Labour has treated its traditional voters as “irrational or racist” about immigration over the last 20 years, Lisa Nandy has said.

In a blunt assessment of her predecessors, the leadership hopeful said Labour had shown a “shallowness” of understanding over concerns about immigration in working class areas and a “lack of courage” in providing answers.

Ms Nandy, the Wigan MP, said Labour leaders over the past 20 years - Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn - had all sought “more desperate ways to pretend we were offering solutions” instead of making a "more principled and braver case" for immigration.

Her comments came ahead of the opening of the Labour membership ballot on Monday, with many supporters expected to cast their votes within days.

Ms Nandy, initially an outside candidate, faces competition from shadow cabinet members Rebecca Long-Bailey, a close ally of Mr Corbyn, and frontrunner Sir Keir Starmer.

Writing exclusively for The Independent, Ms Nandy said: “As immigration climbed up the list of voters’ priorities there was a shallowness of understanding in our analysis and a lack of courage in our response.

“We need to understand why in areas with low immigration people are concerned about it.

“And we need to understand that in towns like mine, freedom of movement meant opportunities for people from other countries to come and work at the local hospital, while local people weren’t able to train as nurses because the government had cut the nursing bursary.

“Voters weren’t irrational or racist but our political strategy treated them like they were. It’s not the fault of voters that this complexity was missed – it is our fault, the politicians who should have been making a more principled and braver case for the last twenty years.

The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Show all 8 1 /8 The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Keir Starmer The former director of public prosecutions undoubtedly has announced that he is standing for the leadership. He is highly-regarded by both left-wingers and centrists in the party. As Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, he played a key role in the party’s eventual backing of a second referendum. Before becoming an MP, he was a human rights lawyer - conducting cases in international courts including the European Court of Human Rights. Launching his bid, Starmer said that Labour must listen to the public on how to change "restore trust in our party as a force for good." A YouGov poll places him comfortably in the lead as the preferred candidate of 36% of party members EPA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Lisa Nandy Wigan MP Lisa Nandy has announced she wil stand for the leadership. In a letter to the Wigan Post she said she wanted to bring Labour "home" to voters in its traditional strongholds who have abandoned the party. Nandy went on to say that she understands "that we have one chance to win back the trust of people in Wigan, Workington and Wrexham." A YouGov poll shows that Nandy is the first preference for 6% of partymembers. Getty The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Rebecca Long Bailey A key ally of the current left-wing leadership of the party, the Salford & Eccles MP is viewed in some quarters as the natural successor to Mr Corbyn and describes herself as a “proud socialist”. Highly regarded by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. She won also won plaudits for her performance filling in for Corbyn both at prime minister’s questions and during the general election debates. The shadow business secretary grew up by Old Trafford football ground and began her working life serving at the counter of a pawn shop. Launching her leadership bid, Long Bailey said the party needs to make the positive case for immigration as a "positive force." She also broke with Corbyn over Trident, saying "If you have a deterrent you have to be prepared to use it." PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Angela Rayner - Deputy leadership Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner has joined the contest for deputy leadership of the party. After ruling herself out of running for the leadership, the Ashton-under-Lynne MP launched her bid for deputy warning that Labour faces the "biggest challenge" in its history and must "win or die." She is close with leadership contender Rebecca Long Bailey PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Rosena Allin-Khan - Deputy leadership Shadow sport minister Rosena Allin-Khan said Labour need to listen with "humility" to lost voters as she launched her bid for the deputy leadership. Writing in The Independent, the MP for Tooting refelcted: "We shouldn’t have ignored the warning signs in Scotland, and now we’ve paid the price in northern England, across the midlands and in Wales." PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Dawn Butler - Deputy leadership Shadow women and equalities secretary Dawn Butler was first to announce her bid for the deputy leadership. The Brent Central MP has served in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet since 2016 PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Ian Murray - Deputy leadership Labour's only MP in Scotland said that the architects of the party's "catastrophic failure" in the December election can not be allowed to lead the party forward PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Richard Burgon - Deputy leadership Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon is standing as a continuity candidate, flaunting his loyalty to Jeremy Corbyn and saying it is wrong to blame the current leader for the election defeat PA

“Because too often we lacked courage and ended up seeking ever more desperate ways to pretend we were offering solutions to something that, in our heart of hearts, we don’t agree is the problem.”

Ms Nandy said she was “tired of defeat” and warned that Labour “cannot just change the man at the top again and hope for a different result”.

She said: “For decades now Labour hasn’t been listening to what people are trying to tell them. About the decline of local economies and high streets.

"A loss of trust in politicians and in us to deliver on our promises.

“We’ve offered policy solutions devised by a small group of people behind desks in central London, when the deafening cry from people out in the country was for more power and control over their lives and communities, and a new national story in which they felt they had a role to play."

She said it was time for Labour “levelled with people and trusted them to get it right” as well as making the case for freedom of movement but did not set out any further detail on her plans.

Labour members and supporters will begin voting on Monday in a leadership ballot that runs until 2 April.