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Rising Labour star and ex Army major Dan Jarvis has thrown his firepower behind Andy Burnham’s leadership campaign.

In a major boost, Mr Jarvis praises the shadow Health Secretary as the person best placed to unite the party and win back its support in Scotland, the north and the Tory south.

Writing exclusively in the Daily Mirror, he compares Mr Burnham with the leaders he saw on active service in his military days.

“I’ve served under many leaders in my life and I never got to choose them when I served in the Army.

"I’m choosing to support Andy Burnham because I’m convinced he has the strength, experience and character needed to bring our party together and restore Labour’s connection with the British people,” he writes.

(Image: PA / WENN)

Mr Jarvis also says Mr Burnham’s own journey from Merseyside to the Cabinet “speaks to the sense of ambition” that should be at the heart of the Labour Party.

The support of Mr Jarvis, who served two tours in Afghanistan, is major coup for Mr Burnham and cements his position as the frontrunner in the race to succeed Ed Miliband.

The shadow Health Secretary has also secured the backing of shadow Cabinet colleagues Rachel Reeves, Owen Smith and Michael Dugher as well as the Blairite Lord Falconer.

Rising star Mr Jarvis was under pressure from Labour MPs to run himself but announced last week he would not be taking part in the race as he wanted to put his family first.

Mr Burnham is said to already have the support of as many as 50 MPs - far exceeding the 35 MPs needed (15% of the parliamentary party) to take part in the race. Yvette Cooper’s camp say she is also “on the ballot” and has the required numbers.

Those backing Ms Cooper include shadow Defence Minister Vernon Coaker, shadow Culture Secretary Chris Bryant and party stalwarts John Spellar, John Healey, Kevan Jones and Stephen Pound.

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Dark horse Liz Kendall has yet to hit the magic 35 mark but is confident of mopping up support from former backers of Chuka Umunna who dropped out on Friday.

Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt will reveal on Wednesday whether he will join the race.

Ms Kendall hit back at Unite general secretary Len McCluskey for hinting his union could withdraw millions of pounds of funding if Labour lurches to the right.

Unite is also expected to debate its formal ties with the Labour Party at its annual conference this summer.

But Mr McCluskey said: “This idea that we’re considering disaffiliating from the Labour Party is nonsense. We’re not considering that at all.”

In a letter to trade unionist supporters, Ms Kendall said there was no place for “threats” in the leadership race.

“Rather than being dominated by threats to withdraw funding or back other parties, let this leadership election give a voice to the many trade union members who now face a fresh assault on their rights at work because Labour failed to beat the Tories in the election,” she wrote.

(Image: Getty)

The letter went on: “That includes union members who chose not vote Labour this time.

"I also want to hear from working people who have not yet joined a trade union, and understand why that is.

And I promise that I will always be an ally for you. I will tolerate no weakening of protections for working people or the basic rights of trade unions while I’m leader.

"If they’re implemented by this Tory government, the Labour government I will lead will reverse them.”

Making her first speech as interim leader Harriet Harman said she did not believe trade unions would abandon their historic ties with Labour.

“I don’t think there is going to be a break between Unite or any of the unions affiliated with the Labour Party,” she said.

(Image: Getty)

Labour’s new ‘one member, one vote’ rules mean trade unions are far less powerful than before when the party picks a new leader.

The new system means anyone prepared to pay £3 to become an ‘affiliated supporter’ of Labour will get a vote in both the leader and deputy contests.

Ms Harman has also unveiled plans to “stress test” candidates by holding televised “Question Time”-style events with the public in parts of the country which Labour failed to win.

“We must let the public in,” she said.

“When I stood for the leadership it was a cosy contest. We asked ourselves, ‘who do we like?’

“That was the wrong question. We should have asked, ‘who does the country like?’”