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2022 Islington Council election

← 2018 5 May 2022 2026 →
All 51 council seats
First party Second party   Leader Kaya Comer-Schwartz Caroline Russell Party Labour Green Last election 47 seats, 60.6% 1 seat, 16.4% Seats won 48 3 Seat change 1 2 Popular vote 80,582 33,279 Percentage 54.2% 22.4% Swing 6.4% 6.0%
Map of the results of the 2022 Islington council election. Greens in green and Labour in red.
council control before election Labour Subsequent council control Labour

The 2022 Islington London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. All 51 members of Islington London Borough Council were to be elected. The elections took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.

In the previous election in 2018, the Labour Party maintained its control of the council, winning 47 out of the 48 seats with the Green Party providing the only opposition councillor, Caroline Russell. The 2022 election took place under new election boundaries, with an increase in the number of councillors to 51.

Background

History

The thirty-two London boroughs were established in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. They are the principal authorities in Greater London and have responsibilities including education, housing, planning, highways, social services, libraries, recreation, waste, environmental health and revenue collection. Some of the powers are shared with the Greater London Authority, which also manages passenger transport, police and fire.

Since its formation, Islington has been under Labour control, Conservative control, Liberal Democrat control, Social Democratic Party control and no overall control. Labour most recently gained control of the council in the 2010 election, winning 35 seats to the Liberal Democrats' 13 seats. The Liberal Democrats lost all their remaining seats in the 2014 election, with Labour winning 47 and the Green Party's Caroline Russell winning a single seat in Highbury East. In the most recent election in 2018, Labour held their 47 seats with 60.6% of the vote across the borough while Russell held her seat for the Green Party, with the Greens winning 16.4% of the vote across the borough. The Liberal Democrats won 12.3% of the vote and the Conservatives won 9.7% of the vote, but neither won any seats.

Council term

A Labour councillor for St George's ward, Kat Fletcher, resigned in November 2019. A by-election to replace her was held on 12 December 2019, coinciding with the 2019 general election. The Labour candidate Gulcin Ozdemir, who worked as a social housing advocate, successfully defended the seat, with the Green Party candidate coming in second place.

Gary Poole, a Labour councillor, left his party to sit as an independent in July 2019 citing antisemitism, saying he hoped to rejoin in the future. In October 2020, the Labour councillor Rakhia Ismail left her party, saying she had faced racism in the party. She joined the Conservative Party in November 2020. A Labour councillor for Hollway ward, Paul Smith, resigned in January 2021.

A Labour councillor for Bunhill, Claudia Webbe, was elected as MP for Leicester East in the 2019 general election. She resigned as a councillor in March 2021 as a by-election to replace her was not possible until May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, three Labour councillors announced their resignations: Andy Hull of Highbury West ward because his family were moving to Morocco; Joe Calouri of Mildmay ward because of work and family commitments; and Vivien Cutler of St Peter's ward. By-elections for all five seats were held on 6 May 2021 alongside the 2021 London mayoral election and London Assembly election. Some of the elections were contested by independent candidates opposed to low traffic neighbourhoods. Labour held all five seats: Valerie Bossman-Quarshie won Bunhill, Bashir Ibrahim won Highbury West, Jason Jackson won Holloway, Angelo Weekes won Mildmay and Toby North won St Peter's. The Green Party came second in three wards and the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats came second in one ward each.

Richard Watts stood down as council leader and leader of the Labour group in 2021, and Kaya Comer-Schwartz was chosen unopposed to take over. Comer-Schwartz had served as deputy leader of the council since 2020 and had previously worked for a mental health charity.

As with most London boroughs, Islington will be electing its councillors under new boundaries decided by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, which it produced after a period of consulation. The number of councillors will rise to 51, an increase from the previous 48, across seventeen three-councillor wards.

Campaign

In March 2022, groups of residents supportive and opposed to Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes protested Islington Town Hall ahead of a debate triggered by an anti-low traffic neighbourhood petition. One attendee, the driving instructor David Corringall, cited the schemes as the reason he was standing as a Conservative candidate.

Electoral process

Islington, like other London borough councils, elects all of its councillors at once every four years. The previous election took place in 2018. This election used multi-member first-past-the-post voting, with each ward being represented by three councillors. Electors had as many votes as there were councillors to be elected in their ward, with the top two or three being elected.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in London aged 18 or over were entitled to vote in the election. People who lived at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, were entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations took place from 7:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters were able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.

Previous council composition

• Council composition after the 2018 election
• Council composition ahead of the 2022 election

Results summary

2022 Islington London Borough Council

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	48	0	0	1	94.1	54.6	85,031	-6.0
	Green	3	0	0	2	5.9	22.1	34,466	+5.7
	Liberal Democrats	0	0	0		0.0	11.7	18,159	-0.6
	Conservative	0	0	0		0.0	11.2	17,425	+1.5
	Independent	0	0	0		0.0	0.2	270	N/A
	Communist	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	97	N/A
	TUSC	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	92	N/A
	Reform UK	0	0	0		0.0	0.0	51	N/A
	SDP	0	0	0		0.0	0.0	34	N/A

Ward results

Arsenal

Barnsbury

Bunhill

Caledonian

Canonbury

Clerkenwell

Finsbury Park

Highbury

Hillrise

Holloway

Junction

Laycock

Mildmay

St Mary's & St James'

St Peter's & Canalside

Tollington

Tufnell Park

Changes 2022–2026

Hillrise by-election, 2 May 2024

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ollie Steadman	2,824	62.8	3.3
	Green	Alex Nettle	1,095	24.3	4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Rebecca Taylor	577	12.8	5.3
Turnout			4,597	47.3
	Labour hold

The Hillrise by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour councillor Dave Poyser.

Hillrise by-election, 15 August 2024

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Shreya Nanda	968	43.35	19.5
	Independent	Alison Stoker	539	24.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Imogen Wall	350	15.67	3.5
	Green	Alex Nettle	322	14.42	9.9
	Independent	Maxim Parr-Reid	54	2.4	N/A
Turnout			2,243	20.5	26.8
	Labour hold

The by-election took place on 15 August 2024, following the resignation of Labour Councillor Ollie Steadman after serving 69 days since the May 2024 by-election.

Junction by-election, 28 November 2024

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Potts	785	40.4	22.0
	Independent	Jackson Caines	550	28.3	N/A
	Green	Devon Osborne	219	11.3	11.2
	Liberal Democrats	Rebecca Jones	156	8.0	0.9
	Conservative	John Wilkin	113	5.8	2.1
	Independent	Brian Potter	97	5.0	N/A
	Socialist (GB)	Bill Martin	22	1.1	N/A
Turnout			1946
	Labour hold

References

1. "The essential guide to London local government | London Councils". www.londoncouncils.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
2. Grove, Tristan (4 May 2018). "Islington elections 2018: Labour wins biggest share of vote since 1974". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
3. Cumiskey, Lucas (1 November 2019). "Labour councillor resigns prompting December 12 by-election in St George's ward". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
4. Gelder, Sam (13 December 2019). "Labour's Gulcin Ozdemir wins Islington Council by-election for St George's ward". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
5. Cumiskey, Lucas (15 July 2019). "Islington councillor Gary Poole, who has quit Labour: 'Jeremy Corbyn's ideological beliefs providing safe space for antisemitism'". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
6. "Former Islington mayor quits Labour party over racism". the Guardian. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
7. "Exclusive: Ex-Labour mayor defects to Tories over Sadiq Khan's record on crime". CityAM. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
8. Bartholomew, Emma (12 January 2021). "Holloway by-election planned as Cllr Paul Smith stands down". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
9. Bartholomew, Emma (23 March 2021). "Claudia Webbe's resignation triggers Bunhill by-election". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
10. Bartholomew, Emma (26 March 2021). "By-elections set for Highbury West, Mildmay and St Peter's wards". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
11. ^ Fraser, Calum (16 April 2021). "Get ready! Islington set for five ballot box battles for seats on the same day". Islington Tribune. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021.
12. "By-election results announced for Bunhill, Highbury West, Holloway, Mildmay and St Peter's wards". Islington Council News. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
13. reporter, Ed Sheridan, Local democracy (7 May 2021). "Winners of Islington by-elections speak". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 19 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
14. Bartholomew, Emma (26 March 2021). "Kaya Comer-Schwartz set to be Islington Council's new leader". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
15. "LGBCE | Hounslow | LGBCE Site". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
16. Reporter, Julia Gregory Local Democracy (7 March 2022). "Islington consulted on future of low traffic neighbourhoods". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
17. ^ "How the elections work". London Councils. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
18. "Islington By-elections 2024". Islington Council. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
19. Boothroyd, David (15 March 2024). "The dream shall never dye". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
20. "Islington By-elections 2024". Islington Council. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
21. Loubser, Isobel (12 July 2024). "Gone in 69 Days!". Islington Tribue. Islington Tribune. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
22. "Islington By-elections 2024".

• Council elections in the London Borough of Islington
• 2022 London Borough council elections