'Lid is off the pressure cooker', in Labour leadership fight

There have been many descriptions of the Labour leadership contest during the summer.

But Jo Stevens, Labour's Cardiff Central MP, came out with one of the more memorable when she said: "It's been a bit like a pressure cooker, it has built up and built up.

"The lid has come off and all of a sudden everyone has come out and there are what are perceived to be splits and differences all over the place.

"The job of the new leader is to make sure all of that goes back in the pressure cooker and we put the lid on it and we do not open it again, and we present a unified opposition."

We don't have long to wait until the question of who that new leader will be is answered, on September 12.

Jo Stevens is impressed by Jeremy Corbyn's campaign, despite backing rival Andy Burnham

Around 50,000 people in Wales are due to vote in the contest between Jeremy Corbyn, Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall.

It's difficult to get specific Welsh figures, but there has been a big increase in the party's membership, largely thanks to the involvement of Jeremy Corbyn, who has gone from the outsider to becoming the favourite.

In Cardiff Central, for example, the numbers have gone from 350 to 1,110 during the summer.

Jo Stevens, despite supporting Andy Burnham, described Corbyn's campaign as phenomenal in the way it has galvanised people.

She told me she had a member or registered supporter on every street in one particular ward, which would suggest there'll be no shortage of foot soldiers for the party in future.

And she says there is huge support for a number of Jeremy Corbyn's policies, such as the nationalisation of the railways and a more redistributive tax system, which would push the party firmly to the left.

Nick Servini enjoys a pint with Ben James (centre) and Dan Xuereb as they consider Labour's future direction

There have been concerns that this will make prospects more difficult for Labour in marginal seats like the Vale of Glamorgan and the Vale of Clwyd where it firmly lost out to the Conservatives in the general election.

But one of the new members in Wales, Dan Xuereb, insists a Corbyn victory will increase the appeal of the party.

He said: "None of the major parties are challenging austerity. They are just weighing in with Tory policies and saying they'll be a bit nicer about it.

"It reaches a point where it doesn't matter who is in power. He is principled and honest and the type of politics he goes with is positive."

'Flip-flopped'

His friend Ben James is yet to make up his mind about who to support, although he is veering towards Yvette Cooper.

He said: "She is the type of politician who has enough conviction to take on the Conservatives and lead an effective opposition.

"Burnham has flip-flopped too much in the campaign and while I have not discounted Corbyn, I do not think he will lead an effective opposition."

Ex-MEP Baroness Morgan of Ely hopes to become a Labour AM in the 2016 assembly election

There is a sense of urgency about the leadership race in Wales as Labour will be defending its record in power in the assembly election next year.

The Labour peer Eluned Morgan, who is hoping to be elected on the regional list, is supporting Yvette Cooper.

She said a Corbyn victory would increase the need to develop a specific Welsh Labour brand.

She said: "You can hold all of the values you want but if you do not hold power you can't implement any of them.

"The real danger here is a continuing Tory government and the threat of a Tory government in Wales in the assembly.

"So our job is to make sure that we protect the vulnerable, to make sure we have a pro-business agenda within the Labour party so we can grow the economy.

"The only way for us to do that is to perhaps assert our independence a little more in relation to the party nationally."

It has been a bruising summer for Labour and whoever they are supporting, its members all agree that now is a critical time for the party as it tries to regroup after the general election.