Labour MP Phil Goff is poised to confirm his bid for the Auckland Mayoralty, sounding the final death knell to Len Brown's prospects of another term.

Goff is expected to make the announcement on November 22 and has already pulled together a campaign team, which includes former Brown aide, top spin doctor David Lewis.

Lewis' presence in Goff's camp is confirmation that the Left have swung in behind Goff's candidacy, stripping Brown of the support and financial backing behind his previous successful bids.

Sources say that Brown will announce a decision about the mayoralty before Christmas and he has been counselled that he no longer has the backing to mount a successful bid. But it remains unclear if he will try to win another term, despite his lack of backing of the progressive vote in Auckland.

Goff's camp are confident the MP has strong support across the Auckland region and that he is also a popular pick in Wellington, where the Government sees him as a strong and credible mayor who they can work with to get things done.

Goff has already received a number of heavy weight endorsements.

It is understood he will stay on in Parliament till closer to the mayoral campaign at least. If successful his departure would force a by-election in his Mt Roskill seat.

Goff's mayoralty ambitions have been an open secret and he has previously confirmed he was giving "serious consideration" to running.

"It's likely that I will pick up the challenge, but I want to make sure I've done my homework and know that I can make a difference, and know that the investment which would be a hundred-plus hours a week of my life is going to produce some worthwhile outcomes for Auckland," he said.

He had received a number of approaches from the community and he had to weigh whether he could make a real difference by running, he said.

The former Labour leader said a key difference between his role as a parliamentarian and leading a city was that a mayor was much less partisan.

"I find partisan debates about flags a bit tedious, to tell you the truth," he said.

"How can you deal with congestion, what do you do about urban design, how do you make houses affordable, they are real problems."

* Stuff.co.nz's Auckland readers can now sign up to get the day's major news sent directly to their smartphones with a new service using WhatsApp. Click here for more details.