The race is on - but so far, officially at least, there's only one runner: Peter Hain.
The prize is Labour's deputy leadership, and, by default, the role of deputy prime minister (although the PM is, in fact, free to appoint anyone or no one to that post; it has no specific constitutional role, and is often a consolation prize; Michael Heseltine was given the title by John Major after failing to seize the crown).
And as well as being a bit of an amorphous non-role (does anyone believe John Prescott was really in charge of the country during August, when John Reid appeared to leading the government's response to the alleged airlines terror plot?), it's often won by candidates because of what they are not, rather than for what they are.
Rather in the model of US presidential tickets, the number two slot often goes to a contender who makes up for the deficiencies in the main runner - pairing north/south, male/female, left/right, young/old, etc, etc. Back in 1994, Mr Prescott's northern, working class, union background made him everything that Tony Blair - a midde-class, Oxbridge lawyer - was not.
Presuming that Gordon Brown has indeed got the top job all but sewn up (and six months is a long time in politics), who are the contenders to be the chancellor's sidekick? Read below for the rundown.
Photograph: Peter Morrison/APMr Hain's early declaration has put him in pole position with the bookies, with Ladbrokes giving him 5/2 odds. Mr Hain's appeal - to the Labour party at least - lies in his soft-left instincts. Pro-PR, pro-EU, slightly more pro-the trade unions (a recent jibe is that the Northern Ireland secretary has been preparing for his stand by spending more time meeting trade unionists than Ulster unionists), Mr Hain has a radical activist past in the apartheid struggle and a willingness to stray off-message. His telegenic good looks don't hurt either, although activists note that he didn't get his glowing tan in his Neath constituency. But as a male respresenting a Welsh constituency, he doesn't necessarily tick all the middle England boxes that Mr Brown needs.
Photograph: Chris Young/AFP/GettyThe cheeky chappie, sunglasses-wearing former postie and union leader (although today's general secretaries are less than polite about him under their breath) Alan Johnson has emerged as the latest "Stop Gordon" candidate after the premature implosions of David Blunkett and Charles Clarke's candidacies. Mr Johnson has yet to say, possibly yet to decide, whether he would run for the top job, but he's being given a favourable run by the right-wing press and some Blairites. However, he would fight a close race for the deputyship against Mr Hain. A working-class cockney, he could also give some ying to Mr Brown's yang. Current odds 3/1.
Photograph: Fiona Hanson/PAHarriet Harman has already declared that Labour's next deputy leader "must" be a woman - with the implication hanging that she knows just the right woman for the job. Marriage to Jack Dromey, the whistleblower behind Labour's secret loans, may help her squeaky-clean credentials if Mr Blair is forced to depart early over the scandal, and her reputation as a Brownite might lead to an endorsement from the chancellor. Sacked very early by Mr Blair as social security secretary, she returned to frontline politics as the country's first-ever female solicitor general. On the downside, a slightly stiff middle-class demeanour in front of the cameras somewhat undermines her USP. Not massively popular with the unions, or overly charismatic with rank and file members, but still at 33/1 Ms Harman should be worth a flutter.
Photograph: John D McHugh/AFP/GettyFrom foreign secretary to deputy PM might appear a demotion, and in some ways it is, but Jack Straw is the oldest, most experienced Labour fixer in the race; he was in parliament for four years before either Mr Brown or Mr Blair became an MP, and worked as an advisor to Labour legend Barbara Castle before that. The current leader of the Commons is working on ways of reforming party funding - another hot issue while the police investigation into "loans for honours" is investigated - and has won back some kudos with anti-war MPs and party members for his stance over Iran. Which may possibly have got him sacked on the White House's orders. Almost unnoticed, Mr Straw slipped into Downing Street last Wednesday to see Mr Blair during the cataclysmic rows between the PM and Mr Brown. Was he playing peacemaker, or handing Mr Blair the proverbial silver bullet? Either way, he's the most senior safe pair of hands in the running. 12/1.
Photograph: Martin GodwinHilary Benn. The man seemingly without an enemy in the world might make a good bet. The son of the leftwing former minister Tony is liked by everyone in the party - unlike his dad. Possibly the only cabinet minister in history to have gone on a protest march against his own department when he joined the Edinburgh Make Poverty History walk last year. The spitting image of his father in looks and mannerisms, he describes himself as "a Benn, not a Bennite". Currently 6/1.
