Jeremy Corbyn believes he can win the Labour leadership by a landslide as it emerged that more than 180,000 people have paid £25 to vote in the contest.

Allies of Mr Corbyn were left jubilant by the late surge, predicting the vast majority were his backers and claiming rival Owen Smith would be left “crying his eyes out” at the news.

Moderates had attempted to shut down the chances of new joiners by upping the price from £3 and restricting registration to a 48-hour period, but people signed up at the remarkable rate of one a second.

While the 183,541 people who applied are still being vetted, they are expected to make up around a quarter of the total group voting on the next leader – meaning they could swing the result.