General Election 2024 London seats: Who will be my MP in Islington South and Finsbury?
Millions of voters across London will go to the polls on July 4 to elect the new Government. The Standard is looking at key battleground seats in the capital. Here we turn the spotlight on:
ISLINGTON SOUTH AND FINSBURY
Estimated declaration time 3am
Candidates of major parties (in alphabetical order):
Max Jefferson Nelson – Reform UK
Carne Ross – Green
Imogen Alice Sinclair – Conservative
Terry Stacy – Liberal Democrat
Emily Thornberry – Labour
Summary:
Emily Thornberry, Labour’s shadow Attorney General, has held this seat since 2005. At the last general election, she retook it with a large but slightly reduced majority of 17,328.
Note that at the last election the Liberal Democrats overtook the Conservatives as second place finishers here, though by less than 1,500 votes.
Lib Dems now pitch themselves as the clear alternative to Labour here and Conservatives argue it is a three-horse race. In reality this seat, which has been safe Labour territory since its creation in 1974, is likely to remain uncompetitive for the challenger parties (and there are more of them than usual this year, with the Social Democratic Party, Party of Woman and Trade Union & Socialist Coalition all standing).
The seat is a stark mix of metropolitan affluence and urban poverty, combining some of the highest house prices in the city (average prices here are over twice the London average) with pockets of deprivation.
Area: The Islington wards of Barnsbury, Bunhill, Caledonian, Canonbury, Clerkenwell, Holloway, Laycock, St Mary’s & St James’s, St Peter’s & Canalside, plus the Hackney ward of De Beauvoir.
I’m not sure if I’m in this constituency: Here’s how you can check
Boundary changes impact (Thrasher and Rallings analysis): Boundary changes have added the Hackney ward of De Beauvoir to the Islington South and Finsbury constituency. According to analysis by Thrasher and Rallings, this has given Labour a small boost. At the 2019 General Election, the result was 56.3 per cent Labour, 20 per cent Liberal Democrat and 16.8 per cent Conservative. The changes would have made it 57 per cent Labour, 19.7 per cent Liberal Democrat and 16.3 per cent Conservative.
YouGov MRP poll prediction: Labour hold
Evening Standard view: This seat is safe Labour territory. However, it will be interesting to see if the Liberal Democrats manage to solidify their tentative place as the main challengers to Labour here. Plus we will be watching the performance of the Greens and other Left-wing challengers to see if disaffection with Labour’s policy on Gaza and other issues translates into desertion by previously reliable voters.
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