On Thursday, May 7, Londoners will head to the ballot box to vote on who will run their borough. Islington Council has been continuously run by the Labour Party since 2010. Labour, which controls 21 out of the city's 32 borough councils, is bracing for potential historic losses across the capital, particularly inner London.
With 44 out of 51 council seats, Labour's majority in the North London borough of Islington is hefty, and the party is expected to keep control of the local authority. But the insurgent Greens remain Labour's main rival here and are expecting a strong result, as recent polls suggest the party is closing its gap on the Labour establishment.
Yet all the main parties remain in the running. The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK are fielding candidates in every electoral ward, as minor groups like the Islington Community Independents are also standing in a handful of areas.
Jeremy Corbyn MP's outfit Your Party is sitting out the race in his Islington constituency and he is throwing his support behind independents in other boroughs.
The various parties have made a series of pledges for how they would run the borough in the event that they win. Though not every group offered a manifesto, here's a round-up of the principal parties' promises should they win or keep control of the council.
Conservative Party
The Conservatives did not provide their manifesto pledges in time for publication. However, local party Chairman Nick Brainsby previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) a Tory council would:
- Review all the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) in the borough
- Reduce council tax by 5%
- Boost levels of visible policing across the borough
Green Party
The Green Party's full manifesto can be read online. The local party's policies include:
Housing
- Extending landlord licensing across the entire borough to all rented properties
- Prioritise Community Land Trusts and brownfield sites to deliver high quality mixed housing developments
- Improving repairs and retrofitting in social housing
Communities
- Auditing the council's commercial partners and champion local procurement
- Extending community garden and food-growing programmes
- Full divestment from oil and gas companies and those implicated in international aggression and war crimes
Crime
- Advocating for evidence-based strategies to reduce crime while opposing over-policing
Children & Education
- Campaigning for funding and investment for more youth clubs, play sessions and family activities
- Make these accessible and inclusive for disabled children and those with special educational needs
Health
- Improve access to healthy food and promote 'Planetary Health Diet'
- Campaign for funding for young people's mental health support
Environment & Transport
- Protect parks, trees and green spaces
- Scrap green waste collection charge
Islington Community Independents
Below are some of the key pledges from the Islington Community Independents (ICI). The full list can be read on the group's website.
Housing
- Requiring all wards to have landlord licensing
- Investing in more regular maintenance and repair of council properties
- Increasing the percentage of social housing required in all new developments
Communities
- Reversing recent changes to council constitution
- Funding and supporting voluntary organisations, law centres and community groups
Children & Education
- Ending school exclusions and 'punitive' zero tolerance behaviour policies
- Expanding free school meals funding to all pupils in the borough
Health
- Opposing any cuts or closure of departments at the Whittington Hospital
- Campaigning for all mental health day centres in the borough to be run by Islington Council
Environment & Transport
- Reviewing existing Low Traffic Neighbourhoods deemed 'most problematic'
- Expanding cycle infrastructure and bike storage
- Reviewing and extend taxi card schemes to support disabled and elderly residents
Labour Party
The ruling Labour party has set out its five "core missions" for the next four years, including tackling the housing crisis, the cost of living and empowering communities. The full manifesto pledges can be read on the party website.
Housing
- Maintaining 50% genuinely affordable homes in all new developments
- Investing £388 million in existing council housing stock over the next four years
Communities
- Committing £2.7 million per year of funding to launch a new voluntary and community sector grants programme and guarantee existing funding for core VCS grants until 2030
- A new 'Empowering Residents' fund to support those wanting to take ownership of underused council-owned spaces
Crime
- Creating a £1.9million 'Safer Communities' fund
- Introducing new Public Space Protection Orders to tackle antisocial behaviour hotspots and sexual harassment
- Expanding 24/7 neighbourhood patrols to cover estates and public spaces
Children & Education
- Ensuring all Year 7 students have a laptop or tablet for education
- Build a new library at Vorley Road, Archway and consult on modernising our libraries
Health
- Expanding maternity and baby support services in family hubs and children's centres
- Providing free and low-cost culture and leisure opportunities to support older residents' health and wellbeing
Environment & Transport
- Filling potholes within 72 hours of reporting and investing £12m in road repairs
- Introducing 400 more electric vehicle charging points by 2030
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats, who controlled Islington Council between 1999 and 2006, have not provided a manifesto but provided 10 pledges in a document called Working for Islington. A party spokesperson told the LDRS this will be built on their 2022 manifesto.
Housing
- Empower council tenants to get their homes fixed by allowing them to organise repairs and send council the bill
- Review and if necessary replace all lifts over 30 years old
- Take urgent action to implement new Liberal Democrat-backed laws that would give Islington's leaseholders a better and fairer deal
Communities
- Set up a taskforce to make best use of empty buildings & building sites across the borough for housing, jobs and community use
Crime
- Fight Labour police cuts
- Crack down on phone, bag and bike thefts, with more mobile police patrols and secure bike parking where needed
Environment & Transport
- Installing more pollution sensors on busy roads and outside schools
- Protect greenspaces and drop plans to build on Islington parks
Reform UK
Reform UK is standing candidates in every electoral ward in Islington, but has not released a manifesto. The LDRS contacted the party's local branch to ask about its pledges for the borough, but at the time of publication had not received a response.
The party's key national policies include:
- Immediately leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
- Scrapping indefinite leave to remain for immigrants and rescinding existing awards
- Cutting energy bills by ending net zero policies
- Limiting welfare benefits to British citizens
- Rebuilding the UK armed forces
