Updated | Corbyn sweeps to UK Labour party leadership victory

Jeremy Corbyn has won the UK Labour Party’s leadership election with 251,417 of first round votes, representing an impressive 59.5% of the total votes cast.

Corbyn, who entered the leadership contest as a rank outsider, saw off a challenge from frontbenchers Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall, gaining 40% more than Burnham, his nearest rival, who obtained 19%. 422,664 cast their votes out of the 554,572 eligible voters in the election. 

Tom Watson was elected deputy leader of the party in the same election.

In his victory speech Corbyn thanked previous leader Ed Milliband for his work with the party and expressed admiration for his dignity in the face of virulent abuse from the UK media. Corbyn assured the party was “passionate, diverse, united and absolutely determined in our quest for a decent, peaceful democratic society.” 

“The party is going to reach out to everyone, he says, to help offer people a decent start in life, whilst becoming more inclusive, more involved, and more democratic. Poverty does not have to be inevitable. Things can, and they will, change," he said, to a standing ovation.

He thanked the unions who had supported him, noting that he had started with very little. "We are a party organically linked together between the unions and the affiliated organisations," he said. 

However, some argued that Corbyn’s victory favours Conservative chances in the next general election. Amid claims that opponents had infiltrated Labour’s flawed party internal election scheme– which allows anyone to become a “registered supporter” with a right to vote in the leadership election for just £3- many Labour supporters fear Corbyn’s election will result in decades of Conservative rule, putting Labour out of power - potentially for good.