Labour has been re-elected with a firm majority on Islington Council – but has lost ground to the Green Party. Islington Council now has 48 Labour councillors and three Green councillors, up two compared to 2018. In the Highbury ward all three councillors elected were from the Greens, with Benali Hamdache, Ernestas Jegorovas-Armstrong and current councillor and Assembly Member Caroline Russell elected on a 45 per cent turnout.
New Green councillor Benali Hamdache told MyLondon: “Highbury residents have really appreciated the hard work of Caroline Russell. She received more votes than any other councillor in the whole borough….They want more of that. We’ve talked to residents who understand that one party having such dominance isn’t healthy for democracy and accountability. The residents of Tuffnell Park have similar concerns.” The party came within around 120 votes from securing a councillor in that ward.
Labour councillor Nurullah Turan said she was “honoured” to have been elected and “proud to be serving the people of Islington.” And Green councillor Caroline Russell AM tweeted: “I now have colleagues in Highbury. I’m so grateful to everyone who came out to vote Green in Highbury yesterday. We will work hard to represent Highbury residents in the council chamber and be a constructive opposition.” Labour’s Kaya Comer-Schwartz is expected to remain council leader.
READ MORE: London local election results in full – live updates as councils declare
Keir Starmer is celebrating strong results for the party across the capital
(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
Islington Labour promise to deliver at least 750 brand new council homes in the next four years, and invest £10 million in improving Islington’s estates. Their manifesto also pledged to get 5,000 more local people into “good jobs”, and create 1000 new apprenticeships. The Labour authority expects to spend more than £10 million per year on making our council homes “fit for the future” with new insulation and energy efficiency measures, as well as pledging to ensure every Islington child has access to a laptop or tablet as they move into secondary school.
Green councillor Benali Hamdache had been campaigning against the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) plans for a new incinerator, which he said would “commit our own council to burning our unrecycled waste there until at least 2060”. In a statement earlier this year, he said: “Islington’s Labour councillors, however, have pressed on regardless, ignoring calls to halt the scheme from the community, doctors, scientists, Jeremy Corbyn and even their own North Constituency Environment Officer…Despite declaring a Climate Emergency and setting Net Zero targets, Islington Labour still appear not to understand what these ideas mean.”
Winning councillors by ward
Bunhill
Valerie Bossman-Quarshie (Labour), Troy Gallagher (Labour) and Philip Graham (Labour)
Voter turnout: 30.3%
Caledonian
Paul Convery (Labour), Sara Hyde (Labour) and Una O’Halloran (Labour)
Voter turnout: 32%
Finsbury Park
Gary Heather (Labour), Mick O’Sullivan (Labour) and Asima Shaikh (Labour)
Voter turnout: 31.85%
Canonbury
Clare Jeapes (Labour), Nick Wayne (Labour) and John Woolf (Labour)
Voter turnout: 33.82%
St Mary’s and St James’
Hannah McHugh (Labour), Joseph Croft (Labour) and Saiqa Pandor (Labour)
Voter turnout: 41.17%
Clerkenwell
Ruth Hayes (Labour), Ben Mackmurdie (Labour) and Matt Nathan (Labour)
Voter turnout: 33.72%
Laycock
Ilkay Cinko-Oner (Labour), Heather Staff (Labour) and Nurullah Turan (Labour)
Voter turnout: 33.05%
Mildmay
Santiago Bell-Bradford (Labour), Jenny Kay (Labour) and Angelo Weekes (Labour)
Voter turnout: 33.67%
Tufnell Park
Tricia Clarke (Labour), Satnam Gill (Labour) and Gulcin Ozdemir (Labour)
Voter turnout: 44.12%
Highbury
Benali Hamdache (Green), Ernestas Jegorovas-Armstrong (Green) and Caroline Russell (Green)
Voter turnout: 44.74%
Junction
Janet Burgess (Labour), Sheila Chapman (Labour) and Kaya Comer-Schwartz (Labour)
Voter turnout: 35.54%
St Peter’s & Canalside
Martin Klute (Labour), Toby North (Labour) and Rosaline Ogunro (Labour)
Voter turnout: 33.07%
Holloway
Jason Jackson (Labour), Diarmaid Ward (Labour) and Claire Zammit (Labour)
Voter turnout: 35.65%
Hillrise
Dave Poyser (Labour), Michelline Safi Ngongo (Labour) and Marian Spall (Labour)
Voter turnout: 36.35%
Arsenal
Fin Craig (Labour), Bashir Ibrahim (Labour) and Roulin Khondoker (Labour)
Voter turnout: 36.87%
Barnsbury
Rowena Champion (Labour), Jilani Chowdhury (Labour) and Praful Nargund (Labour)
Voter turnout: 37.1%
Tollington
Mick Gilgunn (Labour), Anjna Khurana (Labour) and Flora Williamson (Labour)
Voter turnout: 36.2%
Labour won every ward apart from Highbury, which we are sharing in full:
Highbury results
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