Ed Balls to put hat in ring for leadership

Mr Balls, who saw his majority in Morley and Outwood slashed at the General Election amid a major Tory effort to embarrass him, becomes the third Shadow Cabinet member to confirm they will stand.

He will challenge Doncaster North MP Ed Miliband, Shadow Energy Secretary, and his brother David, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, after senior party figures agreed on a contest which will culminate in the winner being named at the party's annual conference.

Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham will also announce soon whether he will run, while left winger John McDonnell is trying to get the 33 nominations from MPs required to stand.

Yesterday Mr Balls was back on the Labour front bench as MPs took up their seats in the House of Commons for the first time since the election. John Bercow was re-elected as Speaker after a rebellion by disgruntled Tory MPs failed to materialise.

For the new intake of MPs it was the first experience of sitting on the green benches of the Commons chamber, and today the process of swearing them in will begin.

Mr Balls will launch his campaign in the marginal Nottinghamshire constituency of Gedling, which Labour held at the General Election. He will also talk to voters in a nearby seat which Labour lost.

Hull North MP Diana Johnson is expected to be among his backers, along with fellow former education Ministers Vernon Coaker, Kevin Brennan and Iain Wright.

As Gordon Brown's closest ally during Labour's time in power, one of Mr Balls's key challenges will be to demonstrate that he offers a vision of how to lead the party into the future.

New Barnsley East MP Michael Dugher, who was Mr Brown's chief political spokesman until shortly before the election, said he was backing Mr Balls.

"This leadership election is a real showcase of talent," he said. "We're really fortunate to have such high quality candidates as David Miliband and Ed Miliband.

"This is a huge opportunity for Labour to learn the lessons of the election defeat and to listen much harder to what the public have to say. I know that's central to Ed Balls's outlook.

"He's tough, decisive, a brilliant brain, and I think he really understands that we need to urgently re-engage and listen to the public. He also scares the hell out of the Tories."

Yesterday Labour's national executive committee decided candidates would have until Thursday, May 27, to get 33 nominations from MPs. Hustings will be held during June and July and voting will run from August 16 to September 22, the winner announced at the party conference in Manchester on September 25.

Acting party leader Harriet Harman said she expected to see a "very dynamic campaign".

"It is going to be a very important opportunity for us to reflect on the result of the general election, to renew the Labour Party and to re-engage with the British people," she said.

Mr Balls's campaign is expected to be run by former MPs Anne Snelgrove and Sarah McCarthy-Fry, his team also including Mr Coaker, Mr Brennan and Sharon Hodgson.

At least 10 more MPs have also gone public urging Mr Balls, who is expected to have support from several trade unions, to stand in recent days, but he will have to convince party members he can break away from the factionalism of the past with which he is often associated.

Yesterday Mr Bercow faced an attempt from a small number of MPs to force a vote on his future as Speaker but the overwhelming majority of MPs backed his re-appointment. The Father of the House, Sir Peter Tapsell, refused to order a formal division.

The Commons saw Tory and Liberal Ministers sitting alongside each other on the Government front bench for the first time since Winston Churchill's wartime coalition, which ended in 1945.