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Labour must recognise that voters who switched to UKIP “do not feel comfortable about the changes going on in this country”, according to Midland MP Tom Watson, the favourite to become the party’s next deputy leader.

The contest to choose a new deputy has avoided the divisions and hysteria of Labour’s leadership battle, which has seen senior Labour figures from the past issue dire warnings about the danger of putting front-runner Jeremy Corbyn in charge.

Mr Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East, has been touring the country meeting activists and stressing his willingness to work with the next leader – whoever that may be.

Speaking in Plymouth, he said he was “still trying to understand” why Labour did not listen to warnings that UKIP were attracting traditional Labour voters ahead of May’s general election.

He said: “I don’t have the answer right now but what I do know, having already spoken to people, is that UKIP voters do not feel comfortable about the changes going on in this country.

“They feel that mainstream political parties do not understand what they are looking for anymore and Labour really has to address that.”

Mr Watson has asked Labour peer Lord Kennedy to lead an inquiry into why voters switched to UKIP. It involves regional activists carrying out conversations across the country.

A report on the investigation’s findings will be presented to Labour’s national executive by the end of the year.

Mr Watson has the support of many West Midlands Labour MPs.

However, there are some exceptions. Birmingham MPs Jack Dromey (Lab Erdington) and Gisela Stuart (Lab Edgbaston) both nominated Shadow Environment Secretary Caroline Flint for the deputy leadership, as did Wolverhampton MP Pat McFadden (Lab Wolverhampton South East).

Candidates can also be nominated by constituency parties and Caroline Flint was nominated by Rugby and Stratford-on-Avon constituency Labour parties while Stella Creasy has been nominated by Telford.

Mr Watson is the clear choice of many West Midlands constituency Labour parties and was nominated by several, including Aldridge-Brownhills, Birmingham Hodge Hill, Birmingham Perry Barr, and Birmingham Yardley.

But the battle for the leadership has become increasingly bitter, with Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Neil Kinnock all urging the party not to elect Jeremy Corbyn.

Rival candidates Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper are engaged in a battle over who is the best placed to beat him.

This week, Mr Burnham warned he could delay the planned HS2 high speed rail line if he were Prime Minister.

He said: “I am going to have a review of rail investment priorities.

“My instinctive answer is to say I believe the highest priority for rail investment in our country is east-west, not north south – across that M62 corridor and into the North East, and indeed up to Scotland.”

He added: “But it’s not a case of saying ‘never’ to HS2.”