A surge of support in Islington has seen 3 Greens elected in Highbury ward and Devon Osborne just miss out in Tufnell Park
Cllr Caroline Russell, the only opposition Councillor elected onto Islington Council over the last eight years, was re-elected with 2282 votes - one of the highest vote totals for any Councillor.
Alongside her, Cllr Benali Hamdache and Cllr Ernestas Jegorovas-Armstrong were elected with over 200 votes more than the next candidates, after narrowly missing out by less than 100 votes in 2018.
In Tufnell Park, Devon Osborne came just 124 votes away from defeating a sitting Labour Councillor.
Across Islington, Green support increased with 33,279 people voting for the Green Party, which represents 22.4% of the vote. This is a 6% increase on the Green vote in 2018, compared to a 6.4% decrease for Labour. The Greens are solidly in second place across the borough and are Labour’s main challenger.
In the Islington North constituency the Green Party came second in every ward. In 2015 Islington North was one of the top performing Green constituencies in the country. This election the Green Party received 27.5% of the vote compared to 55.8% for Labour across Islington North.
Caroline Russell said “I want to thank everyone who voted Green this election. Your support has helped elect a Green opposition to hold our supermajority Labour council to account. We promise to continue to be constructive, celebrating Labour when they get it right but challenging them if they let residents down.
“And there’s lots of things to get working on. Too many council tenants are living in damp and mouldy homes. The council needs to deliver on urgently needed repairs and maintenance. On the Climate Emergency the council needs to catch up and deliver on its promise to reach net zero by 2030..”
Benali Hamdache said “Caroline has been an amazing one woman opposition. She’s exposed millions wasted on unsafe fire doors. She’s won backing for declaring a Climate Emergency. She persuaded the council to cut council tax for the poorest. Highbury voters have appreciated her hard work and decided they want more, a team of Greens elected to represent the area.”
Ernestas Jegorovas-Armstrong said “The surge of Green support across the borough shows that voters aren’t sure about Keir Starmer’s Labour. Many voters feel let down by how the council is run, but also Labour’s stance on refugees and climate. At the next General Election I know many traditional Labour voters will be voting Green in Islington North to send a message that they won’t be taken for granted by Labour.”
Devon Osborne said “I’m really grateful for all the Green votes in Tufnell Park. So many residents made the positive choice to back our party. There are lots of issues I want to keep working on that came up on the doorsteps. Standing up for good quality social housing. Getting residents' concerns heard. Making sure our Labour supermajority council isn’t complacent.”
