Hundreds of people have signed up to hear Labour leadership frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn speak in Norwich next week.

Norwich MP Clive Lewis said that within three hours of announcing the rally at Open on Bank Plain, about 400 people had signed up to the event next Thursday [August 6].

Mr Corbyn, who has been tipped to win in a number of opinion polls, was backed early on by Mr Lewis, who was elected in May.

Party faithful in Norwich North, Great Yarmouth and North Norfolk have backed the Islington North MP to be the next leader of the Labour party. Norwich South members voted to nominate shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper.

Mr Lewis said that Mr Corbyn had 'tapped into something' and had gone from being seen as a no-hoper to a real threat to the other three candidates.

'The trajectory has been from laughter, to denial and now panic.'

'How has he become a rock star politician in the space of a few weeks? He has tapped into a hunger, An anti-politics hunger.' He said that Mr Corbyn had been a 'consistent fighter for social justice'.

'His politics have been consistent. People are tired of the sound bite, suited political class which has dominated for so long. I know it takes more than a breath of fresh air to win an election but I have spoken to people who saw him on the Andrew Marr show. He was talking about investing in our future, young people, rebalancing the economy, making those who can, pay, increasing productivity. These are things Ed [Miliband - former Labour leader] tried to talk about, but he would never deal with the extra £30bn that was necessary. We never talked about good borrowing. We never understood austerity is not good economics, it's bad economics.

'Can Jeremy win [the leadership election]? I think he can, but it is backed against him. The other candidates are organising to ensure anyone but Jeremy.'

Mr Lewis said that the event was open to the public and anybody who wanted to see Labour win the next election was welcome.

'We want it to become a movement again. You have to open yourselves up to the public who are not supporters yet. We want them to join and be part of the movement.'

He said that we would like to see other leadership candidates speak in Norwich.

'I think our members should be able to hear them all speak,' he said. Speaking about the 400 people who had signed up in the first few hours of the event being announced, he said: 'You struggle to get Facebook likes. This is people filling out a form to attend. That is pretty good going by any standard.'

'Rally for Corbyn - Jeremy in Norwich' will take place at Open, Bank Plain, NR2 4SF on August 6 between 7pm and 9pm. To sign up go to

http://www.jeremyforlabour.com/rally_for_corbyn_norwich