Bernie Sanders' brother finished behind Ukip in UK General Election and lost his deposit

Democratic candidate taking on Hilary Clinton will be hoping to fare better than his older brother did when he tried to become an MP in the UK in May

Bernie Sanders speaking to a crowd of 7,500 at a campaign rally in Portland, Maine (AP)

One brother is standing for US President, the other finished behind Ukip in fifth place at the UK General Election in May and lost his deposit.

Bernie Sanders will be hoping his bid to become the Democrat's choice for next year's Presidential election fares better than Larry Sanders' hopes of becoming an MP in the UK.

The brother of the 73-year-old left-wing Presidential hopeful stood for the Green party in Oxford West at the General Election, but won just 2,500 votes, falling behind the Ukip candidate and failing to win the 5 per cent threshold of votes needed to avoid having to pay the £500 deposit.

Both brothers know full-well what it's like to be an underdog, but unlike his unrealistic bid to become an MP, Larry believes the increasingly large crowds attending his brother's rallies across the US is a sign that he can achieve the mother of all political upsets and beat the firm favourite, Hilary Clinton.

"He's in this to win," he told BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight. "I think Hilary will revert to her basic positions and I think Bernard knows that.

"But I think, more importantly, he feels the response he's getting from people and it's not minimal - you don't get tens of thousands of people out cheering for you because they didn't have anything better to do that night. It's big and I think he's going to go all the way."

Bernie has even been labelled the 'American Jeremy Corbyn' by some pundits hoping the veteran American Senator will emulate the Labour leadership front-runner by overtaking Mrs Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination.

Mrs Clinton remains the firm favourite to win the Democratic party's nomination, with Bernie still a distant 6/1 behind.

But there are signs the 73-year-old Senator from Vermont is gathering momentum, with a CNN/ORC national poll showing Mrs Clinton's lead among Democratic voters is evaporating.