Jeremy Corbyn betting is following same pattern as Donald Trump during the US election
Big spenders are nonetheless backing the Conservatives, with one person putting £360,000 on the party to win
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Your support makes all the difference.Betting on Jeremy Corbyn is following the same pattern seen for Donald Trump ahead of his upset win in the US presidential election.
Mr Trump was considered the outsider by bookmakers, but the majority of bets went his way. The same as is reportedly happening for Mr Corbyn.
Big spenders gravitated toward Hillary Clinton and are doing so too with UK favourite Theresa May, a pattern of betting also seen in the Brexit referendum when high rollers backed Remain - a result which was widely expected but ultimately not achieved.
Ms May has accounted for 80 per cent of money wagered in the last few weeks, with one punter placing more than £360,000 on her party to seize victory on 8 June, according to odds comparison site Oddschecker.
At the same time, the odds are converging as Ms May's chances lengthen slightly and Mr Corbyn's shorten, Oddschecker said. A similar process was observed before the unexpected result of the US election, the site said.
However, the same thing happened in the run-up to the French presidential election, when Emmanuel Macron achieved the predicted victory over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, meaning the phenomenon is not a sure sign of an upset to come.
Bookies have also given their latest views on the general election race.
Betfair spokeswoman Naomi Totten said: “After a solid performance in the [BBC general election] debate, Jeremy Corbyn hit a low of 4/1 to be Prime Minister after the election with the absent Theresa May drifting slightly to 1/4.
“Boris Johnson was backed to a low of 12/1 this morning, perhaps a sign that punters think May will be ousted as leader given her lacklustre campaign performance.
“A Tory majority hit 3/10 post-debate, their highest price since election was called, with 'no overall majority' backed into a low of 4/1. In the 'most seats' market, 76 per cent of bets have been backing Labour since the debate, with their odds backed from 14/1 to 10/1.”
Betfred said it had Mr Corbyn at 9/2 as the next Prime Minister and a Labour majority at 14/1.
A spokesman said: “May, from being in [the] position of it being for her to lose is now having to up her game with Labour policies proving more popular than expected.”
Paddypower said was also offering the Labour leader at 9/2, the shortest so far, while a 'no overall majority' outcome was running at 5/1, down from 6/1 after YouGov's controversial poll suggesting there may be a hung parliament.
Eighty-two per cent of bets with Paddypower had gone on Labour, a spokesman said.
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