SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
As the Labour leadership race enters its last full month of campaigning with ballots sent out to party members on 14 August, UK bookmakers have placed far left candidate Jeremy Corbyn as frontrunner to win the party leadership.
Corbyn who did not register with many bookmakers as a contender for party leadership in May, leads bookmaker markets at 6/4, followed closely by former market leader Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham 13/8.
William Hill PR spokesperson Rupert Adams commented on Corbyn’s surprise leadership performance – “Jeremy Corbyn is the favourite and this gamble has resulted in the biggest price fall in Political betting history,”
The leadership market has shrunk to four contenders, with Yvette Cooper (Shadow Home Secretary) third favourite at 9/4. Liz Kendall (Shadow Minister – Health and Care) a candidate hotly tipped in May has become the market outsider at 33/1.
Corbyn (MP for Islington North) strong candidacy has divided Labour Party members and its political strategists, as the party looks to recover from a disastrous May General Election which saw the party post a 9% decline in constituency seats to 232 (2010 Election: 256).
Present polls support bookmakers, as Corbyn has scored the support from influential Unions such as Unite and Unison. UK newspapers have reported that private polls commissioned have indicated that Corbyn holds a 20 point lead over Burnham and Cooper.
Nevertheless, UK bookmakers will not want to face another failure to call political markets, having failed to call May’s UK National Election and last month’s Greek Euro Referendum. In 2015 it would appear that betting market’s reputation as the best political outcome poll/indicator has come into question.
