JUST hours after announcing her decision to join the leadership race, MP Jess Phillips was out speaking to traders and residents to “regain the people’s confidence.”

The prominent backbencher, who on Friday was the third candidate to formally announce her bid to lead the Labour Party, has voiced her ambition to “win back” the seats that have been lost in Labour heartlands like Burnley, Hyndburn, Bolton, Bury.

Among the 38-year-old’s key aims are regaining the trust of working-class voters and “being the big change that the country needs.”

Speaking to the the Lancashire Telegraph, Ms Phillips said: “The key way to win voters back is to rebuild trust that we can both govern and deliver. We have to win the argument with these people that lives do not get better under the Tories.

“There is a huge amount of talk about places like this versus places like that. Most people do not have to agree with everything you say; they just want to trust that you will not screw them and their families over, whether that is about their kids’ schools, hospital, or how safe they feel, these are fundamental things, the basics that have been degraded.”

The Birmingham Yardley MP visited Bury on Saturday for a Q&A with party members and to hear from traders on Bury Market.

The visit came about after former Bury North MP James Frith invited all of the prospective leaders and deputy leaders to meet with people in Bury, to “win not just the party, but the country”.

With a majority of 105 votes for the Conservative MP James Daly, Bury North is the most marginal constituency in Great Britain as of the 2019 General Election.

Meanwhile, Conservative Christian Wakeford also took control of Bury South, ousting Independent Ivan Lewis who has represented the constituency for 22 years.

Ms Phillips, a long-term Corbyn critic, said: “If I become leader, I will bring something totally different. This is not the time to do the same thing that has been done before. We are up against a huge challenge whether in Bolton, Bury, Birmingham, anywhere that seats have been lost. I will bring trust and authenticity. I will always be honest and won’t expect people to believe in me instantly but I will talk to the country about things that need to happen.

"I have a big personality and what we need to take on Boris Johnson is a big personality. In Westminster there has been huge drama, it has been like a soap opera. Boris has a majority of 80 in the House of Commons and what we need is people who can reach through to the public in times when there won’t be a lot of drama in Westminster.

"It is about being honest about the challenges we face as a country. The challenge of social care has been skated around as if the country can’t take the arguments. We have got to have an honest conversation with the public.”

She added: “I have been thinking about which policies I would like to see changed. We have four or five years to be making these arguments but at the moment our focus is trust. Regaining confidence is not easy. I will always be honest, speak my mind, answer the questions I’m asked.

"This job can’t be done single-handedly. It will take a big team, I will build a people with a broad range of talent. We have got to get straight out there and elect someone like me. The very first thing that the symbolism of electing someone like me would show the country is that a big change was needed.”

Ms Phillips confirmed her campaign on Friday night, entering the race alongside Emily Thornberry and Clive Lewis.