THE issues clogging the headlines are commonly hot topics for discussion when meeting our clients and over the last month there has been one topic that has loomed large; Jeremy Corbyn becoming the new Labour leader.

Mr Corbyn represents a swing to the left for Labour and an opposition leader who could upset the status quo.

‘Labour is now unelectable’ the political commentators cackle, but given their recent track record of forecasts, we will take that with a pinch of salt.

Trading in the stock market when the results of the leadership vote were declared showed no notable change.

The sectors Mr Corbyn has earmarked to return to public ownership, namely the banks and utilities, collectively shrugged their shoulders.

Forthcoming Prime Minister’s Questions are likely to have some aggravated moments with David Cameron pressured to justify his austerity agenda but the ear-bashings will be cushioned by the fact he won the General Election with a majority, albeit the smallest since 1974.

This victory soothed markets that had been twitchy in the run up to the election, given the uncertainty of who would prevail and that a majority Government seemed inconceivable.

It is a majority but it remains thin at 12 seats and with five years to go to the next election and it could well be worn away through by-election reversals.

By-elections have the potential to burst the Tories’ bubble and with more than 20 since 2010, 12 is not an insurmountable figure for Mr Corbyn and others to chip away at.

Mr Corbyn offers the capability to rouse the disillusioned, but this newly energised group of voters could simply replace the more traditional Labour party members that are aghast Mr Corbyn is now their leader.

Eyebrows were raised by the number of MPs refusing to serve in his shadow cabinet.

For investors, the key point is that he is only the opposition leader and we are a long way from the next General Election.

But a lot can change.

David Cameron has already pledged to not stand for the 2020 election, so we do not know who Mr Corbyn will face.

We also cannot presume he will still be leader come 2020 as it remains to be seen if the change in style he will bring to Labour will ostracise or encourage those around him.

History suggests the electorate do not like those who stray so far from the political middle.

One comparison has been to Michael Foot’s left wing Labour party who were embarrassingly defeated by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives in the 1983 election, losing three million voters in the process.

Ex-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone’s insistence that Mr Corbyn is not another Michael Foot simply suggests there is a sliver of similarity.

Nuclear disarmament, increased wages and the creation of a new National Investment Bank can all be found within both Mr Corbyn’s policies and the 1983 Labour manifesto.

Yet even if any of the more radical policies were enacted, when it comes to the FTSE 100 Index, with only 20 per cent of revenue derived from the UK, it means any changes to the UK economy will have limited impact.

For now, the 2020 election is too far away for stock markets to worry about with market forecasters rarely looking beyond the next twelve months.

Ultimately, Mr Corbyn is the leader of a party in which he lacks support from his MPs, regardless of the membership’s feelings.

Being leader of the opposition to a party with a majority and five years still to run in its term means the biggest impact he can have is the pressure he can put on Mr Cameron.

Grabbing the headlines may generate political influence but it does not directly cause economic influence, and that is the one that matters to investors.

The UK market is too multi-national to be troubled by squabbling at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Until Mr Corbyn looks like winning a General Election, when asked what difference he will make to stock markets, the simple answer, for now, is ‘none whatsoever’.

Jeffrey Ball is an assistant director at Brewin Dolphin, in Newcastle

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily the views held throughout Brewin Dolphin. No director, representative or employee of Brewin Dolphin accepts liability for any direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this document or its contents. Any tax allowances or thresholds mentioned are based on personal circumstances and current legislation which is subject to change.