Labour leadership candidate Rebecca Long Bailey has said she would give Jeremy Corbyn “10 out of 10” for his record in the party’s top job.

But Ms Long Bailey, who is seen as the left’s favoured contender for the leadership, denied that she was a “continuity Corbyn” candidate, telling ITV News that they were “very different in the way we speak, different in tone”.

Her comment earned a tart response from former Labour MP Anna Turley, who lost her Redcar seat to Tories in December, who said: “I’m not sure leading the Labour Party to its worst defeat since the 1930s warrants a 10/10 but maybe I’m just a bit picky.”

The shadow business secretary appeared to struggle when asked to tell viewers what was “the most fun thing about Rebecca Long Bailey”.

“I haven’t done anything crazy,” she replied. “I don’t go to the bars in Westminster regularly.

The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Show all 8 1 /8 The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Keir Starmer The former director of public prosecutions undoubtedly has announced that he is standing for the leadership. He is highly-regarded by both left-wingers and centrists in the party. As Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, he played a key role in the party’s eventual backing of a second referendum. Before becoming an MP, he was a human rights lawyer - conducting cases in international courts including the European Court of Human Rights. Launching his bid, Starmer said that Labour must listen to the public on how to change "restore trust in our party as a force for good." A YouGov poll places him comfortably in the lead as the preferred candidate of 36% of party members EPA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Lisa Nandy Wigan MP Lisa Nandy has announced she wil stand for the leadership. In a letter to the Wigan Post she said she wanted to bring Labour "home" to voters in its traditional strongholds who have abandoned the party. Nandy went on to say that she understands "that we have one chance to win back the trust of people in Wigan, Workington and Wrexham." A YouGov poll shows that Nandy is the first preference for 6% of partymembers. Getty The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Rebecca Long Bailey A key ally of the current left-wing leadership of the party, the Salford & Eccles MP is viewed in some quarters as the natural successor to Mr Corbyn and describes herself as a “proud socialist”. Highly regarded by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. She won also won plaudits for her performance filling in for Corbyn both at prime minister’s questions and during the general election debates. The shadow business secretary grew up by Old Trafford football ground and began her working life serving at the counter of a pawn shop. Launching her leadership bid, Long Bailey said the party needs to make the positive case for immigration as a "positive force." She also broke with Corbyn over Trident, saying "If you have a deterrent you have to be prepared to use it." PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Angela Rayner - Deputy leadership Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner has joined the contest for deputy leadership of the party. After ruling herself out of running for the leadership, the Ashton-under-Lynne MP launched her bid for deputy warning that Labour faces the "biggest challenge" in its history and must "win or die." She is close with leadership contender Rebecca Long Bailey PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Rosena Allin-Khan - Deputy leadership Shadow sport minister Rosena Allin-Khan said Labour need to listen with "humility" to lost voters as she launched her bid for the deputy leadership. Writing in The Independent, the MP for Tooting refelcted: "We shouldn’t have ignored the warning signs in Scotland, and now we’ve paid the price in northern England, across the midlands and in Wales." PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Dawn Butler - Deputy leadership Shadow women and equalities secretary Dawn Butler was first to announce her bid for the deputy leadership. The Brent Central MP has served in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet since 2016 PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Ian Murray - Deputy leadership Labour's only MP in Scotland said that the architects of the party's "catastrophic failure" in the December election can not be allowed to lead the party forward PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Richard Burgon - Deputy leadership Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon is standing as a continuity candidate, flaunting his loyalty to Jeremy Corbyn and saying it is wrong to blame the current leader for the election defeat PA

“I like watching telly. I spend a lot of time with my family and my favourite hobby is having a Chinese takeaway and watching a boxset on a Friday night with my husband.

“My life centres around my little boy... Making sure the time I spend with my family is fun for him, taking him to trampoline parks and things like that.”

Meanwhile, deputy leadership candidate Rosena Allin-Khan suggested that if elected she would like to create a Ministry of Fabulosity and have politicians settle their arguments through a dance-off.

“The Ministry of Fabulosity is a real ministry,” Dr Allin-Khan told ITV’s Acting Prime Minister podcast. “It will have to be dominated by fabulous MPs and come out with fabulous policies to shape the country.

“Some serious ones, but some lighter, more entertaining ones about how we see ourselves and some of the things we can do as a nation to put a swing in our step.”

Announcing her candidacy in an article in Tribune last night, Ms Long Bailey stressed her determination for Labour to stick to the “socialist agenda” developed by Mr Corbyn, though she also said that the Green New Deal which she developed had not been communicated well enough to voters during the election.

She later confirmed that, unlike Mr Corbyn, she would be willing to press the button on Britain’s nuclear weapons, saying: “If you have a deterrent, you have to be prepared to use it”.

Asked how she would rate Corbyn as a leader, she told ITV: “I thought Corbyn was one of most honest, kind, principled politicians I’ve ever met.”

(PA)

Rosena Allin-Khan (PA)

And pressed to give him a mark out of 10, she replied: “I’d give him 10 out of 10, because I respect him and I supported him all the way through.

“What we can’t ignore was that Jeremy was savaged from day one by the press. We have a role as party to develop the image of our leader and to put them forward in the most positive way, but we also have a duty to rebut criticism and attacks. As a party we needed to have a rebuttal unit, a clear structure in place to rebut the attacks against him.”

Ms Long Bailey has won the support of shadow chancellor John McDonnell and the leadership of the Corbyn-backing Momentum movement, and is expected to secure the endorsement of the influential Unite union.

But she denied that she was the creature of the current leadership, insisting: “I’m not anybody’s continuity candidate.”

She and Mr Corbyn were “very different people”, she said, adding: “The reasons I supported him were because I liked his approach to policy making.”

Ms Long Bailey is seen as the strongest left-wing rival to shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer in the race to succeed Corbyn. Also standing are shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, prominent backbencher Jess Phillips, Wigan MP Lisa Nandy and economics spokesman Clive Lewis.

At a private hustings for the parliamentary Labour party on Monday night, she said the party had “let down the people who rely on us” with its election showing.

Ms Long Bailey said she believed she could “unite all our heartlands”, rebuild trust, listen to voters and deal with antisemitism.

The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Show all 8 1 /8 The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Keir Starmer The former director of public prosecutions undoubtedly has announced that he is standing for the leadership. He is highly-regarded by both left-wingers and centrists in the party. As Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, he played a key role in the party’s eventual backing of a second referendum. Before becoming an MP, he was a human rights lawyer - conducting cases in international courts including the European Court of Human Rights. Launching his bid, Starmer said that Labour must listen to the public on how to change "restore trust in our party as a force for good." A YouGov poll places him comfortably in the lead as the preferred candidate of 36% of party members EPA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Lisa Nandy Wigan MP Lisa Nandy has announced she wil stand for the leadership. In a letter to the Wigan Post she said she wanted to bring Labour "home" to voters in its traditional strongholds who have abandoned the party. Nandy went on to say that she understands "that we have one chance to win back the trust of people in Wigan, Workington and Wrexham." A YouGov poll shows that Nandy is the first preference for 6% of partymembers. Getty The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Rebecca Long Bailey A key ally of the current left-wing leadership of the party, the Salford & Eccles MP is viewed in some quarters as the natural successor to Mr Corbyn and describes herself as a “proud socialist”. Highly regarded by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. She won also won plaudits for her performance filling in for Corbyn both at prime minister’s questions and during the general election debates. The shadow business secretary grew up by Old Trafford football ground and began her working life serving at the counter of a pawn shop. Launching her leadership bid, Long Bailey said the party needs to make the positive case for immigration as a "positive force." She also broke with Corbyn over Trident, saying "If you have a deterrent you have to be prepared to use it." PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Angela Rayner - Deputy leadership Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner has joined the contest for deputy leadership of the party. After ruling herself out of running for the leadership, the Ashton-under-Lynne MP launched her bid for deputy warning that Labour faces the "biggest challenge" in its history and must "win or die." She is close with leadership contender Rebecca Long Bailey PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Rosena Allin-Khan - Deputy leadership Shadow sport minister Rosena Allin-Khan said Labour need to listen with "humility" to lost voters as she launched her bid for the deputy leadership. Writing in The Independent, the MP for Tooting refelcted: "We shouldn’t have ignored the warning signs in Scotland, and now we’ve paid the price in northern England, across the midlands and in Wales." PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Dawn Butler - Deputy leadership Shadow women and equalities secretary Dawn Butler was first to announce her bid for the deputy leadership. The Brent Central MP has served in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet since 2016 PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Ian Murray - Deputy leadership Labour's only MP in Scotland said that the architects of the party's "catastrophic failure" in the December election can not be allowed to lead the party forward PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Richard Burgon - Deputy leadership Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon is standing as a continuity candidate, flaunting his loyalty to Jeremy Corbyn and saying it is wrong to blame the current leader for the election defeat PA

Sir Keir was dubbed the “safe pair of hands” by one MP in attendance, as he told MPs that Labour had “a mountain to climb” to regain its heartlands and urged the party to “focus relentlessly on the future and not the past”.

Ms Nandy also received a warm response to her speech, in which she said: “This leadership debate is possibly the most important in our history. Now is not the time to steady the ship. If we do not change course we will die and we will deserve to.”

Meanwhile, Ms Phillips said she wanted to be the next Labour prime minister rather than leader of the opposition. She added: “I am sick of just shifting the dial, I want to smash it”.