Labour leadership candidate Yvette Cooper has said that the Labour party is conducting a startlingly retro leadership campaign.

She believes the party is at risk of moving back to politics of the 1950's where women were treated as being unable to do the job.

She said: “We can’t go back to an old fashioned Labour  party – not just back to the politics of the 80s but of the politics of the 50s – treating women as incapable of the top jobs, and a party led by two men.”

She suggested that Andy Burnham's campaign appeared to be calling for herself and Liz Kendall the other female candidate to drop out of the race and let Jeremy Corbyn and himself battle for the leadership.

Throughout the campaign Cooper believes that both herself and Liz Kendall have fallen victim to sexism.

She said: “Liz has been asked about her weight, I’ve been asked on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour of all places about whether I can possibly do this job because of my husband, and any talk about me being a working mum has been used as a sexist way to divide Liz and I and criticise Liz for not having children.”

Cooper and her team are pushing a campaign that has a strong focus on equality with a particular focus on gender equality. As the campaign continues it appears Jeremy Corbyn and Andy Burnham are the front runners and Cooper and her team will do what they can to catch up.