JEREMY Corbyn is expected to be announced as the new Labour leader today (Saturday, September 12) after a campaign which has seen the party attract thousands of new North-East members.

Labour branches across the region say their ranks have swelled since the General Election defeat and Ed Miliband's resignation.

Sources say the left-winger has received good support from the North-East despite being a London MP up against two high-profile candidates in Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper who represent northern constituencies.

Mr Corbyn has had the backing of several trade unions throughout his campaign and union officials in the region hope the North-East will be represented on his Shadow Cabinet were he to win.

One senior union official said: "Last timed Dianne Abbott performed really poorly up here but people have taken to Jeremy.

"Many in the region's labour movement will also have previously heard him speak at the Durham Miner's Gala which held him in good stead, whereas the other candidates only came this time because they wanted something.

"Anybody who can pull in 600 people along at short notice to an event in Middlesbrough in the pouring rain on a weekday is connecting with a lot of people."

Among the North-East MPs who may be handed a position on a Corbyn Shadow Cabinet is Easington MP Grahame Morris who was the only MP in the region to publicly voice his support for the left-wing candidate.

Sources suggested others including Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah and Gateshead's Ian Mearns could also be under consideration for shadow ministerial roles.

Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham, however, insisted a Corbyn victory was not a "fait accompli" despite some bookmakers giving odds as low as 1/7 on a win for the Islington North MP.

Mr Cunningham added: "There's every chance Andy Burnham or Yvette Cooper could win - there's a lot of support for them both and like the General Election nobody knows what's going to happen.

"Regardless of who wins, they have to be given chance to develop their policies."

Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson, who voted for Liz Kendall, said a Corbyn victory would not enhance the party's chances at the next election.

However, he said the party would have to respect the decision and accept the new leader whoever it was.

Mr Wilson, who will step down as a party whip after the leadership election, said he would focus on helping former Home Secretary Alan Johnson run the party's Yes campaign ahead of the EU referendum.

About 30,000 people in the North-East had the right to vote in the ballot, which ended on Thursday.

Of those, 15,000 are members, including 5,000 people who have joined since the election.

The region also has around 10,000 affiliate supporters from trade unions and around 5,000 registered supporters.

In Darlington, membership of the local Labour Party branch has more than doubled since the election.

The branch had around 300 members at the time of the General Election but now has more than 850 including supporters.

Jenny Chapman said: "It's great to see a political party reaching out trying to include a broad section of the community in an important decision.

"We hope that they will stay and be a part of the party locally and nationally.

"I've met some of the new supporters and we've got some great new campaigners."