Is Labour now party of power or protest?

Members of the constituency Labour parties (CLPs), the ones who choose candidates to represent them in elections, have revealed which of the four contenders they want to take the party towards the next General Election.

But many of the published choices are different to those nominated by their MPs.

Each candidate required the endorsement of at least 35 MPs each to get on the ballot paper.

Mr Corbyn scraped through on MPs' nominations but has emerged as a shock frontrunner in polling of members.

And Dudley North MP Ian Austin has been actively encouraging Labour members to reject Mr Corbyn, warning he has no chance of winning the next General Election in 2020 after voters resoundingly rejected Ed Miliband in May.

Mr Austin said: "The Labour party needs to decide if it is a party of power or of protest. Politics is not about how we feel but it's about winning elections so we can help people who are losing out because of a Conservative government."

On Twitter he said: "If Jeremy Corbyn became leader, would he vote against his own whip? Actually the Tories would love Labour to be led by Corbyn. I am scared of what would become of us if he won.

"We lost seats we won in 2005 by 10,000 votes. Terrible result. And we can do nothing for those who need a Labour government most."

In a rare intervention, former prime minister Tony Blair said that for the party to shift to the left in the wake of their general election defeat would be to treat the electorate as if they were stupid.

Wolverhampton South West members are backing Mr Corbyn as leader and West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson as deputy.

But the MP Rob Marris has not yet chosen who to back, although he was one of the 48 who defied the party whip this week to vote against welfare cuts.

Wolverhampton North East CLP wants the shadow health secretary Andy Burnham as leader but the MP Emma Reynolds is backing the outsider Liz Kendall, seen as the Blairite candidate. Shadow local government secretary Miss Reynolds accompanied Miss Kendall during a visit to Birmingham for a leadership hustings event in June.

Former Tony Blair aide Pat McFadden, MP for Wolverhampton South East, also nominated Miss Kendall. Dudley North, Dudley South and Halesowen and Rowley Regis CLPs backed Mr Burnham too.

But Mr Austin endorsed shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, who was also backed by Adrian Bailey, MP for West Bromwich West and John Spellar, MP for Warley. The Warley CLP backed Miss Cooper too as did the West Midlands MEP Sion Simon.

Dudley North CLP is backing Mr Watson as deputy as is Halesowen and Rowley Regis, Warley, West Bromwich East, West Bromwich West and Wyre Forest.

Valerie Vaz MP for Walsall South nominated Mr Burnham. David Winnick, MP for Walsall North, has not nominated anyone and neither has Mr Watson.

Yesterday research found Mr Corbyn was the first preference for 43 per cent of party supporters, far ahead of bookies' favourite Mr Burnham on 26 per cent.

Miss Cooper has 20 per cent and Miss Kendall has 11 per cent.

The study also forecast that after Miss Kendall and Miss Cooper had been eliminated and second preferences re-distributed under the Alternative Vote system, Mr Corbyn would beat Mr Burnham 53 per cent to 47 per cent in the final round.