Evening Standard/London

Boris Johnson today voiced unlikely support for the left-wing Labour leadership frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn.
The mayor of London said the Islington North MP - who is strongly opposed to austerity and backs higher taxes on wealth - was not “wholly wrong” and the Conservatives would be “very complacent” to completely ignore his analysis of the problems Britain faces, even if they disagreed with the solutions.
Speaking at the end of a speech at the Centre for Social Justice think thank, the Uxbridge MP said the Tories had to be “humble” enough to recognise Corbyn’s views on low pay and inequality had merit.
“I think the Corbo-mania is a very interesting political phenomenon,” he said.
“One nation Tories should pay attention because some of the things he is talking about, some of the analysis is not wholly wrong. Yes, there is a problem of inequality. Yes, there is a problem of low pay.
“I happen to think his solutions are completely wrong and he would take the Labour Party in radically the wrong direction.
“But it would be very complacent and wrong to ignore the truth of some of the observations he is making about ways in which society could be better. We should be humble about that.”
Johnson had been challenged for his views on the Labour leadership contest in general.
The question prompted him to joke: “I don’t want to intrude on private grief,” before adding: “I think if Labour had any sense, they would probably pick one of the female candidates.”
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper and shadow care minister Liz Kendall are also in the offing for the Labour party leadership, along with shadow health secretary Andy Burnham.
Polls and constituency nominations have indicated Corbyn could win the contest despite strong opposition among Labour MPs.
His lead comes amid concerns the election may be swung by supporters of hard-left groups who have registered to vote in the leadership poll.The heightened fears have prompted acting leader Harriet Harman to warn the party to check for suspicious names as well as those who do not “share Labour’s values”.
A supporter of Liz Kendall has accused her Labour leadership rivals of conducting a hurtful “smear” campaign after rumours circulated he was having a relationship with her.
Kendall, 44, has been the subject of false claims that she is in a relationship with John Woodcock, a fellow MP who is recently divorced.
Woodcock said the highly personal rumours circulating in Labour circles were “totally unacceptable” and needed to stop.
It is believed the MP decided to speak out after being contacted by two different journalists who told them the claims came from the campaign of one of her leadership rivals.
“People who are spreading these rumours about Liz and me need to remember how much damage these acts of smear can do,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“This is clearly being done systematically, to damage Liz’s campaign. It is totally unacceptable and that is why I have decided to talk about this publicly.
“It is hurtful for my family, and it is designed to make things difficult for Liz.”
Woodcock - who informed Kendall’s campaign team that he intended to go public - said the claim that had been made was “not true, has never been true and would never be true”.
He said: “This has given me a small insight into the kind of difficulty so many women come across, when it is said that they are only where they are because they are sleeping with someone or someone fancies them.”
Jeremy Corbyn has made an unlikely intervention in support of the Prince of Wales.
The hardline leftwinger - who has spent years advocating the abolition of the monarchy - praised the prince for speaking out in support of small farmers.
The remarks, likely to cause surprise in Labour circles, may be seen as an attempt to soften his image and broaden his appeal as the race to succeed Ed Miliband enters its final weeks.
Prince Charles made his comments during a visit to Romania where traditional small-holdings remain the norm.
In the interview for BBC Radio 4’s On Your Farm programme, he said: “I happen to think the small farmer, the smallholder, is absolutely crucial to security.”
Corbyn said the prince was raising an important issue and that action was needed to ensure small farmers were not squeezed out by the purchasing power of the supermarkets.