# Islington South and Finsbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Islington South and Finsbury is a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Emily Thornberry of the Labour Party. Thornberry served as Shadow Foreign Secretary from 2016 until 2020 and as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales from 2021 to 2024.

## Constituency profile

This densely populated seat covers Barnsbury, part of Highbury, Islington proper, and Clerkenwell and Finsbury adjoining the City. It contains many desirable apartments and townhouses as well as 20th century social housing developments.
The borough constituency has been described as "the natural habitat of the hypocritical, well-off, ostensibly liberal chattering classes" including higher earners, leaders in the public sector, critics, entertainers, writers and former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson. Despite this reputation for liberal affluence there is also significant deprivation in the constituency and its neighbour Islington North.

## Boundaries

The seat covers the southern part of the London Borough of Islington, including Barnsbury, Canonbury, major parts of Holloway, Kings Cross and the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury, which includes Bunhill, Pentonville and Clerkenwell. From 2024, it also includes the De Beauvoir Town neighbourhood in the Borough of Hackney.
1974–1983: The London Borough of Islington wards of Barnsbury, Bunhill, Clerkenwell, Pentonville, St Mary, St Peter, and Thornhill.
1983–2010: As above, save that Pentonville was abolished and Canonbury East, Canonbury West, Hillmarton, Holloway were created or added to the seat.
2010–2024: The London Borough of Islington wards of Barnsbury, Bunhill, Caledonian, Canonbury, Clerkenwell, Holloway, St Mary's and St Peter's.
2024–present: The London Borough of Hackney ward of De Beauvoir, and the London Borough of Islington wards of Barnsbury, Bunhill, Caledonian, Canonbury, Clerkenwell, Holloway, Laycock, St Mary's & St James', and St Peter's & Canalside.
    Expanded to bring its electorate within the permitted range by adding the Borough of Hackney ward of De Beauvoir. The area within the Borough of Islington was unchanged, but following a review of local authority ward boundaries which came into effect on 4 May 2022, some of the ward names have been modified.

## History

Islington South and Finsbury was created in 1974 from part of the former Islington South West and Shoreditch and Finsbury constituencies. In 1983, its boundaries changed when the Islington Central constituency was abolished and its area split between Islington South and Finsbury and Islington North.
Islington was an early stronghold for the SDP. All three sitting Labour MPs defected to the party together with a majority of the borough council. This was at the time when the Labour Party voted for in Conference leaving the EEC (Common Market) and abolishing nuclear weapons during the Cold War which largely triggered the split. However, in spite of their less radical position than the Labour Party, they won only one seat to Labour's 59 in the 1982 Islington Council elections and at the 1983 general election, Labour managed to narrowly retain the seat. The new MP, Chris Smith was the first MP to come out as gay and was aligned with the Labour left, and retained the seat with a slight increase in his majority in 1987. By 1992, the post-merged SDP, the Liberal Democrats, had faded locally, and no longer had the former MP as a candidate, and Smith managed to win a majority exceeding 10,000 votes.
The Liberal Democrat revival in local elections in Islington, which saw them take control of the council in 2000, began to cross over to Parliamentary elections in 2001. In 2002, the Liberal Democrats won every council seat in Islington South and 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 of 484 votes over the Liberal Democrat challenger, Barnsbury councillor Bridget Fox. — the seat therefore became one of the ten most marginal in Britain. However, in the local council elections a year later, Labour made an almost full recovery locally and won a majority of the seats in Islington South and Finsbury, defeating both Bridget Fox and the-then council leader Steve Hitchins. At the 2010 general election, Thornberry increased her majority over Fox. In 2014 the Liberal Democrats lost all their remaining seats on the council. The 2015 general election result made the seat the 93rd safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| Feb 1974 | George Cunningham | Labour |
| 1982 | George Cunningham | SDP |
| 1983 | Chris Smith | Labour |
| 2005 | Emily Thornberry | Labour |

## Election results
### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Emily Thornberry | 22,946 | 53.7 | −3.3 |
| | Green | Carne Ross | 7,491 | 17.5 | +13.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Terry Stacy | 4,045 | 9.5 | −10.2 |
| | Conservative | Imogen Sinclair | 3,584 | 8.4 | −7.9 |
| | Reform UK | Max Nelson | 3,388 | 7.9 | +5.6 |
| | Independent | Andrew Parry | 569 | 1.3 | N/A |
| | Party of Women | Lesley Woodburn | 354 | 0.8 | N/A |
| | TUSC | Ethan Saunders | 215 | 0.5 | N/A |
| | SDP | Jake Painter | 162 | 0.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,455 | 36.2 | –1.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,754 | 57.7 | −11.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 74,122 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −8.3 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result :
| Party | Party | Vote | % |
| | Labour | 29,728 | 57.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 10,270 | 19.7 |
| | Conservative | 8,518 | 16.3 |
| | Green | 2,252 | 4.3 |
| | Brexit Party | 1,193 | 2.3 |
| | Others | 182 | 0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 52,143 | 68.7 |
| Electorate | Electorate | 75,905 |
General election 2019: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Emily Thornberry | 26,897 | 56.3 | −6.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kate Pothalingam | 9,569 | 20.0 | +7.9 |
| | Conservative | Jason Charalambous | 8,045 | 16.8 | −3.9 |
| | Green | Talia Hussain | 1,987 | 4.2 | +1.7 |
| | Brexit Party | Paddy Hannam | 1,136 | 2.4 | N/A |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Sandys of Bunhill | 182 | 0.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,328 | 36.3 | −5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,816 | 67.8 | −1.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 70,489 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -7.2 | |
General election 2017: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Emily Thornberry | 30,188 | 62.8 | +11.9 |
| | Conservative | Jason Charalambous | 9,925 | 20.7 | −1.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alain Desmier | 5,809 | 12.1 | +1.2 |
| | Green | Benali Hamdache | 1,198 | 2.5 | −5.1 |
| | UKIP | Pete Muswell | 929 | 1.9 | −5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20,263 | 42.1 | +13.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,049 | 69.1 | +4.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 69,536 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.7 | |
General election 2015: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Emily Thornberry | 22,547 | 50.9 | +8.7 |
| | Conservative | Mark Lim | 9,839 | 22.2 | +2.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Terry Stacy | 4,829 | 10.9 | −23.2 |
| | UKIP | Pete Muswell | 3,375 | 7.6 | +6.0 |
| | Green | Charlie Kiss | 3,371 | 7.6 | +6.0 |
| | CISTA | Jay Kirton | 309 | 0.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,708 | 28.7 | +20.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,270 | 65.0 | +0.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 68,127 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.0 | |
General election 2010: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Emily Thornberry | 18,407 | 42.3 | +2.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Bridget Fox | 14,838 | 34.1 | −4.2 |
| | Conservative | Antonia Cox | 8,449 | 19.4 | +4.6 |
| | Green | James Humphreys | 710 | 1.6 | −3.2 |
| | UKIP | Rose-Marie McDonald | 701 | 1.6 | +0.1 |
| | English Democrat | John Dodds | 301 | 0.7 | N/A |
| | Animal Welfare | Richard Deboo | 149 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,569 | 8.2 | +6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,555 | 64.4 | +10.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 67,650 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.3 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Emily Thornberry | 12,345 | 39.9 | −14.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Bridget Fox | 11,861 | 38.3 | +10.2 |
| | Conservative | Melanie McLean | 4,594 | 14.8 | +1.1 |
| | Green | James Humphreys | 1,471 | 4.8 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Patricia Theophanides | 470 | 1.5 | N/A |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Andy "the Hat" Gardner | 189 | 0.6 | N/A |
| | Independent | Chris Gidden | 31 | 0.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 484 | 1.6 | −24.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,961 | 53.6 | +6.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,748 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −12.1 | |
General election 2001: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Chris Smith | 15,217 | 53.9 | −8.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Keith Sharp | 7,937 | 28.1 | +6.8 |
| | Conservative | Nicky Morgan | 3,860 | 13.7 | +0.7 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Janine Booth | 817 | 2.9 | N/A |
| | Independent | Thomas McCarthy | 276 | 1.0 | +0.5 |
| | Stuckist Party | Charles Thomson | 108 | 0.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,280 | 25.8 | −15.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,215 | 47.4 | −16.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 59,516 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -7.7 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Chris Smith | 22,079 | 62.5 | +11.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sarah Ludford | 7,516 | 21.3 | −2.0 |
| | Conservative | David Berens | 4,587 | 13.0 | −11.7 |
| | Referendum | Jane Bryett | 741 | 2.1 | N/A |
| | Independent | Alan Laws | 171 | 0.5 | N/A |
| | Natural Law | Martin Creese | 121 | 0.3 | +0.09 |
| | Independent | Erol Basarik | 101 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,563 | 41.2 | +14.76 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,316 | 63.7 | −8.82 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 55,468 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.6 | |
General election 1992: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Chris Smith | 20,586 | 51.1 | +11.0 |
| | Conservative | Mark Jones | 9,934 | 24.7 | +4.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christopher Pryce | 9,387 | 23.3 | −14.8 |
| | Justice From British Rail | Rhona Hersey | 149 | 0.4 | N/A |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Marie Avino | 142 | 0.4 | N/A |
| | Natural Law | Michael Spinks | 83 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,652 | 26.4 | +24.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,281 | 72.5 | +1.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 55,541 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Chris Smith | 16,511 | 40.1 | +3.8 |
| | SDP | George Cunningham | 15,706 | 38.1 | +2.8 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Mitchell | 8,482 | 20.6 | −6.1 |
| | Green | Peter Powell | 382 | 0.9 | N/A |
| | Socialist (GB) | Stephen Dowsett | 81 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| | Humanist | Judith Early | 56 | 0.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 805 | 2.0 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,218 | 71.2 | +9.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,910 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.5 | |
General election 1983: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Chris Smith | 13,460 | 36.3 | −15.7 |
| | SDP | George Cunningham | 13,097 | 35.3 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Arthur Johnston | 9,894 | 26.7 | −7.4 |
| | National Front | John Donegan | 341 | 0.9 | −2.5 |
| | Islington and Finsbury Party | J. Murphy | 102 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | BNP | D. Stentiford | 94 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | Socialist (GB) | Clifford Slapper | 85 | 0.2 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 363 | 1.0 | −17.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,073 | 62.0 | −0.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 59,795 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Cunningham | 12,581 | 52.04 | −9.41 |
| | Conservative | Nigel Waterson | 8,237 | 34.07 | +13.15 |
| | Liberal | Antony Dean | 1,991 | 8.24 | −7.23 |
| | National Front | Paul Kavanagh | 824 | 3.41 | N/A |
| | Communist | Marie Betteridge | 330 | 1.36 | −0.80 |
| | New Britain | Dennis Delderfield | 136 | 0.56 | N/A |
| | Socialist (GB) | Ralph Critchfield | 78 | 0.32 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,344 | 17.97 | −22.56 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,177 | 62.92 | +6.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 38,427 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Cunningham | 14,544 | 61.45 | +7.1 |
| | Conservative | P. Hodgson | 3,951 | 20.92 | −2.4 |
| | Liberal | R. Adams | 3,661 | 15.47 | −4.1 |
| | Communist | Marie Betteridge | 512 | 2.2 | +0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,593 | 40.5 | +9.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,668 | 56.0 | −10.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 42,251 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Islington South and Finsbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | George Cunningham | 15,064 | 54.31 | |
| | Conservative | J. Szemerey | 6,473 | 23.34 | |
| | Liberal | R. Adams | 5,415 | 19.52 | |
| | Communist | Marie Betteridge | 492 | 1.77 | |
| | Independent | A. Lomas | 293 | 1.06 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,591 | 30.97 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,737 | 66.06 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 41,988 | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |