THE search for outgoing Bolton MP Ruth Kelly’s successor is underway, with Labour chiefs deciding that candidates must be female.

A three-month selection process will result in local party officials announcing who will fight the Tories for the marginal Bolton West seat in the next General Election.

A shortlist will be drawn up by the end of the year before the successful candidate is announced in February.

Yesterday, a Bolton Labour Party spokesman said: “At a meeting of the National Executive Committee (Labour’s governing body) in October is was agreed the parliamentary candidate for Bolton West would be selected from an all-woman short-list.

“A 12-week selection process has now officially started with the successful candidate due to be confirmed at the end of February.”

Almost anyone can put their name forward for nomination for the job, which comes with a £61,820 annual salary, average expense claims of around £130,000 and a pension.

The only criteria set by Labour is that they must have been a member of the party for at least the past six months, not be a criminal, peer, religous leader or civil servant, and must be a woman.

Yesterday, Cliff Morris, who is chairman of Bolton West Constituency Labour Party, and also Bolton Council’s leader, defended the decision to make it an all-woman shortlist for the first time.

He said: “We’re looking for people that know Bolton, understand Bolton and would take Bolton forward.

“We currently have a woman MP and had Ann Taylor in the past and the party wants to make sure we keep that proportion. I am confident we will get the best person for the job.”

Around 30 applied by the job when it was last up-for-grabs in 1997 before being whittled down to a shortlist of between four and eight potential candidates.

Then Ms Kelly triumphed over the Conservative incumbent MP Tom Sackville to become one of New Labour’s 101 Blair’s Babes.

But now the 40-year-old mum-of-four has stood down from the Government as Transport Secretary and as an MP to spend more time with her family.

Whoever succeeds her will be up against two other women in the shape of Conservative Susan Williams and Liberal Democrat Jackie Pearcy, who will be seeking to overtake Labour’s majority of just 2000 votes.