A FEMALE candidate will stand for Labour in Bishop Auckland at the next election, it was announced last night.

The party's National Executive Committee decided that Derek Foster's successor to the County Durham seat should be chosen from an all-woman shortlist.

Mr Foster is retiring after representing the seat since 1979. He leaves a comfortable majority of 13,926, which is sure to excite national interest among women with Parliamentary ambitions.

The Northern Echo is aware of four local women who will be seeking the nomination - former North-East MEP Mo O'Toole, Middlesbrough-born opera singer Suzannah Clarke, Joanne Thompson, who was a Labour candidate in last year's European elections, and Cyndi Hughes, the Darlington councillor.

There is growing speculation that one of Tony Blair's closest advisors, Liz Lloyd, will throw her hat into the ring. She is one of the few remaining members of the Prime Minister's inner circle from 1994, when he became Labour leader.

A Cambridge graduate, Ms Lloyd works in the No 10 policy unit as an advisor on Africa, having previously advised on home affairs.

She is a former girlfriend of Ed Miliband, brother of South Shields MP David Miliband and a special advisor to Chancellor Gordon Brown.

She plays football for the No 10 team Demon Eyes.

The timetable for the nomination procedure will be decided over the next few days.

In 37 seats in the North-East and North Yorkshire, Labour has 30 MPs, but only four are women. The party is also fielding a female candidate in Durham City, which it expects to hold.

Peter Moore, chairman of the Bishop Auckland constituency Labour Party, said: "We have no problem with an all-woman list. What is important is to get the best candidate. Derek is going to be a very difficult man to replace. There is going to be a lot interest in the post. We have thought of 12 or 13 names of people who might be interested."