Jeremy Corbyn loses lead in betting odds as Corbynomics comes under fire from Labour MPs
Left-wing Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn has lost his lead in the betting markets amid attacks from senior members of his own party.
Bookies from Ladbrokes, William Hill and Betfair all told City PM that Corbyn had dropped out of pole position yesterday, leaving Andy Burnham as the odds-on favourite to replace Ed Miliband.
Corbyn – the last candidate to enter the leadership contest with the longest odds of 200/1 – took over as the front-runner from Burnham for the first time last week. His odds had been buoyed by strong poll numbers and the endorsement of public sector unions and constituency Labour party (CLP) groups.
But yesterday Labour shadow chancellor Chris Leslie lashed out against Corbyn’s anti-austerity agenda, saying that his “starry-eyed, hard left” ideology would result in higher inflation and interest rates.
Leslie told the Independent that his party needed a “credible” Labour prime minister. Leslie added that he would not serve on a Corbyn frontbench. It was reported over the weekend that eight current Labour frontbenchers had also ruled out working for Corbyn.