Keir Starmer has confirmed his bid to be the next Labour leader, vowing to listen to the public about the way the party must change to “restore trust”.

The shadow Brexit secretary – already the front-runner to succeed Jeremy Corbyn – said he was “looking forward to getting back on the campaign trail” to win over the Labour membership.

Sir Keir again urged his party not to lurch too far away from the policies of the outgoing leader, despite its general election thrashing, having previously called for it “not to oversteer”.

He becomes the fifth candidate to declare, after Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, shadow Treasury minister Clive Lewis and prominent backbenchers Jess Phillips and Lisa Nandy.

“Over the coming weeks, I’m looking forward to getting back on the campaign trail and talking to people from across the country about how Labour can rebuild and win,” Sir Keir said, in a Sunday Mirror article.

The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Show all 8 1 /8 The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Keir Starmer The former director of public prosecutions undoubtedly has announced that he is standing for the leadership. He is highly-regarded by both left-wingers and centrists in the party. As Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, he played a key role in the party’s eventual backing of a second referendum. Before becoming an MP, he was a human rights lawyer - conducting cases in international courts including the European Court of Human Rights. Launching his bid, Starmer said that Labour must listen to the public on how to change "restore trust in our party as a force for good." A YouGov poll places him comfortably in the lead as the preferred candidate of 36% of party members EPA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Lisa Nandy Wigan MP Lisa Nandy has announced she wil stand for the leadership. In a letter to the Wigan Post she said she wanted to bring Labour "home" to voters in its traditional strongholds who have abandoned the party. Nandy went on to say that she understands "that we have one chance to win back the trust of people in Wigan, Workington and Wrexham." A YouGov poll shows that Nandy is the first preference for 6% of partymembers. Getty The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Rebecca Long Bailey A key ally of the current left-wing leadership of the party, the Salford & Eccles MP is viewed in some quarters as the natural successor to Mr Corbyn and describes herself as a “proud socialist”. Highly regarded by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. She won also won plaudits for her performance filling in for Corbyn both at prime minister’s questions and during the general election debates. The shadow business secretary grew up by Old Trafford football ground and began her working life serving at the counter of a pawn shop. Launching her leadership bid, Long Bailey said the party needs to make the positive case for immigration as a "positive force." She also broke with Corbyn over Trident, saying "If you have a deterrent you have to be prepared to use it." PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Angela Rayner - Deputy leadership Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner has joined the contest for deputy leadership of the party. After ruling herself out of running for the leadership, the Ashton-under-Lynne MP launched her bid for deputy warning that Labour faces the "biggest challenge" in its history and must "win or die." She is close with leadership contender Rebecca Long Bailey PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Rosena Allin-Khan - Deputy leadership Shadow sport minister Rosena Allin-Khan said Labour need to listen with "humility" to lost voters as she launched her bid for the deputy leadership. Writing in The Independent, the MP for Tooting refelcted: "We shouldn’t have ignored the warning signs in Scotland, and now we’ve paid the price in northern England, across the midlands and in Wales." PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Dawn Butler - Deputy leadership Shadow women and equalities secretary Dawn Butler was first to announce her bid for the deputy leadership. The Brent Central MP has served in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet since 2016 PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Ian Murray - Deputy leadership Labour's only MP in Scotland said that the architects of the party's "catastrophic failure" in the December election can not be allowed to lead the party forward PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Richard Burgon - Deputy leadership Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon is standing as a continuity candidate, flaunting his loyalty to Jeremy Corbyn and saying it is wrong to blame the current leader for the election defeat PA

“Britain desperately needs a Labour government. We need a Labour government that will offer people hope of a better future.

“However, that is only going to happen if Labour listens to people about what needs to change and how we can restore trust in our party as a force for good.”

Sir Keir is regarded with suspicion by some Corbyn supporters, having pushed for the pro-Final Say referendum on Brexit they blame for Labour’s catastrophic defeat, and would be another London-based leader.

But he said the case for a “bold and radical” Labour government was as important as ever, in an apparent attempt not to alienate left-wing members.

“As this new decade dawns, I believe we can unite the party, retain our values and win,” he insisted, ahead of a visit to Brexit-backing Stevenage.

He would beat Rebecca Long Bailey, the left’s – undeclared – candidate, by 61 per cent to 39 per cent in a run-off, according to a survey of 1,059 Labour members conducted at the end of December.

A human rights lawyer, Sir Keir was made Queen’s Counsel in 2002, served as head of the Crown Prosecution Service and accepted a knighthood in 2014.

However, he has stressed his working-class upbringing by a father who was a toolmaker and a mother who was a nurse, who named him after Labour founder Keir Hardy.

Sir Keir also released a campaign film highlighting his fights for justice, featuring words of support from Stephen Lawrence’s mother Baroness Lawrence, who said he was “instrumental” in getting justice for her murdered son.

His work with the National Union of Mineworkers and on the McLibel case against McDonald’s is also highlighted.