Independents aim to take out ‘Labour’s huge majority’ in Islington

Islington Community Independents are hoping to take out “Labour’s huge majority” in the London borough of former party leader Jeremy Corbyn. The Canary spoke to Islington Community Independents nominating officer David Renton to find out more.

How has Islington’s Labour-led council failed local people?

The council gets things wrong when it sees its job as being to pass on to local residents the decisions made by the Labour government. I’ll give you an example – it wasn’t the biggest thing – but it’s so typical of how the council works.

For a decade, housing campaigners have been calling for 28 abandoned flats on Wellington Mews to be turned into social housing. The council always said they couldn’t do anything – the flats were owned by the Ministry of Justice. They promised us we’d get the flats the day Keir Starmer was in Downing Street.

Labour, in government, sold those homes off to a private company.

Labour in Islington did nothing to stop them.

Islington Labour isn’t the same party it was under Corbyn. Many left-wing members left, as did several councillors. Two of our candidates on 7 May were first elected as Labour councillors, but resigned over issues including Labour’s stance on Gaza.

Why is it so important to take a stand in the local elections?

Part of the problem with the council is Labour’s huge majority; 44 of the 51 seats are presently held by Labour, with ICI and the Greens holding 7 between us.

After the election, I’m hoping for a Green and Independent administration. Even if Labour remained the largest party but lost its majority, its critics would have more power than we do now.

How would independents on the council help to ensure greater respect for the voices of ordinary people?

Another measure we opposed was a move by Islington Labour this year to amend its constitution. Under the new measures, campaigns can’t bring deputations to council budget meetings, and officers can reject questions if they “do not relate to the powers or duties of the council”.

Among our ICI candidates are members of groups like ACORN, exactly the people that Islington Labour are saying shouldn’t be allowed into council meetings, and shouldn’t ever get the chance to ask difficult questions.

Our candidates don’t own million-pound homes. They’re students, and people who work with vulnerable children. If we get enough of them elected, we can get those measures reversed.

What are the top priorities you would be pushing hardest on the council?

One local landlord, the Peter Bedford Housing Association, is trying to evict 69 tenants.

One local employer, Capital City College, has plans to make 43 of its employees redundant.

In both cases, the council needs to do all in its power to stop these attacks from proceeding.

What local campaign victory have independents been a key part of?

Our councillors put pressure on Labour to sever all links to companies linked to conflict, genocide, and other human rights abuses.

This year, Labour finally agreed to divest from companies that have been identified by the United Nations as engaged in activities raising human rights concerns in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Getting to that point was the work of Islington PSC, which has repeatedly demonstrated through the borough and outside the Town Hall.

Our councillors played a role, too. They proposed ceasefire motions in 2023 and 2025, and served on a cross-party working group. At every step, they pushed Labour to go further than it wanted.

Which issues have people been mentioning on the doorstep?

The city isn’t getting any more affordable. Voters tell us they can’t afford food, utility bills, even basics like school uniforms.

There’s a lot of anger still about Palestine. One of our candidates, Amu Gib, is a Prisoner for Palestine. They are accused of breaking into an RAF air base and spray-painting two RAF airplanes. They were on hunger strike for 48 days last year about their conditions in prison.

People know Amu’s story; they understand that we’re all about getting fighters elected to the council.

What relationship do you have with Jeremy Corbyn, Your Party, and the local Greens?

Many of our activists got involved in politics for the first time while Corbyn was Labour leader, tried to defend him in Labour, or canvassed for him when he stood as an independent.

Two of our candidates are officers in Islington’s Your Party proto-branch, another one came into politics as a volunteer in his office. If it wasn’t for Corbyn we wouldn’t be standing.

As for the Greens, our councillors have sat as councillors in a joint group with them. We’ve tried not to stand in areas which the Greens hoped to win.

Featured image via the Canary