BLAIRITE terrier John McTernan attacked Labour’s party members yesterday, as left-winger Jeremy Corbyn became the bookies’ favourite to be the next Leader of Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition.

McTernan, who was the mastermind behind Jim Murphy’s General Election campaign, told The Spectator magazine that Corbyn should not be allowed to be in charge of the party for “two minutes”.

McTernan said: “It just beggars belief that there isn’t something that, in the unlikely event Corbyn wins, something is done swiftly and quickly to restore the party to its sense”.

When the interviewer put it to McTernan that Corbyn may be who Labour’s grassroots wanted to win, McTernan replied:”Who cares about the grassroots?”

He continued: “The leader is one who determines the saleability of the Labour Party. Nobody is voting for Tumbleweed CLP. They are all voting for the leader, they are voting for a potential prime minister and a leader who can’t control the party, can’t control conference, isn’t fit to run the party yet alone the country, but obviously if you get a strong leader, it doesn’t really matter what the grassroots say.

“And the majority of party members do like being in power. They like being in power at local levels, they like being in power in devolved administrations, they like being in power in central government.”

Only last week McTernan called the MPs who helped make sure Corbyn had enough nominations to get on the ballot “morons”. In fairness to McTernan, Margaret Beckett later admitted that she was one of the “morons”.

McTernan’s outburst came as Unison threw their substantial weight behind Corbyn’s l eadership bid.

Unison have 1.3 million members, 28,000 of whom are members of the Labour Party, and another 15,000 eligible to vote in the leadership contest as affiliated members.

The union’s general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Jeremy

Corbyn’s message has resonated with public sector workers who have suffered years of pay freezes, redundancies with too many having to work more for less.

“They have been penalised for too long by a government that keeps on taking more and more from them.

“Their choice shows a clear need for change towards a fairer society where work is fairly rewarded, and where those living and working in poverty supported.

“Today’s decision is a recommendation and our members are, of course, free to cast their vote as to who they think should lead the Labour Party.”

Responding, Corbyn said: “Unison members are in the frontline of the impact of the government’s austerity agenda. They are the people that provide the services our society relies on. They should be valued and heard. As leader of the Labour Party, I would promote high-quality, modern, public services – against outsourcing, privatisation and low pay. We are building a movement for a modern, kinder Britain, and I look forward to working with Unison members to achieve that.”

Unison’s backing for Corbyn was seen as a blow for rival Andy Burnham whose fierce campaigning on the NHS should have made him the union’s favourite.

Surprisingly, the union did not, however, back a candidate for deputy leader.

Yesterday, William Hill made Corbyn the favourite to take the job for the first time. His odds have shortened to 11-8 from 200-1 when he first entered the race as an outsider. Betfair have also now made Corbyn their favourite in the race, making him now the top candidate for all bookies. A private Labour Party poll leaked to the Mirror on Tuesday night suggested that Corbyn had a 20-point lead over nearest rival Yvette Cooper. However, that lead was reduced to two points when second preference votes used.

The poll will likely see the Parliamentary Labour Party put pressure on Liz Kendall and possibly on Burnham to stand down from the race. As the Blairite and Brownite wings of the party get behind Cooper as a “stop Corbyn candidate”.

In Scotland, Labour MP Ian Murray will tell his party that it can no longer “turn to the big beasts” and that it must find a “new generation” of politicians to move the party on.

Murray is expected to say: “We are a proud party with a great history. But we have to put the past behind us and keep firmly focused on the future. We will elect a new leader in a matter of weeks and the hard work will begin.

“A fresh team, a fresh approach, a new generation. I’ll play my part in whatever way I can.

“A party which takes inspiration from those who went before – Smith, Dewar, McConnell, Brown. All of them made their own unique and lasting contribution to our party and to our country. But the Scottish Labour Party can no longer turn to the big beasts. It falls to a new generation to take the Scottish Labour Party forward.

“This will be the work of the new generation. It has to be the work of the new generation because we cannot go back.”