The Labour leadership battle has kicked off with reports shadow education secretary Angela Rayner is stepping aside to allow friend and flatmate Rebecca Long-Bailey to go after the top job.

Both were named by bookies as front-runners in the battle to succeed Jeremy Corbyn after Labour’s disastrous performance in the general election.

Rayner has reportedly formed a pact with Long-Bailey that would see her go for the deputy position under the leadership of her friend, a Greater Manchester MP and Shadow Business Secretary.

Long-Bailey was named by outgoing shadow chancellor John McDonnell as his personal favourite to become the party’s next leader.

The pact could cement the shadow business secretary’s status as the favourite in the race to take over from Corbyn, with sources calling it a ‘dream ticket’, the MailOnline reports.

Ms Long-Bailey, 40, is viewed by many in the party as the continuity candidate who would continue along the same policy lines as her ally Corbyn.

Ms Rayner, 39, who is considered soft left, had been talked of as a potential contender for the leadership too.

The shadow cabinet ministers have shared a flat in London since becoming MPs in 2015 and their friendship is believed to be behind their reluctance to compete for the same position.

A pact between the pair could boost their chances of winning by consolidating support on the left of the party.

However, they are likely to face a tense battle for the roles, with critics arguing a leader from the centrist wing of the party is needed to win back support in the traditional Labour heartlands.

The general election saw Labour suffer its most crushing defeat since 1935, as working class towns in the northeast and midlands turned to the Conservatives for the first time in decades.

Many have blamed Boris Johnson’s landslide victory on Corbyn’s leadership, while others say the party’s policy on Brexit was what cost them votes.

As the party stands on the brink of a civil war, some warn the new leader must not be tied to Corbyn’s policy agenda of nationalisation and tax hikes.

Other favourites in the leadership race  include shadow shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer, Wigan MP Lisa Nandy and high profile backbencher Jess Philips – an outspoken critic of Mr Corbyn.

Clive Lewis, a former shadow minister, has broken cover to say that he is considering a bid for the leadership position, while Remainer David Lammy has also confirmed he is considering running for the top job.

Mr Lewis said he did not believe that Labour’s losses could be blamed purely on Brexit or on concerns about the Labour leadership – citing failures since before the party lost power in 2010.

He told BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme the crushing defeat was ’40 years in the making’, citing the continuation of unemployment and poor services in towns after Tony Blair’s New Labour was finished.

He said of the areas the party lost to the Tories: ‘They had never been invested in. Do we really think that simply pointing a finger at the fact that some people thought that leaving the European Union and not having a second referendum was the sole reason… we cannot say that it was one single, simple answer.’

Sir Keir has so far dodged the question on whether he intends to run for the leadership position.

The remain-backing London MP has faced some criticism from those who say the party needs a northern, leave-supporting boss to win back traditional Labour heartlands.

But Jenny Chapman, Sir Keir’s deputy in the Brexit brief until she lost her Darlington seat, said this was  ‘patronising’ to voters who turned their backs on Labour.

Recounting her experiences on the doorstep she told the BBC:  ‘What people are saying is that they want a leader that they feel could be the prime minister.

‘It was about, ‘do I trust this person with my mortgage, with the future, with my children, with my pension? And I think that Keir has the qualities that they’re looking for.’

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