SIR Keir Starmer, the former director of public pros­ecutions  last night (Wed­nesday) confirmed one of the worst kept secrets in local politics and said he will put his name forward for Labour’s parliamentary selection contest in Holborn and St Pancras.

He will be joined on the slate – providing an all woman shortlist is not enforced by central office – by council leader Sarah Hayward and leading lawyer Raj Chada, both of whom both declared their own interest in the role in the last 48 hours.  

The three frontrunners clarified their position a week after Frank Dobson announced his plan to retire following 35 years as the area’s MP.

Tom Copley, the London Assembly member whose name cropped up several times in recent briefings, has now pulled away from the contest and writes in today’s New Journal that members should back Cllr Hayward, his friend. 

Councillors Thomas Gardiner and Angela Pober are also likely to throw their hats into the ring for a process that could take up to three months. 

Mr Dobson has said he will not endorse any one candidate but wants his successor to be from the local area.

Sir Keir, however, has naturally attracted national attention due to his high-profile past work.

He unveiled a host of high-profile people who had “encouraged” him to stand, including education journalist Fiona Millar, former culture secretary Tessa Jowell, Hampstead and Kilburn parliamentary candidate Tulip Siddiq, Baroness Helena Ken­nedy QC, Trevor Phillips and broadcaster Joan Bakewell, who lives in Primrose Hill.

“It would be an honour for anyone to succeed Frank Dobson,” he said. “It will now be for the party to agree the process and timetable but if it is an open shortlist I intend to seek selection from members of Holborn and St Pancras, my home for over 15 years.”

He added: “Our constituency needs an MP who will continue Frank’s principled campaigning, fight to get the Tories out of power and be able to influence a future Labour government. I believe I can bring my experience as a human rights lawyer, DPP and campaigner to do that. I am only too aware of the impact that politics has on the daily lives of all of us. I have received strong support for my decision to stand from members in every ward.”

One of his challenges will be to try to lay to rest the gossip inside the party to the effect that his nomination is being thrust on members.

In that respect, Cllr Hayward and Mr Chada are likely to play up their long-standing community work. Cllr Hayward will point to a body of local campaigning under her belt, after four years at the Town Hall and two as leader which culminated in a 40-seat win at the recent council elections.

Her pitch may be that of a proven local campaigner cutting through the apparent stardust attached to Sir Keir’s campaign with her experience on everyday policy. “I’ve had a lot of people coming forward and encouraging me to go for it on a local and national level,” she said. “There are a lot of people supporting me who are on the council, but also members in the constituency.” 

She said she was aware that she was hampered by being a later contender as other candidates – no names were mentioned – had been “working” members throughout the year with the selection contest in mind.

But she added that she had a proven track record as council leader for people to check. 

“I believe I can be an outstanding MP, if that is not too arrogant to say. I’ve shown during my time as leader in Camden that I have the skills and ability to change Labour Party policy but also government policy,” she said.

She acknowledged that all local achievements required teamwork among the Labour council group, but cited her drive to save Camden Town from the HS2 rail project as an example of her work in changing ministers’ minds. The link section of the project was dropped after months of campaigning in Camden.

She added that the council move to provide 25 hours of free childcare in maintained nurseries, to help parents get back to work, had been adopted by the Labour Party as a national policy.

“In other areas it is set at 15 – but we went to 25,” she said. “There were other councils talking about it but we’re the London Labour council which has done it.”

Cllr Hayward will also cite her campaigns to drive up wages for ­council staff during her time as leader.

“It will be a wrench to have to give up being the council leader if I get it,” she said. “It’s hard work with the cuts enforced on us by government but I enjoy it and I’ve always said it is a role in which you can make a difference to people’s daily lives. 

“But there is a different kind of power and influence in being a backbench MP. You can influence national policy and make sure the work we have done in Camden carries on.”

Mr Chada is himself a former council leader and has worked as the chairman of the Holborn and St Pancras contituency – one of the largest memberships in the country – since leaving the council. He is often posted as a radical lawyer, taking on big businesses and ­un­ethical companies.

He said: “I can feel the heartbeat of the community and I find it an affront to see how cuts are imposed on it, cuts which are  actually the result of unadulterated Thatcherism. 

“If they don’t have much money, people are not getting the public service they deserve.”

This has been seen as code that he will take the position as a more left-wing offering.

“The people who support me for this are out there in the community because they’ve seen  how I stand up for their interests,” he said.