Candidates for deputy to Britain's Labour leader

UNDATED, May 10 (Reuters) Prime Minister Tony Blair's expected resignation as Labour Party leader will also trigger a race for deputy leader to replace John Prescott.

The winner will represent Labour's voice within government, act as a liaison with the party's grassroots and assume the role of deputy prime minister if Blair's successor so chooses. A deputy leader can also hold a high-profile cabinet job.

Following are the declared contenders in a crowded field for the post of deputy.

HILARY BENN, 53 His work as international development minister has won the approval of many Labour lawmakers and activists. In terms of public name recognition, he is in a strong position thanks to his father Tony Benn, a veteran left-wing firebrand and former minister in Labour cabinets of the 1960s and 1970s.

HAZEL BLEARS, 50 Labour Party chairman Blears is a fierce Blair loyalist who has vocally defended some of the prime minister's most contested policies. Her most high-profile post was at the interior ministry, in charge of counter-terrorism.

JOHN CRUDDAS, 45 A former deputy political secretary to Blair, he has since turned into a stern critic of the prime minister. Left-winger Cruddas has strong support among the trade unions.

PETER HAIN, 57 Northern Ireland minister Hain is a former anti-apartheid activist who appeals to Labour's traditional roots and unions. He helped secure a peace deal between Catholics and Protestants.

HARRIET HARMAN, 56 Harman, constitutional affairs minister, has long campaigned for more women in government and is adamant there should be one at top.

However she may lack the name recognition of some of the other candidates. Trained as a lawyer, Harman became Britain's first woman soliciter general in 2001, deputy to the government's top lawyer.

ALAN JOHNSON, 56 Education minister Johnson is a former postman with working class roots and a good relationship with the unions, which have a big say in the leadership election. He helped get one of Blair's most controversial policies -- university top-up fees -- through parliament in the face of widespread Labour opposition.

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