For the second set of Local Elections in the row, a majority of Islington Labour candidates will be women.
After a borough-wide selection process with Labour party members, Islington Labour will also see the highest ever proportion of candidates from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds with 47% of candidates identifying as BAME.
In 2018, more than half of candidates for Council seats were women, 26. This time, there will be 27 women standing, amounting to 53% of the total. Additionally 12% of our candidates identify as LGBTQ and 20% identify as having a disability.
There will be 12 new candidates in May, nine of those are women and six of them are BAME. This comes after Islington Labour won seven by-elections during the past Council term, with five of those elected identifying as BAME.
51 Islington Labour candidates will be standing for election to the Council on 5th May 2022.
Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Leader of Islington Council, said:
“Islington Labour is determined to make our borough a more equal place and truly represent local people. If we are to make real progress for our residents, it’s vital our councillors reflect our community.
“I’m proud that we have a Labour Group which has majority of women and I am delighted that the candidates we are putting forward this time increase this, especially when nationally only 36% of councillors are women.
“As the first Black woman to be leader of Islington Council, I’m also incredibly proud of the diversity among our Islington Labour candidates. We want local people to be able to see themselves in our Council, and that’s what our slate for 2022 offers.
“We have a talented and diverse group of candidates who are passionate about serving local residents and making our borough a more equal place. We can’t wait to start the campaign and win the support of local people”
Islington Labour’s candidates for the 2022 Local Elections are:
Arsenal – Finella Craig, Bashir Ibrahim and Roulin Khondoker
Barnsbury – Rowena Champion, Jilani Chowdhury and Praful Nargund
Bunhill – Valerie Bossman-Quarshie, Troy Gallagher and Phil Graham
Caledonian – Paul Convery, Sara Hyde and Una O’Halloran
Canonbury – Clare Jeapes, Nick Wayne and John Woolf
Clerkenwell – Ruth Hayes, Ben Mackmurdie and Matt Nathan
Finsbury Park – Gary Heather , Mick O’Sullivan and Asima Shaikh
Highbury – Minda Burgos-Lukes, Talal Karim and Sue Lukes
Hillrise – Dave Poyser, Michelline Safi Ngongo and Marian Spall
Holloway – Jason Jackson, Diarmaid Ward and Claire Zammit
Junction – Janet Burgess, Sheila Chapman and Kaya Comer-Schwartz
Laycock – Ilkay Cinko Oner, Heather Staff and Nurullah Turan
Mildmay – Santiago Bell-Bradford, Jenny Kay and Angelo Weekes
St Mary’s & St James’ – Joe Croft, Hannah McHugh and Saiqa Pandor
St Peter’s & Canalside – Martin Klute, Toby North and Rosaline Ogunro
Tollington – Mick Gilgunn, Anjna Khurana and Flora Williamson
Tufnell Park – Tricia Clarke, Satnam Gill and Gulcin Ozdemir