Key Points
- Islington residents go to the polls on Thursday, 7 May 2026, to choose who will run the borough council, with all 51 seats up for election.
- Labour currently holds 44 of the 51 seats and is expected to remain the biggest party, but the Greens are viewed as its main challenger.
- The Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Reform UK are fielding candidates across every ward, while smaller groups and independents are contesting selected areas.
- Islington Labour’s 2026 manifesto centres on five “core missions”, including housing, safety, the cost of living and stronger communities.
- The Liberal Democrats have not published a full manifesto but have set out 10 pledges under the banner “Working for Islington”.
- Candidate lists published by Islington Council show a broad field of party and independent candidates across the borough’s wards.
- BBC reporting notes that turnout in 2022 was 36% and that there was a 5.4% swing from Labour to the Greens, while Labour still retained a dominant position.
Londoners (The Londoner News) May 6, 2026 – with Islington voters deciding who should run their borough council amid a contest shaped by Labour’s large majority, Green ambition, and opposition parties trying to make local gains.
Why is Islington being watched closely?
As reported by the BBC’s local elections coverage, Islington is one of the boroughs where Labour’s grip remains strong, but where the Greens have been building momentum.
The borough has 51 council seats, and Labour currently holds 44 of them, which makes any opposition breakthrough politically significant even if it does not threaten immediate control.
The Standard said Labour is bracing for possible losses across London, particularly in inner London, and that Islington is part of that wider story.
What are the main parties promising?
As reported by the Islington Labour campaign, the party’s 2026 manifesto sets out five core missions: ensuring decent and genuinely affordable homes, creating a safer and cleaner borough, tackling the cost of living, making Islington a place to grow up and grow old, and continuing to support diverse communities.
The same manifesto includes commitments such as a 100% decent homes standard for council housing by 2030, maintaining 50% genuinely affordable homes in new developments, investing £388 million in existing council housing, and expanding selective landlord licensing with more enforcement officers.
The Liberal Democrats, according to their local campaign page and The Standard, have not produced a full manifesto for 2026 but have published 10 pledges under “Working for Islington”.
Party chair and leading candidate Kate Pothalingam said the party would stand by policies it had set out in 2022 and focus on basic services, environmental protection and value for money. The Standard also reported that the Liberal Democrats say their current plans build on their 2022 manifesto.
What do the Greens and others stand for?
The Standard identified the Greens as Labour’s main rival in Islington and said the party is expecting a strong result. BBC reporting likewise highlighted the Greens as the party making the clearest challenge to Labour’s local dominance, while noting that Labour is still likely to keep control.
The broader election context published by Islington Council shows Green candidates standing in many wards, including Arsenal, Barnsbury, Bunhill, Caledonian, Canonbury, Clerkenwell, Finsbury Park, Highbury, Hillrise, Holloway, Junction, Laycock, Mildmay, St Mary’s and St James’, St Peter’s and Canalside, Tollington and Tufnell Park.
Reform UK is also contesting all wards, according to The Standard and the council’s candidate list, while the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are doing the same borough-wide. Smaller groups and independents are also present in several wards, including Islington Community Independents, the Social Democratic Party, the Christian Peoples Alliance, the National Housing Party No More Refugees, and a range of independent candidates.
Who is standing in your ward?
Islington Council’s official nominations page provides the full ward-by-ward candidate list, which is the most reliable way to check who is on your ballot paper. In Arsenal, for example, voters will see candidates from the Conservatives, Greens, Liberal Democrats, Labour, Reform UK and an Independent.
In Bunhill and Junction, the ballot includes Labour, Greens, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Reform UK and local independents, showing how competitive some wards may be even when the overall council picture remains favourable to Labour.
The same pattern appears across the borough: Labour is defending strong territory in wards such as Highbury, Mildmay and St Peter’s and Canalside, while the Greens are particularly visible in north and central Islington wards, and the Liberal Democrats have a significant presence in many areas. That means the practical “who should I vote for?” answer depends heavily on the ward, because the candidate mix is not identical everywhere.
What happened last time?
BBC coverage of the 2022 council election said turnout in Islington was 36%, and that there had been a 5.4% swing from Labour to the Greens. Labour still won 48 seats in the earlier council configuration, with the Greens taking three, and boundary changes have since increased the total number of seats to 51. The BBC also noted that four Labour councillors now sit as independents.
Is Labour still favoured?
The Standard said Labour’s majority in Islington is “hefty” and that the party is expected to keep control of the local authority. BBC commentary quoted Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics as saying that while Islington is associated with Jeremy Corbyn and Your Party, it is still dominated by Labour and is unlikely to be overturned by an alliance of Greens, independents and Corbyn-aligned figures. That makes a full Labour collapse unlikely, but does not rule out opposition gains in selected wards.
How should voters assess the choice?
For voters, the key question is less about a borough-wide takeover and more about which party is best placed to deliver on local priorities in their ward. The main dividing lines in this contest are housing, council services, the environment, the cost of living and neighbourhood standards. Labour is asking voters to reward continuity and its long record in the borough, while the Greens are presenting themselves as the strongest challenger, and the Liberal Democrats are pitching competence and local service delivery.
A simple way to read the ballot is to compare the party promises with the issues that matter most in your area, then check the council’s official candidate list for the names standing in your ward. In a borough with many wards and a wide spread of candidates, local detail matters more than national headlines.
