Left-wing backbencher John McDonnell is set to launch his campaign for the Labour leadership, just hours after Tony Blair is expected to set a timetable for his departure.
The outspoken MP, who is so far the only officially declared candidate in any forthcoming leadership election to replace Mr Blair, will begin his nationwide tour to drum up support in Manchester.
Mr McDonnell said: "Now that a leadership election is inevitable over the next six to nine months, if not sooner, I am launching a process by which rank and file Labour Party members and trade unionists can have their say on the fundamental debate around the future of the Labour Party.
"I am insisting that this debate will not be confined to the infighting among the London New Labour elite."
He added: "This meeting will launch a national campaign for a radical break with the failed policies of New Labour.
"Simply changing leaders will not be enough to save Labour at the next election."
The open public debate, which will take place at the Mechanics Institute in the centre of the city at 7.30pm, will include speeches from former Labour MP and Cabinet Minister Tony Benn, General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists Jeremy Dear and former Labour MP Alice Mahon.
Mr McDonnell, chairman of the left-wing Campaign Group and one of the party's most rebellious MPs, said Manchester was chosen as the starting block for his tour because the city means a lot to Labour voters.
The 54-year-old said: "I am launching my campaign in Manchester because of the significant role it has played in the history of the Labour Party as one of our heartlands and has stuck with us through thick and thin. Labour supporters in Manchester deserve the right to have their say."
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