Norwich man places £10,000 bet on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his party to win general election

The political punter, who has chosen to remain anonymous, revealed he was a biology graduate and a Norwich City fan, who saved up enough money for the bet during university. Photo: Nick Butcher Archant © 2017

A Norwich man has placed a £10,000 bet on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his party to win the general election next month.

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Bookmaker Betfred said the man, who is thought to be in his 20s, made the bet in one of the company’s Norwich shops yesterday.

It is the joint-largest bet made in the country on the Islington North candidate ahead of the general election on June 8.

The man, who has not been named, placed £6,000 on Mr Corbyn to be the next prime minister at 12/1 odds.

A further £3,000 was bet on the Labour party winning the most seats at 20/1.

And £1,000 - at 40/1 odds - was placed on Labour to achieve the majority of seats next month.

MORE: Full list of who is standing in the 2017 general election in Norfolk and Waveney

Betfred said if all three of his bets come off, he will see a £182,000 return for his money.

A spokesman for the company refused to reveal the identity of the man, but said he regularly made “novelty bets” on competitions including X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.

“This bet in Norwich is quite astounding,” the spokesman said. “We had to check that he had enough money in his account before it went ahead, and he did.

“He must be so confident in the Labour party, or very politically astute.”

Another £10,000 bet was placed yesterday in Mr Corbyn’s Islington North constituency on Labour winning the most seats, and achieving an overall majority.

But Betfred said the Norwich punter will see a larger return as he bet on “more attractive” odds.

MORE: Jeremy Corbyn announces £5bn schools investment - and shadow chancellor claims party would scrap tuition fees

It is thought the number of bets being placed on the Labour party follow the leak of its manifesto yesterday.

Betfred said: “Although the leak has caused embarrassment to the party the fact is the far-reaching plans that include more investment in the NHS, as well as substantial nationalisation, have already been voted winning policies amongst the increasing number of our political punters.

“Consequently the odds on Labour winning the most seats is now 16/1 from 20/1 and Corbyn to win the keys to number ten 10/1 from 12/1.”

Betfred said the most popular bet was on the Tories to win the most seats, with odds at 1/33 from 1/50 earlier in the week.

MORE: Should the hunting act be repealed? Or do Norfolk’s MPs have more important issues to tackle in the run-up to Brexit?

It said there is likely to be more than £2m placed in betting on the general election.

Did you make the bet? Email luke.powell@archant.co.uk

Other unusual bets

Although the odds might appear to be against this mystery gambler, luck could swing his way.

Last year, pollsters, financial markets and bookies called almost every major event the wrong way.

And if someone had made a £1 bet on Leicester City winning the 2015/16 Premier League, Britain voting to leave the European Union, and Donald Trump becoming president of the US, they would have seen a £4.5m return.

Bookmaker Ladbrokes said the longest odds it offered on each event were:

• 5,000/1 on Leicester winning.

• 5/1 on Brexit.

• 150/1 on Trump winning the election.

But stranger bets have been placed - and they have come off too.

In 2014, a 23-year-old teacher from Sweden won more than £1,200 after betting £7 that footballer Luis Suarez would bite someone during the world cup. The odds of him doing so, were 175/1.

Could Corbyn get elected?

This might seem like a crazy bet – but the world of politics is a very strange place right now.

The pundits didn’t predict Brexit and no-one imagined Donald Trump would become the next Leader of the Free World.

Jeremy Corbyn was written off long ago – maybe Conservative voters will stay at home on June 8 confident Theresa May doesn’t need their vote to romp to victory?

And maybe some of the policies in the Labour manifesto, like free wi-fi on trains and support for community pubs, will start to gain traction. These types of policy might seem small fry but they impact people’s day-to-day lives.

If Mrs May suffers a scandal or the Tory manifesto doesn’t pass muster, maybe Corbyn could creep into Number 10 via the back door?

But all that said, let’s hope this punter can afford to lose the £10,000 because he is unlikely to see it again.

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