Harriet Harman has admitted she would “consider” standing to be Speaker of the House of Commons.
It had been suggested the veteran Labour MP was in the running to replace John Bercow after he faced accusations, which he denies, of bullying.
Speaking to The House magazine, Harman confirmed she could be interested in the job.
“People have been asking me whether I would be prepared to stand. But I think that that’s something that I would have to consider when there’s a vacancy, and there isn’t one at the moment,” she said.
“Actually, I do think when you have a Speaker you’ve got to support the Speaker. And therefore, as I say, people have said it to me but there isn’t a vacancy. And so, I would consider it at the time.”
Harman, Britain’s longest serving female MP, would became the second ever woman Speaker if she were to be elected by MPs to the post.
In the interview, Harman said male Labour MPs had to stand aside and support a woman to be the next leader of the party.
“The men can jostle amongst themselves to be deputy,” she said.
Harman has served as deputy Labour Party leader and has spoken of her regret at not running to become leader in 2010.
“The next generation of men need to be those remarkable men who actually support women leaders,” she said.
Harman also told Jeremy Corbyn to not “overthink” his response to gender inequality.
The important thing is for him to just listen to what the women in the Shadow Cabinet and in the PLP and in the wider country are saying about what they want and just do it,” she said.