ALAN JOHNSON will announce today (Friday November 10) that he is another contender for Labour's deputy leadership.
The Education Secretary, who is expected to make the announcement at a meeting of his Hull West constituency party, will also rule out a leadership bid. In September, it was reported that Downing Street insiders were urging him to stand against Gordon Brown when Tony Blair finally steps down.
Although Mr Johnson was initially seen as a frontrunner to succeed John Prescott, confusion over his leadership intentions, problems with the recent Education Bill and a now increasingly -crowded field in the deputy leadership race have lengthened his odds.
Mr Johnson was accused of being weak by many MPs when, in the course of 48 hours, he first said that new faith schools would be required to take 25 per cent of pupils from outside the religion and then performed a U-turn on the issue.
Hilary Benn's entry into the deputy leadership race and the expected candidacy of Hazel Blears have further damaged Mr Johnson's chances. All three candidates will be seeking support from the same Blairite constituency.
Although Mr Johnson is a former general secretary of the Communication Workers' Union, he is unpopular with several major trade unions. Last year, he called for the union bloc vote at the Labour Party conference to be reduced from 50 per cent to 15 per cent.
Public service union UNISON looks more favourably Mr Johnson, after he was judged to have delivered a fair settlement on public sector pensions.
With no Cabinet minister now likely to challenge Mr Brown for the leadership, the contest is expected to be between the Chancellor and left-winger John McDonnell - providing Mr McDonnell secures the necessary nominations of 44 MPs. Mr McDonnell has won the support of some grassroots and union activists, but can still expect to be well beaten.
Meanwhile, former Labour assistant general secretary David Evans has confirmed he will be assisting Mr Benn's campaign. It had originally been thought that Mr Evans' public relations firm, Campaign Company, would run Mr Benn's campaign. This is incorrect and Mr Evans will work in a part-time personal capacity, describing this as a "liberating thing for me". He said he has had a long-term admiration for the International Development secretary. "When I first saw him speak a long time ago, I thought, if ever he stands, I want to be part of that."