SURPRISE, JOY AND DISAPPOINTMENT IN ISLINGTON NORTH
The political landscape has been changed across the country following the general election - and this also goes for one part of London, despite the local representative remaining exactly the same.
Jeremy Corbyn very nearly scooped up half of the vote in Islington North to win this seat for the 11th time - but it's his first victory as an independent candidate rather than Labour, the party he once led.
Labour’s Praful Nargund finished more than 7,000 votes behind the 75-year-old's final tally of 24,120.
The former Labour leader is now due to serve here until close to the end of the decade - and most of the people I speak to outside Finsbury Park Tube station have positive views on his victory.
Mr Corbyn was suspended as a Labour MP in 2020 for his response to a report into anti-Semitism in the party.
Amid the shifting political sands, local voters Cameron McPheely and Georgie Lusty are escaping to Portugal for a beach holiday.
“On the one hand, I’m surprised,” Mr McPheely says. “As an independent with first past the post, it was a bit of a long shot but Jeremy’s got a strong sway here. He’s loved here. Fair play to him.”
Ms Lusty says she is “more disappointed” but also “not surprised".
She added: “Corbyn’s team were out canvassing and had a lot of people knocking on doors. I’m not sure we had the same for Labour to be honest.”
In his victory speech, Mr Corybn said his victory showed what "kinder, gentler and more sensible, more inclusive politics, can bring about".
Robbie Taylorhunt said Mr Corbyn's 49% vote share was an impressive feat.
He said: "It's great to see an independent get a vote and it be about the person supporting the area rather than necessarily being about party politics.
"It's been seen a lot of times that someone loses their party seat and goes as an independent and it doesn't work.
"It's pretty remarkable that it has been successful for him and shows that he has a huge groundswell of support, in this area at least."
One man on his way to hail a bus at Finsbury Park station says: “There was no way we’d elect an imposed [Labour] candidate.
“Jeremy Corbyn’s team were relentless at knocking on doors,” he added.
"I'm thrilled," Fay Hodgson, who lives in the neighbouring constituency of Tottenham, says. "I'm really really happy about it.
"We're all very much behind Jeremy Corbyn. He's a really principled MP, he's been serving the community for 40 years.
"He's done a fantastic job and everyone here is just really happy to see him back.
"You can see the support in the shop fronts," she added.
"It's amazing, I'm so glad Labour won," says another woman near Mr Corybn's home.
"I love Jeremy Corbyn, he's the best."
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2024-07-05T09:08:17Z dg43tfdfdgfd