Kezia Dugdale backs Owen Smith for the Labour leadership

Kezia Dugdale and the Labour leadership - credit: PA

Kezia Dugdale has backed Owen Smith for the Labour leadership – and accused Jeremy Corbyn of only "speaking to the converted".

Dugdale’s intervention follows London Mayor Sadiq Khan's decision to also endorse Smith.

Writing in her Daily Record column, Dugdale said she believed the Pontypridd MP was the most likely candidate to lead Labour back to power, saying Smith was best placed to move the party on “from the divisions that exist under the current leadership of Jeremy Corbyn”.

"As Labour party members, we may not like how we reached this position but we have a decision to make," she said.

"Owen Smith gets my vote. I believe he can unite our party and move us on from the divisions that exist under the current leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Owen understands that to have a chance of implementing Labour values, we need to win over some of those who didn’t vote for us at the last election.

"We can’t pin our hopes on a leadership who speak only to the converted, rather than speaking to the country as a whole."

Dugdale - who has previously said Labour's chances of election victory under Corbyn were "slim at best" - claimed she would be unable to do her job if, like the Labour leader, she had lost the confidence of more than 80 per cent of her MSPs.

She also defended her surprise decision to take sides in the ill-tempered battle, even though she will still have to work with bookies' favourite Corbyn if he wins.

She said: "I don’t think Jeremy can unite our party and lead us into government. He cannot appeal to a broad enough section of voters to win an election. I believe Owen can.

"There will be some who think I should stay out of this contest, but now, more than ever, our party needs leaders who will stand up and be counted.

"As the most senior female elected leader in the Labour Party across the UK, I feel a particular responsibility to speak out.

"I believe Owen can deliver the Labour government this country needs, so he gets my vote."