George Galloway has thrown his weight behind Jeremy Corbyn’s bid

Just two weeks ago, Ms Abbott sought to play down the possibility of Mr Corbyn becoming the Labour leadership frontrunner – although polls now suggest he is the clear favourite to succeed Ed Miliband. In 2015 it would appear that betting market’s reputation as the best political outcome poll/indicator has come into question.

Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church was packed to the rafters, with 800 people queuing up for a talk on Mr Corbyn’s leadership bid and Hackney MP Diane Abbott’s attempt to become the party’s mayoral candidate.

“The choice for people like Mr Ward is whether they retreat into a comfort zone of far-left policies that will lead to oblivion for the Labour Party or whether we accept the world as it is”.

I read in the Times this morning – from an amusingly incandescent Philip Collins – of the “stupidity” and “nastiness” of the Corbyn campaign, that his supporters are “idiots”, that he is a “loser”.

Jeremy Corbyn takes part in a Labour Party leadership conference in Warrington, north west England on July 25, 2015. The party is facing an influx of up to 140,000 activists with the number of full Labour members expected to be 66,000 higher than on May 8 by the cut-off point for signing up of August 12. He raised the prospect of divisions within the Labour Party following reports that left-wing MP Jeremy Corbyn could be on course for victory. Present polls support bookmakers, as Corbyn has scored the support from influential Unions such as Unite and Unison.

However, there has been bubbling discussion and excited talks regarding a new kind of leader on the horizon – Jeremy Corbyn. Liz Kendall (Shadow Minister – Health and Care)a candidate hotly tipped in May has become the market outsider at 33/1.

As the front-runner in the race to take over the top opposition job Mr Corbyn is set to speak in Liverpool on Saturday.

Galloway was forced to leave the Labour Party back in 2003 after calling the then Labour government “Tony Blair’s lie machine” for involving the UK in the US-led invasion of Iraq.

He said: “I obviously respect other Party members’ views, and hope they would respect mine”.

“One of the reasons I am standing, and have put myself forward, is because I think it is important the party does listen to me”, he said.

He told the BBC that while he regarded Corbyn as a “friend” and did not want to “rubbish” him, he was anxious about what would happen to Labour should the leftwinger be elected leader.

“I think it’s futile for people to try to advance their own campaign by denigrating other candidates”.

Tottenham MP David Lammy, who along with Mr Khan nominated Mr Corbyn for the leadership so the party could have the broadest possible debate, denied he regretted his decision now. The most recent budget denies young workers the new “national living wage” until they turn 25, bars them from housing benefit until they’re 21, and converts their maintenance grants into loans. Whoever the members select, it’s our duty to work with them. She added: “To win in 2020 the Labour Party must stick up for the people we were created to represent”.