Labour sees surge in party membership following Corbyn's election as leader

Labour has seen a surge in membership since Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader Credit: PA

More than 15,000 people have joined the Labour party in the 24 hours since Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader, the party has said.

General secretary Iain McNicol said membership was "now over 325,000 and rising" and tweeted a welcome to the new members:

Prior to Mr Corbyn's election more than 100,000 people paid £3 to register with the party as Labour supporters, different from holding party membership but allowing them a vote in the leadership election.

At the time some Labour officials questioned whether those who registered were truly aligned with Labour, or simply wanted to see Mr Corbyn in charge.

Speaking on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show, Labour's newly-elected deputy leader Tom Watson said he hoped many of the more than 100,000 who registered would now upgrade to full membership.

"I hope they can come with us on the journey to the election in 2020," he said.

Mr MacNicol said on Saturday that he hoped to see new supporters "out on the doorsteps, alongside the members who've campaigned for years, or even decades".

Labour's membership also rose significantly in 2010, after Ed Miliband became leader, but later slipped back.