Labour leadership contest: How you can vote without paying the £25 fee

Currently, new party members who joined after 12 January are ineligible to vote in the upcoming leadership election unless they pay the increased fee

Supporters of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn greet him after the announcement that he is allowed by the NEC to stand in the party's leadership election without needing to secure nominations

(REUTERS)

Update: The below methods will no longer get you a vote in the Labour leadership election. New members must pay £25 and have until 5pm on 20 July 2016 to do so.

More than 100,000 new Labour Party members must pay a £25 fee to take part in the upcoming leadership election vote.

The decision by Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) has caused outrage among Jeremy Corbyn's supporters who have interpreted it to be another attack on his leadership.

There are, however, a number of ways to avoid the fee, which currently is an obstacle to around 20 per cent of the membership who joined the party after 12 January.

Labour's voting rule change

Firstly, people can join the Unite union as a community member, paying 50p a week until becoming an affiliate member by 8 August.

This would allow members or anyone interested, including students and the unemployed, to vote in the upcoming election.

Secondly, if you are black, Asian or belong to an ethnic minority, you would be eligible to vote in the election after paying £5 for a two-year membership of BAME Labour.

If you are LGBT, you could gain a say in the leadership election if you join LGBT Labour for £8 a year.

Alternatively, you could join Scientists for Labour for a concession rate of £5 to vote.

Labour membership numbers are thought to have reached around half a million, more than the 405,000 it reached during the high point of Tony Blair's premiership.

Mr Corbyn has been allowed by the NEC to stand in the party's leadership election without needing to secure 51 nominations from Labour MPs or MEPs.