Chuka Umunna and Caroline Flint will be among the candidates to become the next chair of the Home Affairs Selection Committee, a role left vacant by Keith Vaz’s resignation yesterday.

Conservative Tim Loughton has taken over as chair for an interim period, and will stay in place until an election among MPs takes place next month, at which point the position will return to Labour. Yvette Cooper and Fiona MacTaggart have also been tipped as potential candidates for chair, but Umunna and Flint is the only confirmed contender so far.

The position is one of the most prestigious committee roles in Parliament, and offers Corbynsceptic MPs the opportunity to maintain a high profile independent of the party – and, importantly for some, the Labour leader. It can give ambitious Labour MPs the chance to be seen holding the Tories to account, while not having to make, or keep to, a party position on a wide range of issues.

Umunna is likely to be seen as the frontrunner in the race. He has already made a name on the committee since joining last year, with some memorable interventions. He has the support of several other Home Affairs committee (HAC) members, including David Winnick and Naz Shah, the other Labour MPs on the HAC. He is expected to make a pitch that the committee needs continuity, with several big reports due to be published.

Caroline Flint, who The Guardian last night revealed as a candidate, is a well-respected former Cabinet minister, and is liked across Westminster – an important factor in an election that includes MPs from all parties.