Rebecca Long-Bailey has branded as “disrespectful” claims she is the ‘continuity Corbyn’ candidate for Labour leader.

The Left-wing favourite said she was a “completely different person” and would run things her own way if she wins the contest.

But the Labour MP insisted she was proud of the party’s policy platform and claimed she could build on it to win at the next election.

Long-Bailey, a close ally of Jeremy Corbyn and his shadow chancellor John McDonnell, has struggled to shrug off claims they would continue to pull the strings if she becomes leader.

But in her first newspaper interview of the campaign, she hits back angrily: “Insinuations have been made: ‘Oh these men have been pulling strings in the background’.

“I’ve been proud to stand on the policy platform that we’ve had. That’s not to say I’m not a completely different person from Jeremy because I am and I’ll be taking the party in completely different directions.”

The shadow business secretary, 40, has faced suggestions she may not be tough enough for the job - which could involve standing up to some of those desperate to cling on to power.

(Image: Philip Coburn/Daily Mirror)

“I’m from Salford, no-one messes with me,” she retorts. Her supporters hope the former lawyer’s no-nonsense approach will help her take on Boris Johnson at the despatch box.

Other critics claim she rarely spoke out on difficult issues - from anti-Semitism to Brexit - during her years in shadow cabinet. Some, including her supporters, have blamed it on shyness.

She laughs that off. “I’m not shy, I was too busy working. I was locked in a room for four years developing a lot of the policies that were in the manifesto, rather than going around wining and dining.”

But it is true that she appears more comfortable out of the spotlight.

Labour leadership candidates Keir Starmer - 1/3

- 1/3 Rebecca Long-Bailey - 4/1

- 4/1 Lisa Nandy - 6/1

- 6/1 MAY NOT MAKE THE BALLOT: Emily Thornberry

OUT: Jess Phillips

OUT: Clive Lewis Odds Jan 22 from thepools.com. For full profiles and how the contest works click here. Deputy leadership candidates Angela Rayner

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Dawn Butler

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“I’ve never been personally ambitious but I’ve been ambitious with my principles that I’ve got for the country,” she says.

Long-Bailey is “devastated” by Labour’s election defeat and pins it on “a whole range of issues” including lack of trust in policies, the party’s conflicted Brexit position and failures over the party’s handling of anti-Semitism.

But she refuses three times to cite Corbyn’s leadership - which she marked as 10/10 on television - as a key factor in the result.

“I supported Jeremy from the start because he was a kind, honest, principled politician and a lot of the things we believed in were the same. I’ll always respect him and I’ll always be grateful for what he’s done for the party,” she says.

(Image: Philip Coburn/Daily Mirror)

“But equally we didn’t win the general election and we’ve got to recognise what we got wrong and can’t get them wrong again.”

She adds: “I’m a very different person and would do things very differently. He didn’t have an easy time”.

Her defence of her old boss will persuade many Labour members that the MP, who was first elected in 2015, is not enough of a break from the past.

But she tries to put clear water between them by focusing on the very un-Corbynesque language of aspiration.

“The Tories talk about being the party of aspiration and they’re nowhere near delivering anybody’s aspirations, apart from a select group of people that they’ve always tried to protect,” she says.

“We need to show that what we believe is about fulfilling aspiration. It’s about saying to an 18 year-old Rebecca that the Labour party will make sure you fulfill your dreams and that your childrens’ lives would be better than yours.

“No matter your postcode, no matter where you work, you will be guaranteed that better quality of life. And we didn’t say that in this election. That message really didn’t cut through.

“That drew many people to the conclusion that we were there to provide handouts rather than to fulfill people’s needs for aspiration.”

Long-Bailey describes her own childhood in a working-class family in Salford, which she has been accused of embellishing, as “quite humble”.

(Image: Rebecca Long Bailey / Twitter)

“It wasn’t that I had some shining characteristic or attribute that set me apart from everybody else, the rest of it was down to luck.”

She describes herself as a “lapsed” Catholic who goes to church at Christmas and Easter. “I’m hedging my bets”.

She still prays but thinks God should be kept out of politics. “Your faith can help form your views but it should be very separate.”

But she is furious about the row over her comments that she is personally not in favour of a rule that allows abortion beyond 24 weeks for disabled unborn children - but doesn’t want a change in the law.

“I had some of our Labour members saying I was a puppet of the Pope and that my strings were pulled by the Vatican. It’s the Vatican, it’s the Pope, it’s John, it’s Jeremy. Who else is it going to be?”

The Salford MP is prepared for “personal attacks” if she becomes Labour leader and says her husband Steve, who is at home with their seven-year-old son, is fully behind her.

“He is. He knows how important it is. We’re not going to change the world and build the society we know our community deserve without that sacrifice and without understanding that it’s going to have implications on our lives.”

But she adds that she will speak out against intrusive media.

(Image: Rebecca Long Bailey / Twitter)

“You expect scrutinty, you expect criticism but your family should be kept out of it. Criticise me on what I’ve said or what my policies are, don’t criticise me on the colour of my lipstick or misrepresent things I’ve said because that will make me really angry.”

At New Year, Tory former chancellor George Osborne tweeted: “One thing that every Conservative I know wants for 2020 is for Rebecca Long-Bailey to become leader of the Labour Party”.

Why does she think that is? “He’s probably got a bit of a crush on me to be honest,” she laughs. “Who wouldn’t?”

But isn’t it because the Tories think they could beat the most left-wing candidate again?

“I’m not being funny, but I wouldn’t be taking advice off George Osborne on who the best leader of the Labour party is,” she says.

The Labour MP warns the party has to unify to survive.

“There’s been a lot of division and that has to end. Unless we come together we’re not going to win an election again.”

She describes John McDonnell, widely viewed as her mentor, as “just a friend” who she agrees with a lot. But he won’t be in her shadow cabinet if she wins.

(Image: Getty)

“I don’t think he wants to. He’s been quite clear about wanting to push forward the next generation.”

Instead, she would bring all her remaining leadership rivals - Keir Starmer, Lisa Nandy and Emily Thornberry - to the top table.

“Yes I suspect so. I’ve said I’d have a broad church.”

In return, she will publicly support any of the other contenders should they win.

Long-Bailey shares a flat in London with Angela Rayner - who she is backing for deputy - and the pair are close.

She says her fellow Northern MP is a “model housemate” and aside from leaving her shower loofahs around the bathroom - “that drives me mad” - is “not that messy”. She has enviously mentioned Rayner’s huge collection of shoes.

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After teasing last week that she may have tried drugs in Amsterdam, she reveals that she was a bit of a clubber in her youth, singling out the Prodigy as a favourite.

But her best night in now is “a Chinese and a bit of wine” in front of the television with her husband, while her “guilty pleasure” is Greggs’ vegan sausage rolls. “I had some on Saturday, some on Monday and another two today. I’m not even vegan.”

(Image: PA)

Rebecca Long-Bailey on...

IMMIGRATION

“We need to develop the economic case and show how diverse communities and immigration helps our economy. Too often the Right have allowed us to blame each other for the economic situation we’re in. We haven’t been quick enough to step in to say government policy and lack of investment are responsible. We want to make sure we’ve got a post-Brexit immigration system that’s as fair as possible, works for our economy, doesn’t discriminate and gives us as much free movement as possible within the framework of a trade agreement.”

NHS

“For a long time there’s been privatisation by stealth. Most people don’t know it’s happeneing. They don’t know that many of the services provided in the NHS are provided for by private medical companies. It’s not sensible for the NHS to do that and it’s also setting us up for a healthcare system where the direction of travel is an insurance-based system. I want to see in-sourcing within the NHS. Of course we need to build up capacity. But this constant breaking up the NHS is deliberate and will end in privatisation.”

(Image: Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror)

FOREIGN POLICY

“The role of a PM is first of all to protect its people and do whatever they need to do that. In terms of having a nuclear deterrent, the PM needs to send a message that they are willing to use it if necessary. That doesn’t mean I agree with nuclear weapons because I don’t and I think we have a role to push all countries to mutually disarm. I’d meet any leader, including Donald Trump, whether I agree with them or not. You shouldn’t cut off dialogue. It’s also about fostering relationships that provide peace and stability.”

SCOTLAND

“There should be a democratic revolution with more powers - including over tax and industrial strategy - devolved to Wales and Scotland but also to the English regions. I would never campaign for Scotland to leave. I’d always very much want them to be part of the UK because I think we’re stronger together. But I don’t think as a democratic party we could stand in the way if the Scottish Parliament democratically decided they would call for another independence referendum.”

CRIME

“People need to feel safe and secure. You’ve got to be tough on crime but it’s not about the rhetoric, that’s something unfortunately this government suffers from. It’s about why those crimes were committed in the first place and how you would stop them being committed in future through a properly resourced system. We need to nip things in the bud before they spiral out of control as well as taking the tough action when it needs to be taken.”

TAX

“It’s right for us to be competitive with other countries around the world and to have a corporation tax rate that is equivalent with other leading industrial nations. But we can’t ignore what’s happening with tax avoidance and off-shore tax havens. It’s about having a fair taxation system. Then it’s about showing our communities those taxes are being used to invest in the future of our economy. I don’t think anybody minds paying a fair rate of tax as long as they know they’re getting the public services they deserve from that investment.”