What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

More than 180,000 people have signed up to vote in the Labour leadership election in just 48 hours.

The party received an eye-watering 183,541 applications from registered supporters paying £25 each - netting the party a cool £4.5million.

Party chiefs now face the mammoth task of sorting through the applications to verify them before allowing them a vote. The 183,000 will fall as ineligible or duplicate applications are whittled out.

But the figure - more than the entire membership of the Tory party - is a huge increase on the 105,598 registered supporters who voted in last year's leadership election.

It prompted immediate speculation over whether the influx would help Jeremy Corbyn or his rival Owen Smith.

The enormous figure came as it emerged Mr Smith had won the nominations of at least 162 of the party's 230 MPs.

He called the figure "excellent news for our party", adding: "In last 48 hours, more people have registered as Labour supporters than the entire membership of the Tory party.

(Image: GETTY)

"I know they will have got involved for the same reasons I did, because they want to tackle inequality and be part of building a fairer Britain and world.

"Over the coming weeks, I look forward to listening and speaking to as many members and supporters as possible, to set out my radical vision for Labour’s future."

A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said earlier it was "reasonable to assume" the majority of the new registrations would be supporters of the left-wing veteran.

Corbyn-backing group Momentum and anti-Corbyn group Saving Labour both urged backers to sign up with regular e-mails in the short window for signing up.

Last year 84% of the registered supporters, who only had to pay £3 at the time, cast their votes for Jeremy Corbyn .

If the same pattern is repeated it will have a huge impact on the election.

(Image: Handout)

The registered supporters are equal to nearly half the number of full paid-up eligible members, and each vote has the same weight.

Even among full members, a poll suggested Mr Corbyn could easily hold on to the leadership despite Angela Eagle dropping out of the race.

The survey of Labour members put rival Owen Smith 22 points behind Mr Corbyn if he remained as a sole 'unity candidate'.

Asked to imagine Ms Eagle was off the ticket, 56% said they would vote for Mr Corbyn and 34% chose Mr Smith. Just 10% did not know or would not vote.

YouGov carried out the poll of 1,019 Labour members eligible to vote before Ms Eagle withdrew from the race last night.

Asked to pick between all three candidates, 54% backed Mr Corbyn compared with 21% for Ms Eagle and 15 % who supported Mr Smith.

How many people can vote in the Labour leadership election?

Full members: 380,000 (estimated number before January 12 freeze date)

Registered supporters: 183,541 (total unvetted applications - this will go down)

Union affiliates: 71,546 (rough figure - this is the total number who voted last year)

POSSIBLE TOTAL: 635,000