Islington North candidates set out their pitch to voters

The latest YouGov MRP poll puts the race in Islington North as a toss-up between incumbent Jeremy Corbyn, now running as an independent, and Labour's candidate, Islington councillor Praful Nargund.

But there are also five other candidates running in the constituency, eager for your votes. 

To help you make your decision, we have pu together a guide explaining who the candidates are and what they stand for, in their own words.

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Vikas Aggarwal – Liberal Democrats

Vikas Aggarwal – Liberal Democrats (Image: Islington Liberal Democrats)

It has been an enormous privilege to be the Liberal Democrat candidate here in Islington North.

It’s clear from countless conversations on the door that voters are looking for change, both locally and nationally.

We’re not even talking about the Conservatives anymore as it's clear they are on their way out.

People are fed up with a dysfunctional local Labour Party which has thrust upon them a candidate they didn’t choose; a candidate which couldn’t be bothered to turn up to the housing or climate hustings and face proper scrutiny; a candidate that is on record stating he wants to increase privatisation of healthcare.

Much like the residents of Islington, the last thing I want is a Labour superstate full of complacency and failure: a Labour council which has failed on building and maintaining affordable safe housing, a Labour Mayor who doesn’t listen and has failed on crime, and a future Labour government which is keeping the Tory’s cruel two-child benefit cap.

Can we really trust a yes-man Labour MP to challenge a Labour government on any of the issues Islington residents are facing? I don’t think we can.

It is clear that the only progressive option is the Liberal Democrats, a party that is putting people first, through our plans for carers and dentists, mental health practitioners in schools, a full commitment to protecting the environment, helping small businesses and those on the lowest incomes, and the largest combined private and social housing target of any party.

Jeremy Corbyn – Independent

Jeremy Corbyn - Independent (Image: Parliament)

I was first elected to Parliament for Islington North in 1983, and in all those years we, the community, have had many, many campaigns.

We’ve defended and supported the Whittington Hospital. We prevented the widening of Holloway Road and construction of a motorway through north London. We’ve achieved great things, like Gillespie Park. We’ve had a lot of council housing built. We’ve achieved some fantastic victories together and that is what being the local MP is all about.

This country has become more divided than ever. There are more people living in desperate poverty than I've ever known. Young people can't get anywhere to live. People with children living in a very overcrowded place, people in the private rented sector facing high rents and insecurity.

We're not going to end any of this without fundamental change. Fundamental redistribution of power and of wealth. Public ownership of water, mail energy companies. Other countries manage to control rent and control the private rented sector, why can't we? A health service that isn't the plaything of global corporations trying to take it over, but it's our health service, for us.

We need a politics that represents an alternative to the horrible, corrupt, arid years of this Tory government. Whoever the prime minister is, I'll be holding them to account.

40 years ago, I promised the people of Islington North that I would fight for peace, for justice, democracy and fairness in our society. I say it again, that's what I'm going to do.

Karen Anne Harries – Conservative and Unionist Party

Karen Anne Harries – Conservative and Unionist Party (Image: Karen Harries)

I have lived in north London for more than 25 years and am a full time working mother with two young daughters. I understand the issues families face and am committed to working hard for residents. If you believe in conservative values and that the country is safer under a Conservative government – vote for Karen.

Islington is now one of the most dangerous boroughs in London, with a crime rate 9% higher than the average. Knife crime alone has risen by 21% over the past year. My priority is to make streets safer for residents. Conservative policy is to put 80,000 more bobbies on the beat nationally.

Petty crime, shoplifting, littering and public drug use are all sadly a daily feature of our lives. I pledge to work hard to see that petty crime is dealt with effectively by ending the current "soft" approach to these issues and ensuring that existing laws are enforced.

In 2023, the Housing Ombudman criticised Islington Council for its poor record on maintenance and repair of council housing. This neglect is an issue often raised by local residents. I will hold the council to account on this issue and ensure that the council honours its commitments to improve the quality of council housing.

LTNs are causing chaos in Islington North. Labour is ignoring the voices of local people who have had their lives negatively impacted by the unnecessary roll out of LTNs. I promise to be the voice of the people and to work to stop any further LTNs and hold an independent review of all existing LTN schemes.

Paul Dominic Josling - Independent

Islington Gazette could not find any contact details for this candidate. If Mr Josling would like to be included, he is welcome to get in touch.

Sheridan Kates – Green Party

Sheridan Kates – Green Party (Image: Sheridan Kates)

I've lived in Islington for the past few years, near Highbury Corner, and I work at a fantastic community co-working space, Space4, in Finsbury Park. My background is in tech, from Big Tech companies to small startups, but recently, I’m pursuing a career change into economic policy.

I was drawn to the Green Party as the only political party in the UK that recognises that the root causes of the cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis are the same. The Green Party would immediately advocate for policies to address those causes.

We’d invest in renewable energy and retrofitting homes to achieve net zero as soon as possible, reducing energy bills through public ownership of these resources. We’d introduce rent controls and a massive social housing programme. Additionally, we’d increase Universal Credit, disability and carers' allowances, provide free school meals, and scrap the two-child benefit cap and the bedroom tax.

Most importantly, I will fight to change the narrative that we don’t have the money to carry out these important plans. The Government doesn’t have to balance its budget like a household and has unique powers to invest in our collective future. The real question is whether we have the people and resources to do what is needed—and where there are shortages, we could fund free training, or build up productive capacity, like converting Port Talbot Steelworks into a publicly-owned green steel facility. We must harness our public money and have a much greater say in how it is used.

Praful Nargund – Labour Party

Praful Nargund - Labour Party (Image: London Labour)

I’m very focused on running a campaign that will change the lives of people in Islington North, with a Labour government and a Labour MP.

I’m an Islington councillor, I’ve been a campaigner, and I’ve seen the damage that the Tories have done here over 14 years – their failure, their chaos, their indifference to our community.

From my perspective, I saw my life transformed under the last Labour government and I want to ensure the people in Islington North get that change as well.

Whether that’s our housing crisis, that Labour has a plan to solve, or bringing the cost of energy down with GB energy.

Or getting our waiting lists down on the Whittington Hospital. Every day, I’m talking to people who are waiting for treatment, sometimes in chronic pain.

As a local campaigning constituency Labour MP for Islington North, I would be on the ground as I am now, listening to the residents, holding my surgeries, talking to them, and fixing their problems, where I can.

I’m going to do things a little bit differently too. I’ve got a plan to bring together our unions, our employers, our colleges, to come up with a local skills plan so our young people can access the jobs of the future.

So many of our problems in Islington North are structural, they need national government policy changes and a Labour MP with a seat at the table that can work as part of the Labour team.

Martyn Nelson – Reform

Islington Gazette approached Reform UK to be included, but did not receive a response.