After Labour's defeat in the 2015 general election and the resignation of Ed Miliband, Corbyn announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Labour Party on 6 June 2015. Although many people did not believe he would win, he won enough votes to become the lead candidate. He won many votes from trade unions who supported the Labour Party, as well as left wing activists. He was elected Leader of the Labour Party on 12 September 2015 after winning 59.5% of the votes in the first round of the ballot.