The seat includes the densely populated and multicultural neighbourhoods of Finsbury Park, Highbury, Canonbury, Archway, Tufnell Park and the northern part of Holloway. Electoral Calculus categorises the seat as being part of the “Strong Left” demographic, those who have very economically left wing and socially liberal views, and have an internationalist outlook including strong opposition to Brexit: only 21.6% of Islington North voted for Brexit in 2016, indicating that it is a heavily pro-Remain area.[4]
Despite high incomes and house prices, around 52% of the constituency is deprived, in terms of employment, income and education, mirroring the national average. The average age is 42.5, at least 36% of the local population owns a car, whilst 31% own a home, which are both considerably low in comparison to the rest of the UK, and the gross household income is £52,102.[5]Arsenal Football Club is located in the seat.
At the next redistribution of seats by the Representation of the People Act 1948 the constituency was again defined as Tollington, Tufnell and Upper Holloway wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington, with boundaries as they existed at the end of 1947.[7][9]
In 1965 local government in Greater London was reorganised, with the formation of London boroughs. The changes were reflected in parliamentary boundaries from 1974. The London Borough of Islington was divided into three constituencies. Islington North was defined as comprising seven wards: Highview, Hillmarton, Hillrise, Junction, Parkway, St. George's and Station.[7][10]
In 1983 the parliamentary representation of Islington was reduced to two constituencies. The new, enlarged, Islington North was formed from ten wards of the borough as they existed in February 1983. These were Gillespie, Highbury, Highview, Hillrise, Junction, Mildmay, Quadrant, St. George's, Sussex and Tollington wards.[11]
In 1997 there were only slight boundary changes, with the constituency defined as the same ten wards with their boundaries as they existed on 1 June 1994.[12]
From 2010 until 2022, the constituency comprised the following eight electoral wards: Finsbury Park, Highbury East, Highbury West, Hillrise, Junction, Mildmay, St. George's and Tollington.[14]
Following a review of local authority ward boundaries which came into effect on 4 May 2022, the seat now comprises the following eight London Borough of Islington wards: Arsenal; Finsbury Park; Highbury; Hillrise; Junction; Mildmay; Tollington; Tufnell Park.
These boundaries have been considerably changed since 1970, when Islington returned three MPs and shared another with Hackney. This reflects the depopulation of central London on a lowering of adult occupancy of households and the local authority has replaced tower blocks. The core of the constituency was the area north of Seven Sisters Road and Camden Road. At 7.35 square kilometres (2.84 sq mi), it is the smallest UK Parliamentary constituency.[16] At the Fifth periodic review of Westminster constituencies begun in 2012 the seat was approximately 1,300 electors below the electoral quota and the highest concentration of elector density nationally. The criteria of successive reviews emphasise equal electorates as well as restricting seats to one or, if unavoidable, two local authority areas.[17]
The constituency was held by the Labour Party without interruption from a by-election in 1937 until former Labour member and leader Jeremy Corbyn won it as an independent in 2024. From 1945 to 2019, Labour's smallest majority was 10.4% of the vote, in a by-election in 1969, on a very low turnout.
As a Labour candidate, Corbyn had his smallest majority (15.3%) in 1983, when he was first elected, and his largest (60.5%) in 2017, when he was leader of the party. In the ten elections since Corbyn began representing the constituency, the Conservatives have finished in second place five times while the Liberal Democrats have also been runners up on five occasions. The 2015 result made the seat the 26th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.[18]
In the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union, the constituency voted remain by 78.4%. This was the fifth highest support for remain for a constituency.[19]
A short film was made about the 1969 by-election. This highlighted the importance of the local Irish community, the poor local housing conditions (the opening line talks of "a crowded, crumbling constituency") and the relatively low turn-outs at previous elections. The film is now available through British Pathé Archive.[45]
Michael O'Halloran, elected Labour MP for Islington North in 1969, was the subject of an investigation in the early-1970s by The Sunday Times newspaper. They highlighted his background with a local building company and the local Irish community and queried the tactics of his supporters during his selection as candidate.
O'Halloran defected to the SDP in September 1981, as did both of the other Islington MPs. However the Boundary Commission cut the number of constituencies in Islington from three to two. O'Halloran sought selection as the SDP candidate for the revised Islington North constituency but the local SDP association selected John Grant, then-SDP (elected as Labour) MP for Islington Central, as their official candidate. In February 1983, O'Halloran resigned his membership of the SDP and sat in Parliament as an "Independent Labour" member, supporting the Parliamentary Labour Party. Despite this, he failed to regain the Labour Party nomination for the 1983 general election and he was defeated by the new Labour candidate, Jeremy Corbyn, and finished in fourth place with 11.1% of the vote.
Corbyn defeated Paul Boateng for the Labour Party selection. Boateng subsequently became the first Black Cabinet Minister in the UK.
^Redistribution Of Seats Act, 1885. Sixth Schedule. Divisions Of Boroughs. Number, Names, Contents, And Boundaries Of Divisions.
^ abcdYoungs Jr., Frederic A. (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. pp. 743, 746, 749. ISBN0-901050-67-9.
^Representation Of The People Act 1918. Ninth Schedule. Redistribution Of Seats.
^Representation Of The People Act 1948, First Schedule. Parliamentary Constituencies.
^The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970 (S.I. 1970/1674).
^The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983 (S.I. 1983/417).
Iain Dale, ed. (2003). The Times House of Commons 1929, 1931, 1935. Politico's (reprint). ISBN1-84275-033-X.
The Times House of Commons 1945. 1945. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
The Times House of Commons 1950. 1950. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
The Times House of Commons 1955. 1955. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN0-900178-06-X.
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