Labour MPs opposed to Jeremy Corbyn's leadership are seeking to broker a deal between challengers Angela Eagle and Owen Smith, so that one of them will step aside and leave the other as a "unity candidate".
Mr Corbyn, Ms Eagle and Mr Smith appeared before the parliamentary party on Monday to make their case for the leadership, which will be decided by a ballot of party members.
Mr Smith told MPs he would step aside if Ms Eagle had more support, although he is believed to be ahead within the parliamentary party. The Pontypridd MP faced criticism on Monday, however, after he told Sky News that he could be perceived as “normal” because he has a wife and children. Ms Eagle, who is gay, does not have children.
"I am normal. You know, I grew up in a normal household. I've got a wife and three children. My wife's a primary school teacher. I've been in parliament for a couple of years now, six years, and before that I had two or three other jobs, in business, and in politics and advising on the peace process in Northern Ireland, " Mr Smith said.
“And I think I can bring that normality, that sense of what our communities want. I live in the patch where I grew up, and I represent it and I’m very proud of that.”
Mr Smith's invocation of his family life as evidence of normality came a week after Andrea Leadsom withdrew from the Conservative leadership contest following her assertion that having children gave her a greater stake in the future than the childless Theresa May.
Mr Smith, who presented himself to MPs as the best candidate to unify the party, can claim some advantages over Ms Eagle, who backed the Iraq war in 2003 and the bombing of Syria last year. Ms Eagle stressed her working class, northern background and warned about the threat from Ukip to Labour seats in the north of England.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who supports Mr Corbyn, said on Monday that he believed one of the candidates on the ballot paper ought to be a woman.
“Jeremy is running, I’m chair of his campaign committee, but I think there should be a range of candidates and I don’t think it would be appropriate if there wasn’t a woman on the ballot paper,” he said. “So I welcome a range of candidates, last year I nominated Angela Eagle for deputy because I wanted her on the ballot paper.”
Mr Corbyn, who will appear on the leadership ballot automatically, has lost the support of 80 per cent of his MPs but remains popular among party members. The Labour leader’s popularity among members endures despite the fact that, according to researchers from the London School of Economics, most newspaper reports about his leadership either distorted or failed to report his views.
