Islington North in the 2024 United Kingdom general election

Last updated

2024 United Kingdom general election in Islington North
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
  2019 4 July 2024 Next  

Islington North constituency
Turnout67.5% (Decrease2.svg4.1 pp)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Official portrait of Jeremy Corbyn MP crop 2, 2024.jpg
Lab
Grn
Candidate Jeremy Corbyn Praful NargundSheridan Kates
Party Independent Labour Green
Popular vote24,12016,8732,660
Percentage49.2%34.4%5.4%
SwingIncrease2.svg 49.2 pp Decrease2.svg 29.2 pp Decrease2.svg 2.6 pp

MP before election

Jeremy Corbyn
Independent

Elected MP

Jeremy Corbyn
Independent

An election took place in the north London constituency of Islington North on 4 July 2024, [1] as part of the 2024 general election. Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party, won the seat by standing as an independent against the official Labour Party candidate, with a majority of 7,247.

Contents

Corbyn was not allowed to stand for re-election as a Labour candidate by new Labour leader Keir Starmer following his suspension from the party in 2020. Labour's National Executive Committee said the decision was made due to Corbyn claiming that antisemitism in the party under his leadership was overstated by the media. Corbyn has repeatedly condemned antisemitism and denied he holds any racist views. [2] [3] [4] After announcing he would stand as an independent candidate at the election, Corbyn was fully expelled from the Labour Party. [5] [6] The Islington Tribune , a local newspaper, described the Islington North election as something we "have not seen before in our lives". [7]

On election day, Corbyn won the election, with a majority of over 7,000.

Background

Media speculation that Corbyn would contest the 2024 general election as an Independent was reported in October 2023. [8] [9] Despite reports of "unanimous support" from his Constituency Labour Party (CLP), [10] Corbyn was not permitted to stand as a Labour parliamentary candidate. After announcing on 24 May 2024 that he would stand as an independent parliamentary candidate for Islington North, he was expelled from the Labour Party. [11] [6]

Local councillor and entrepreneur Praful Nargund was selected as the Labour candidate. He denied that his selection had been undemocratic, saying "things needed to get off the ground quickly" after the snap general election was called. [12] While a motion thanking Corbyn for his service and supporting the "democratic right to select our MP" was passed by the Islington North constituency Labour Party in a May 2023 meeting, [10] it was reported that some local Labour members did not support Corbyn. The Win Islington North group, composed of over 100 local Labour Party members, criticised Corbyn's campaign as an independent candidate and pledged support for Nargund. [13]

Corbyn endorsements

Corbyn was endorsed by Mick Lynch of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers. [14] [15] Left wing parties such as the Socialist Workers Party [16] and Transform Party [17] also endorsed him, as did The Muslim Vote [18] and locally Mohammed Kozbar, general secretary of Finsbury Park Mosque. [19]

Campaign

The Green Party in the constituency decided to make the election "as boring as possible". [20]

The Conservative and Labour candidate refused to take part in a hustings on healthcare, forcing its cancellation. [21] Praful Nargund, the Labour candidate, kept a low profile during the campaign and restricted his media interviews to a small handful. [22]

On 19 June, Alison McGarry, the chairperson of the Islington North CLP, resigned after being spotted campaigning for Corbyn. [23] [24] On 28 June, leading members of the Islington North Labour Party signed a letter announcing they were resigning, or willing to be expelled, to campaign for Jeremy Corbyn, stating they were "denied the right to choose our own candidate". Signatories of the letter including McGarry, two vice chairs, an assistant secretary and constituency secretary. [25]

Because of the unusual nature of the Islington North election, in mid-June data journalist Ell Folan attempted to raise £7000 via crowdfunding to pay for a local poll of voting intentions. [7] The campaign was successful, and the poll was released on 25 June, putting Labour on a 14-point lead over Corbyn. [26]

A few days before election day, Corbyn was reported to be having difficulty getting the message out that he was standing as an Independent and not the Labour Party candidate, though it was claimed he and his supporters had visited 25–30,000 addresses in the constituency. [27]

Nargund visited Whittington Hospital in the last week of the campaign, meeting senior staff. He pledged to step back from his business activities if he was elected as MP. [22]

Opinion polling

Dates
conducted
PollsterClientSample
size
Lab. Corbyn (Ind.) [a] Lib. Dems Con. Green Ref. OthersLead
4 Jul2024 2024 general election 34.4%49.2%3.4%4.0%5.4%3.5%0.4%14.8
20–25 Jun2024 Survation Stats for Lefties 51443%29%7%6%7%6%2%14
12 Dec2019 2019 general election 64.3%15.6%10.2%8.0%1.4%0.4%48.7

Results

General election 2024: Islington North [28]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Jeremy Corbyn 24,120 49.2 N/A
Labour Praful Nargund16,87334.4–29.9
Green Sheridan Kates2,6605.4–2.6
Conservative Karen Harries1,9504.0–6.2
Reform UK Martyn Nelson1,7103.5+2.1
Liberal Democrats Vikas Aggarwal1,6613.4–12.2
Independent Paul Josling320.1+0.1
Majority7,24714.8N/A
Turnout 49,00667.5−4.1
Registered electors 72,582
Independent gain from Labour

A heckler shouted "unlucky mate" as the Labour Party vote was announced. After the results were announced and Corbyn was declared winner, he gave a victory speech saying the constituency had voted for a "kinder, gentler, more inclusive politics". [29] It was the first time Islington North had failed to elect a Labour MP since the 1930s. [29]

Previous result

General election 2019: Islington North [30] [31]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Jeremy Corbyn 34,603 64.3 −8.7
Liberal Democrats Nick Wakeling8,41515.6+6.6
Conservative James Clark5,48310.2−2.3
Green Caroline Russell 4,3268.0+3.9
Brexit Party Yosef David7421.4N/A
Monster Raving Loony Nick The Incredible Flying Brick2360.4+0.2
Majority26,18848.7−11.8
Turnout 53,80571.6−1.8
Registered electors 75,162
Labour hold Swing

Notes

  1. Corbyn stood for the Labour Party in the 2019 election.

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