Jeremy Corbyn must show he understands the challenges people face in Kent if Labour is to win back the crucial “middle England” voters that deserted the party in the election.

Paul Clark, the former Gillingham MP who served under Tony Blair for 13 years, said that Mr Corbyn needed to flesh out his policy pledges to win round disaffected voters.

Mr Corbyn was announced as the new leader of the party today, defeating his three rivals in a clear cut victory.

Mr Clark, who had backed Yvette Cooper, said: “It is a bit of wait and see. We need to see how the policies he has pledged are going to be fleshed out and delivered.”

It was vital that the party presented a coherent package of policies that would broaden the party’s appeal beyond its core voters.

“In the election, there were a lot of people who liked individual policies, like zero hour contracts, but felt they did not add up to a complete package. He needs to do that.

"We have to show that we understand the aspirations people in Kent have,” he added.

While policies like fair rents and opposition to welfare reforms would appeal to many in Kent and were difficult to disagree with, much would depend on how they were to be delivered.

He rejected suggestions that Mr Corbyn, who scored a decisive victory taking 59% of the vote, would be divisive within the party.

“We must move forward. We cannot afford to be a weak opposition. It is absolutely vital.”

Kent Labour MEP Anneliese Dodds said she was confident that the party will unite around Jeremy Corbyn after his shock victory.

She also said Mr Corbyn had already succeeded in engaging people who had turned away from Westminster politics.

“We do need to reach beyond the people who traditionally vote for us. But I think he is a pragmatic politician and what is important is that we take the fight to the Conservatives.”

“There are some common problems people face in Kent, which he has identified, such as affordable housing.”

Mr Corbyn, who staged one of his last campaign rallies in Margate last week, said in his acceptance speech that the campaign “showed our party and our movement, passionate, democratic, diverse, united and absolutely determined in our quest for a decent and better society that is possible for all".

"They are fed up with the inequality, the injustice, the unnecessary poverty. All those issues have brought people in, in a spirit of hope and optimism.

Mr Corbyn, who began the contest as an outsider, gained 251,417 or 59.5% of first preference votes - 40% more than his nearest rival Mr Burnham, who got 19%.

Ms Cooper was third on 17% and Ms Kendall a distant fourth with 4.5% of the vote.

Michael Fallon, Sevenoaks MP and defence secretary, said: "This election shows that Labour are now a serious risk to our national security, our economic security and to the security of your family.

"Labour would undermine our defences; they would increase taxes on our earnings and go back to more borrowing like the bad old days."