Labour has held onto Islington Council after shedding multiple seats to the Green Party following Thursday’s (May 7) local elections.
By Josef Steen, Local Democracy Reporter
Labour has held onto Islington Council after shedding multiple seats to the Green Party following Thursday’s (May 7) local elections.
The North London local authority will remain under Labour control as it commands 32 seats in the chamber but the party lost 12 seats in the process while the Green Party gained a further 16, taking their total to 19.
The result comes after 263 candidates from the five main parties and several independent candidates battled it out across the borough’s 17 electoral wards.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Cllr Una O’Halloran, Leader of Islington Council, said: “We have a record to be proud of locally, and residents know they can trust us to be a fair, responsible and ambitious council.
“We are proud to have Islington put their trust in us once again.
“Our manifesto has set out how we will tackle the issues that matter most locally, and we cannot wait to get started in delivering.”
The Greens, who won three council seats at the last election, have swelled their council seats to 19 after making deep inroads into Labour’s territory in Highbury, Tufnell Park, Tollington and Mildmay wards.
Leader of the Opposition for the Greens, Cllr Benali Hamdache, said: “This is a fantastic, breakthrough result that reflects everything we heard in conversations during the campaign.
“A larger group means that we can punch harder and higher to give residents what they need and deserve. This was a very competitive election and we’re incredibly proud of all our new colleagues who achieved this record-breaking result.”
Islington’s result comes as Labour has suffered heavy losses across the capital amid a surge in support for the Green Party in inner London especially. Labour’s finance chief, Cllr Flora Williamson, was defeated in Tollington.
