LABOUR leadership contender Owen Smith has promised to rewrite Clause IV of the party's constitution to put tackling inequality at the heart of its mission.
Launching his bid to replace Jeremy Corbyn, Mr Smith evoked Tony Blair's "Clause IV moment" – when the former prime minister controversially amended the passage to remove its historic commitment to mass nationalisation.
The former shadow work and pensions secretary also backed Mr Corbyn's call for a war powers act to give MPs in Parliament a legal veto over any decision to go to war.
Mr Smith repeatedly praised Mr Corbyn's influence on the party but spoke of the need to create a "radical but credible" movement.
He told an audience in his Pontypridd constituency: "We know, Jeremy knows, he said it, it's a disgrace.
"We have a wider gap between the haves and have nots in this country than any of us have known in our lifetimes and it is for the Labour Party, our party, to fight to reduce that gap.
"So I say it is time for us in words to commit ourselves by rewriting Clause IV of the Labour Party's constitution, the beating heart of our party.
"I want to rewrite Clause IV to put tackling inequality right at the heart of everything that we do.
"Every Labour policy has to be tested against that benchmark – is it going to reduce inequalities in wealth, in power, in outcomes and opportunities, or is it not?
"And if it is not going to reduce those inequalities, then we in the Labour Party should not do it."
In a move to heal Labour divides and win over the party's membership, who propelled Mr Corbyn to the top job and hold the balance of power again, Mr Smith committed to creating a shadow cabinet and cabinet of Labour members to speak to the leader.
"I think it's an important way in which we can reconnect our party," he said.
He told Mr Corbyn that although he supported his anti-austerity "slogan", Labour are "not on the pitch" in British political debate.
He insisted "words are not enough" as he pledged to create a £200 billion "British New Deal" infrastructure investment plan.
Mr Smith also said he would instantly reinstate the Department for Energy and Climate Change which new prime minister Theresa May folded into the Business department.
And setting out his plans to guarantee a Commons vote on any decision to go to war, Mr Smith said: "The Chilcot report into Iraq was a seminal moment for this party.
"It is a moment in which I think we all understood if any of us were still under any misapprehension that Iraq was a terrible mistake.
"Jeremy has been right about that, absolutely right about it, but again we have got to say what we're going to do about it.
"We've got to put flesh on the bones of those slogans, and in my view it is time for the Labour Party to recommit ourselves to a proper, ethical foreign policy."
Mr Smith insisted the Labour Party will not split regardless of the outcome of the leadership election.
"It cannot happen, it will not happen," he said.
"If I've got anything to do with it, never on my watch will this party split.
"It won't split because we cannot afford it to split and, more important than that, working people in this country cannot afford the Labour Party to split."
Earlier, Mr Corbyn spoke out against "unfair" party rule changes which bar members who have joined since January 12 from voting.
The move effectively blocks more than 100,000 who have joined the party since the EU referendum unless they sign up as registered supporters for £25.
The Labour leader told BBC One's Sunday Politics "There's going to be some quite intense discussions over the next few days, I suspect, and I hope our party officials and our national executive will see sense on this and recognise that those people that have freely given of their time and their money to join the Labour Party should be welcomed in and given the opportunity to take part in this crucial debate, whichever way they decide to vote."
He also told The Sunday Mirror "there may be a legal move" on the rule changes.
Meanwhile, Mr Smith indicated he would bow out of the leadership race if fellow challenger Angela Eagle won the most support in the parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), to give her the best shot of toppling Mr Corbyn.
Mr Smith said the leadership contender with the most support among Labour MPs should become the unity candidate to take on Mr Corbyn.
But Ms Eagle refused to give the same assurance, instead insisting that she is in the best position to beat Mr Corbyn to become leader in a national ballot of members.
The comments came ahead of a PLP hustings on Monday night where the leadership contenders will set out their stall to fellow MPs.
Senior Labour MPs have called for a single unity candidate, warning that a protracted and divisive leadership battle would detract from challenging Mrs May.
