Would-be Labour leader warns against strikes

Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham accused coalition Ministers of leaving vulnerable people to "fend for themselves" by preparing cuts of 25 per cent for Government departments which will "hollow out" services such as care for the elderly.

But ahead of two leadership hustings in Leeds, he warned union leaders against agitating for mass strikes after Rail, Maritime and Transport union chief Bob Crow said the Government "started this fight with the working class and we are up for it".

And in a separate interview with this newspaper, his left-wing challenger Diane Abbott accused the coalition of making cuts "because they want to slash the state".

Mr Burnham told the Yorkshire Post: "The whole issue here is that cuts on this scale will leave vulnerable people without services. Care services, for example, which are already struggling will be hollowed out with cuts on this scale and the effect of that will be vulnerable people with needs left to pay charges or fend for themselves.

"So the right response isn't just to talk about public sector strikes because that will only make the situation worse, the right response is for people to battle on but democratically express their opposition to these breathtaking cuts."

Today Mr Burnham will go up against Labour's four other leadership contenders – Ed and David Miliband, Ed Balls and Ms Abbott – at a hustings in Leeds organised by public sector union Unison, one of around 50 such events before the winner is named in September. Unite union will host another event in the city tomorrow.

Mr Burnham has launched a "Save our Services" campaign and accused the Tories of planning "human misery on a vast scale" after suggestions this week than 600,000 public sector jobs could go because of cutbacks.

He said there was a "principled alternative" to coalition plans, branding it "public service vandalism on a large scale".

Mr Burnham, who is pledging to rebalance "London-centric" Britain and is running his campaign from Manchester, claimed he was proud that Labour had revived northern cities but admitted it was "work in progress".

Meanwhile Ms Abbott said the Trident nuclear deterrent should be scrapped and troops pulled out of Afghanistan to tackle the budget deficit, as well as proposing tax increases.

She backed a bigger banking tax, a wealth tax and a levy on international transactions. Despite her London-centric background, she insisted problems in her East End constituency are similar to those experienced in areas with heavy reliance on the public sector in Yorkshire.

Attacking the coalition, she said: "They want to claim they're doing it because they have to but they're doing it because the want to slash the state."

Asked if she believed she could win the contest, she said: "If this is the right time, if the party asks itself the question 'what is Labour for?' I can win. I think it's moving towards that."

THE LABOUR LEADERSHIP CONTENDERS

Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington)

First black MP and is now best known for her appearances on TV show This Week alongside Michael Portillo. The left-winger only scraped into the contest at the last minute when rivals agreed to lend her nominations to get her on the ballot paper. Wants to scrap Trident and pull troops out of Afghanistan.

Ed Balls (Morley and Outwood)

Shadow Education Secretary spent years as an economic adviser to Gordon Brown before becoming an MP himself in 2005, soon becoming a member of the Cabinet. Tories targeted his seat during the election and his majority was slashed to just over 1,000.

Andy Burnham (Leigh)

Football-made Evertonian is Shadow Health Secretary and makes a virtue of running his campaign from Manchester. Says his working class roots set him apart from the other candidates. Claims Tories are wrong to promise real terms funding increases for NHS –he would pledge only rises matching the rate of inflation.

David Miliband (South Shields)

Shadow Foreign Secretary was close to Tony Blair and was first to confirm his intention to stand for the leadership. Schooled in Leeds, he has urged the party to move from New Labour to Next Labour, and secured backing of Usdaw, the first trade union to declare.

Ed Miliband (Doncaster North)

Surprised some by deciding to stand against his older brother but the Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary is seen as a real challenger. Has been critical of handling of decision to invade Iraq and called for 50p tax rate to become permanent.