Islington Council has pledged its support to The Royal British Legion’s Count Them In campaign, which calls on Government to include questions on the Armed Forces community in the next UK census.

Cllr Gary Poole, Islington Council Armed Forces Champion and St Mary’s Ward councillor, and Cllr Rakhia Ismail, Holloway Ward councillor, moved a motion at a Council meeting last week (15 December) urging Council to formally support the campaign. They praised the courage, service and sacrifice of past and present members of the Armed Forces.

Little is known about the exact numbers, location and needs of the Armed Forces community -; which includes current serving members, veterans and their families. Including new questions on the next census would provide local authorities, charities and public bodies with valuable information to ensure they are delivering the best services for them.

Cllr Gary Poole, Islington Council’s Armed Forces Champion, said: “I am proud that Islington Council has pledged support to this important campaign, and particularly that we are the first North London Borough to do so. We count on our Armed Forces community, so let’s count them in.”

 Cllr Rakhia Ismail, Holloway Ward councillor, added: “It cannot be right that our servicemen and women, veterans and their families are effectively hidden from official statistics. Adding new questions to the next UK census would allow the Council, charities and public bodies to deliver the best services possible for our Armed Forces community.” 

Pictured – Islington Labour councillors, the Mayor of Islington and Islington Veterans Association representative pledge to ‘Count Them In’