Islington South and Finsbury (UK Parliament constituency)

UK constituency infobox alt
Name = Islington South and Finsbury


Type = Borough
Entity = Greater London
DivisionType = County
Division = Greater London
Year = 1974
MP = Emily Thornberry
Party = Labour
EP = London

Islington South and Finsbury is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

The seat covers the southern part of the London Borough of Islington, including Barnsbury, Canonbury, parts of Holloway and Kings Cross and the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury, which includes Bunhill, Pentonville and Clerkenwell.

Member of Parliament

*1974 - 1983: George Cunningham, Labour then Social Democrat
*1983 - 2005: Chris Smith, Labour
*2005 - present: Emily Thornberry, Labour

Election results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Emily Thornberry
votes =
percentage =
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Bridget Fox
votes =
percentage =
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Green Party of England and Wales
candidate = James Humphreys
votes =
percentage =
change =

Election box begin
title=General Election 2005: Islington South and FinsburyElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Emily Thornberry
votes = 12,345
percentage = 39.9
change = -14.0Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Bridget Fox
votes = 11,861
percentage = 38.3
change = +10.2Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Melanie McLean
votes = 4,594
percentage = 14.8
change = +1.1Election box candidate with party link
party = Green Party of England and Wales
candidate = James Humphreys
votes = 1,471
percentage = 4.8
change = N/AElection box candidate with party link
party = United Kingdom Independence Party
candidate = Patricia Theophanides
votes = 470
percentage = 1.5
change = N/AElection box candidate with party link
party = Official Monster Raving Loony Party
candidate = Andy the Hat Gardner
votes = 189
percentage = 0.6
change = N/AElection box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Chris Gidden
votes = 31
percentage = 0.1
change = N/AElection box majority
votes = 484
percentage = 1.6
change = Election box turnout
votes = 30,961
percentage = 53.6
change = +6.2Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing = -12.1

Election box begin
title=General Election 2001: Islington South & FinsburyElection box candidate with party link
party = Labour Party (UK)
candidate = Chris Smith
votes = 15,217
percentage = 53.9
change = -8.6Election box candidate with party link
party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
candidate = Keith Sharp
votes = 7,937
percentage = 28.1
change = +6.8Election box candidate with party link
party = Conservative Party (UK)
candidate = Nicky Morgan
votes = 3,860
percentage = 13.7
change = +0.7Election box candidate with party link
party = Socialist Alliance (England)
candidate = Janine Booth
votes = 817
percentage = 2.9
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Thomas McCarthy
votes = 276
percentage = 1.0
change = +0.5Election box candidate
party = Stuckist Party
candidate = Charles Thomson
votes = 108
percentage = 0.4
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 7,280
percentage = 25.8
change = Election box turnout
votes = 28,215
percentage = 47.4
change = -16.3Election box hold with party link
winner = Labour Party (UK)
swing =

References

Politics and history of the constituency

Islington was an early stronghold for the Social Democratic Party in which all three sitting Labour MPs defected to the party together with a majority of the Borough Council. However, in the 1983 general election Labour managed to retain the constituency narrowly. The new MP, Chris Smith, was the first MP to come out as gay and was identified with the Labour left, and kept the seat with a slight increase in his majority in 1987. By 1992 the Liberal Democrats had faded and no longer had the former MP as a candidate and Smith managed a five figure majority.

The Liberal Democrat revival in local elections in Islington, which saw them take control of the council in 2000, began to translate to Parliamentary elections in 2001. In 2002, the Liberal Democrats won every council seat in Islington South & Finsbury, and Smith's subsequent retirement and the resultant loss of incumbency made the constituency vulnerable once again in 2005. However Smith's successor, Emily Thornberry, retained the seat with a narrow majority (484 votes) over the Liberal Democrat challenger, [http://www.bridgetfox.org.uk/ Bridget Fox] . The seat is now one of the ten most marginal in the UK. However, in the local council elections a year later, Labour experienced something of a resurgence and won a majority of the seats in Islington South & Finsbury, defeating both Bridget Fox and the then council leader [http://www.lda.gov.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.488 Steve Hitchins] .

See also

* [http://www.epolitix.com/EN/MPWebsites/Emily+Thornberry The sitting MP's website]
* List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London
* List of Parliamentary constituencies in Islington