Islington's 2026 Local Election: Full Candidate List for All 17 Wards
Islington 2026 Local Election: Full Candidate List

Islington's 2026 Local Elections: A Comprehensive Guide to Candidates and Voting

Residents of Islington are preparing to cast their votes in the London local elections on Thursday, May 7, 2026. This pivotal event will see all 51 seats on the borough council contested, shaping the future of local governance in areas from Arsenal and Clerkenwell to Finsbury Park and Highbury.

Political Landscape and Key Players

Since 2010, Islington has been under Labour control, currently led by Councillor Una O'Halloran. The party enters the campaign with a commanding majority of 44 ward seats. The official opposition is led by Cllr Benali Hamdache and consists of three Green councillors and four ex-Labour independents, who resigned after the 2022 elections and have rebranded as Islington Community Independents.

Major parties such as the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, and Reform UK are fielding candidates in all 17 electoral wards. Additionally, minor parties like the Christian Peoples Alliance and the National Housing Party are standing one candidate each in select areas, adding diversity to the electoral choices.

—
Wide Pickt banner — collaborative shopping lists app for Telegram, phone mockup with grocery list

Full Candidate List by Ward

Below is the detailed list of confirmed candidates for each ward, providing voters with essential information to make informed decisions:

Pickt after-article banner — collaborative shopping lists app with family illustration
  • Arsenal: Candidates include Nicholas Bennett (Conservative), Patrick David Brighty (Green), Nafisah Brown (Green), Jean-Philippe Chenot (Liberal Democrats), Fin Craig (Labour), Thomas Doherty (Labour), Jo Dowbor (Green), John Dunton-Downer (Reform UK), Mark William Edwards (Conservative), Rachael Anne Henry (Conservative), Bashir Ibrahim (Labour), Carol Margaret Louvet (Independent), Ian Mackee (Reform UK), Paul Jeremy Massey (Liberal Democrats), Philip David Middleton (Liberal Democrats), and Harry Ripp (Reform UK).
  • Barnsbury: Features Amelia Rose Bottomley (Green), Rowena Elizabeth Champion (Labour), Michael Benedict Champness (Liberal Democrats), Jilani Chowdhury (Labour), Kane Emerson (Labour), Jeremy Arthur Hargreaves (Liberal Democrats), Erwann Patrick Michel Le Lannou (Liberal Democrats), Christopher Conor McCann (Conservative), Sara Mulatu (Green), Francis O'Brien (Reform UK), Oliver Teller (Conservative), Zak Vora (Conservative), and Lucas Waelbroeck Boix (Green).
  • Bunhill: Includes Sara Abey (Conservative), George Edwin Allan (Liberal Democrats), Susan Beveridge (Liberal Democrats), Valerie Bossman-Quarshie (Labour), Paul James Carr (Conservative), Alan Clark Gutierrez (Green first choice), Troy Martin Gallagher (Labour), Phil Graham (Islington Community Independents - for the Many), John Kenny (Liberal Democrats), Ava Lie (Green), Jake Anthony Painter (Social Democratic Party), Kiran Prasad (Labour), David Shovel (Conservative), David Small (Reform UK), David John Wade (Green), and Andrew Watson (Reform UK).
  • Caledonian: Candidates are Sadia Ahmed-Nur Ali (Green), Pete Backhouse (Conservative), Euan Moir Cameron (Liberal Democrats), Bryony Carney (Green), Alex John Challoner (Conservative), Paul Edmond Convery (Labour), Paul Lovell (Reform UK), Clara Luz (Green), Walera Martynchyk (Liberal Democrats), Edward Mitford (Liberal Democrats), Una Mary O'Halloran (Labour), Chris Pitt (Reform UK), Md Oliur Rahman (Labour), Liz Snaith (Reform UK), and Harrison Woodin-Lygo (Conservative).
  • Canonbury: Features Belinda Ackermann (Independent), James Robert Bacchus (Liberal Democrats), Hayden Banks (Green), Michael Philip Chissick (Conservative), Jason Corke (Reform UK), Laurence Glazier (Reform UK), Clare Jeapes (Labour), Jorge Richard Latter (Green), Haiwei Li (Conservative), Julliet Makhapila (Independent), Manuel Martinez Benito (Conservative), Henry Francis McMorrow (Liberal Democrats), Chris Radway (Green), Tessa Rawcliffe (Reform UK), Barbara Grace Smith (Liberal Democrats), Nicholas Wayne (Labour), and John Jacob Woolf (Labour).
  • Clerkenwell: Includes Alessandro Bonetti (Liberal Democrats), Kevin Chun (Liberal Democrats), Andrew William Clark (Labour), Karen Cooksley Hutchinson (Conservative), Bill Cove (Reform UK), Mark Eldridge (Conservative), Jara Falkenburg (Green), Giulio Ferrini (Green), Ruth Hayes (Labour), Alexander Bruce Lusty (Conservative), Ben Ian Mackmurdie (Labour), Martin Murray (Green), Martine Paulmier (Reform UK), Grant Shimmen (National Housing Party No More Refugees), and Jason Phillip Vickers (Liberal Democrats).
  • Finsbury Park: Candidates are Caroline Jane Allen (Green), Amu Gib (Islington Community Independents - People before Profit), Syreen Hassan (Green), Natalie Jane Koffman (Green), Jonathan Lang (Reform UK), Pauline Lewis (Conservative), Sharon Matthew (Independent), Stephen Mark McMinnies (Conservative), Amelia Sarah Mitford (Liberal Democrats), Portia Mtwakazi Msimang (Labour), Angela Nicolaou (Reform UK), Mick O'Sullivan (Labour), Gulcin Ozdemir (Labour), Edwin David Smith (Liberal Democrats), Daniel Kristen Thomas (Liberal Democrats), Chris Williams (Conservative), and Sadiq Yusuf (Independent).
  • Highbury: Features Michael Comba (Labour), Tahreen Dewan (Labour), Eileen Gallagher (Conservative), Benali Hamdache (Green), Alastair Harper (Labour), Talia Hussain (Green), Rowan Gabriel George James (Liberal Democrats), Philip Geoffrey Kelvin (Conservative), Jon Robert Nott (Green), Carlien Sai (Conservative), Andrew Somerset (Independent), Paul William Symes (Liberal Democrats), Julia Williams (Liberal Democrats), and Joseph Robert Wisepart (Reform UK).
  • Hillrise: Includes Daniel Jude Cohen (Conservative), Jason Devaney (Liberal Democrats), Robert Drummond (Reform UK), William Fitzalan Howard (Conservative), Greg Foxsmith (Green), Philip Anthony Hayden (Liberal Democrats), Mimi Virginia Rose Johnson (Green), Liam Jones (Green), Vicky Laker (Independent), David Patrick Lewis (Conservative), Jan Manderson (Reform UK), Nancy Momoh (Christian Peoples Alliance), Shreya Nanda (Labour), Michelline Safi-Ngongo (Labour), Marian Spall (Labour), Alison May Stoecker (Independent), Imogen Margaret Wall (Liberal Democrats), Callum Laurence Waterhouse (Islington Community Independents - Empowering your Community), and Rupert Wilkinson (Independent).
  • Holloway: Candidates are Bridget Caroline Fox (Liberal Democrats), Jason Jackson (Labour), Ahmed Jaffer (Green), Tim Johnson (Liberal Democrats), Nathaniel Jacob Meyrick Jones (Islington Community Independents - People before Profit), David John Kelly (Liberal Democrats), Claudine Merica Knight (Conservative), Andrew Richard Myer (Green first choice), Christopher Nicholas-Cavendish (Reform UK), George Achilles Papadopoullos (Independent), Joe Peck (Labour), Claire Poyner (Green), Michael Scott (Conservative), Nigel William Roland Watts (Conservative), Claire Louise Zammit (Labour), and Anahita Zardoshti (Islington Community Independents - People before Profit).
  • Junction: Features Oliver Bandosz (Conservative), Nicholas Todd Brainsby (Conservative), Sheila Marion Chapman (Labour), John Clarke (Reform UK), Leon Graham (Green), Benjamin Gregg (Labour), Ufi Ibrahim (Liberal Democrats), Jaro Kubiak (Green), Ruth O'Dowd (Islington Community Independents - People before Profit), Shaun O'Kane (Reform UK), Faith Ruth Obiaka-Hayward (Islington Community Independents - People before Profit), Florence Pollock (Green), James Christopher Potts (Labour), Pat Prendergast (Islington Community Independents - Empowering your Community), Helen Redesdale (Liberal Democrats), Georgia Smith (Reform UK), Sacha Varma (Conservative), and Caspar James Tudor Woolley (Liberal Democrats).
  • Laycock: Includes Sakina Saba Chenot (Liberal Democrats), Ilkay Cinko-Oner (Islington Community Independents - People before Profit), Matthew Charles Grenville Dendy (Liberal Democrats), John Fergus Doherty (Independent), Maia Caitlin Hamilton (Labour), Andrew Harrison (Conservative), Joy Patricia Hinson (Green first choice), Margaret Joseph (Conservative), Rasan Naji (Green), Andrew Parry (Independent), Patricia Muriel Peel (Liberal Democrats), Cheryl Rands (Reform UK), Heather Nicola Staff (Labour), Simon Philip Toms (Conservative), Nurullah Turan (Labour), and Joseph Walker (Green second choice).
  • Mildmay: Candidates are Ray Alcock (Independent), Santiago Bell-Bradford (Labour), Sophia Brown (Green), Jackson Caines (Green), John Cotton (Liberal Democrats), Percy De Vries (Liberal Democrats), Thomas Hamilton (Conservative), Jenny Kay (Labour), Nadine Claire Mellor (Liberal Democrats), Paul Piacenti (Reform UK), Alyson Prince (Conservative), Emma Smith (Reform UK), Carlos Valero (Green), Angelo Ricardo Weekes (Labour), and John Wilkin (Conservative).
  • St Mary's and St James': Features Christopher Allen-Procter (Green), Joseph Andrew Croft (Labour), Alexandra Catherine Eldridge (Conservative), Solveig Herzum (Green), Jonathan Horsman (Conservative), Simon William Johnson (Conservative), Rebecca Jones (Liberal Democrats), Jackie Kay (Green), Michael John King (Reform UK), Hannah Victoria McHugh (Labour), Saiqa Pandor (Labour), Kate Elizabeth Pothalingam (Liberal Democrats), Brian Steve Potter (Independent), and Terry Stacy (Liberal Democrats).
  • St Peter's and Canalside: Includes Vanessa Margaret Carson (Conservative), Jack Gilmore (Conservative), Alexander Gardner Gordon (Green), Simon Miller Groom (Liberal Democrats), Thomas Michael Hartley (Reform UK), Edward Congreve Jenkyns (Liberal Democrats), Bronwen Jones (Green), Martin Geoffrey Klute (Labour), Martin Kristofer Lunnon (Liberal Democrats), James Robert Christopher Mathieson (Conservative), Toby Alexander North (Labour), Rosaline Ifechukwude Ogunro (Labour), and John Anthony Sloboda (Green).
  • Tollington: Candidates are Elmedina Baptista-Mendes (Green), Andrew Sean Brett Brown (Reform UK), Sasha Cuthbert (Reform UK), Lidia Iwona Erlichman (Liberal Democrats), Abbas Hama Fatah (Conservative), Mick Gilgunn (Labour), Kevin Jones (Reform UK), Anjna Khurana (Labour), Alex Nettle (Green), Kevin Gerard O'Neill (Conservative), Nigel Timothy Seay (Conservative), Keith Richard Sharp (Liberal Democrats), Paul Martin Smith (Liberal Democrats), Jonathan Ward (Green), and Flora Suzanne Williamson (Labour).
  • Tufnell Park: Features Sophia Andersson-Gylden (Green), Susan Mary Atkinson (Liberal Democrats), Margaret Emily Currie (Conservative), Satnam Gill (Labour), Sheridan Virginia Kates (Green), Regan Blanton King (Conservative), Axel Michael Koelsch (Liberal Democrats), Stephen Andrew Kreppel (Conservative), Devon Osborne (Green), Dominic Rayner (Reform UK), Rupert Bertram Redesdale (Liberal Democrats), Buffy Sharpe (Labour), Paul Smith (Reform UK), and Jenevieve Marie Treadwell (Labour).

Essential Voting Information

Polling day for the local elections in London is set for Thursday, May 7, 2026. Voters must be aware of key deadlines to ensure their participation:

  1. The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Monday, April 20.
  2. Applications for a postal vote must be submitted by 5pm on Tuesday, April 21.
  3. The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 5pm on Tuesday, April 28.

Residents voting in person will need to present photo ID. Those without acceptable photo ID can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate on GOV.UK, with applications due before 5pm on Tuesday, April 28.

This election represents a critical opportunity for Islington residents to influence local policies and leadership. With a diverse array of candidates across all wards, voters are encouraged to review the lists carefully and participate in shaping their community's future.