Labour leader said it would also look at measures to tackle the "systematic disadvantage" faced by minorities.

The move comes after Prime Minister Theresa May launched an audit of public services to root out racial disparities as part of a drive to tackle inequality.

The Labour consultation will be in partnership with the party’s race equality advisory group and will involve a series of special events across the country and online.

"In Britain, hate crime is rising. More than half of all young black people are unemployed. Black people are a shocking 37 times more likely to be stop and searched. Labour must be a party that fights for black, Asian and ethnic minority communities - and a diverse and united Britain,” declared Mr Corbyn.

"Words matter. We must never pander to elements of the right-wing press which sow division in our society and demonise Muslim communities. We must stand against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and all forms of racism, wherever they exist.

"But it also means going further and addressing the systematic disadvantage that so many people face.”

The Labour leader added: "To build a society that works for everyone, we will end austerity and invest £500 billion in jobs, infrastructure and public services as part of our plan to rebuild and transform Britain."