The clean-up begins after Sunday’s parade

AT the weekend, up to a million people filled the streets of north London.

After 22 years the men’s team had finally won the league, following in the footsteps of the women’s team who won the Women’s Super League in 2018/19. They also won the Women’s Champions League in 2025.

It was a wonderful sight: people of all backgrounds coming together to create a sense of euphoria.

I spent the day with my wife Laura and two of my sons, Ben and Seb. I first took them to Highbury before they started primary school (my other son, Tommy, found it very boring and put his headphones in). We had waited for this moment for so long. And it was a joy to share it with them.

Jeremy Corbyn at the celebrations with his wife Laura Alvarez and Bukayo Saka

For so many people the celebrations created memories that will last a lifetime.

I know that for many residents, though, this event would have caused a great deal of disruption to their daily lives, particularly those who require assistance with getting to the shops and doing other activities.

I also know that the event left an awful lot of litter on the pavements and roads. Cleaners are still working incredibly hard to tidy up.

The parade was a reminder of just how dependent we all are on a range of workers that keep our community safe, clean and tidy.

Of course, we didn’t need a parade to realise how much we depend on refuse collectors to keep our streets clean.

Just look at the Birmingham bin strike, which proved how essential refuse collectors are for the city’s sanitation, a basic and fundamental necessity of life.

There is a huge gap between the importance of the work that cleaners do and the way society treats them.

In healthcare, transport, education, parks, and football clubs themselves, cleaning work is taken for granted. On average, cleaners earn one-third less than the median worker. Six in 10 are paid below the real living wage.

This stems from political decisions taken by successive governments who have routinely undervalued cleaning workers and deprived them of dignity in work.

The outsourcing of cleaning services to private contractors has also led to a race to the bottom in terms of pay and conditions.

Cleaners are twice as likely to be on zero-hours contracts than the workforce as a whole.

In places like Islington, where cleaning staff is in-house, workers nevertheless bear the brunt of government-led austerity.

It is clear that councils like Islington need more resources to provide better infrastructure to cope with these kinds of events.

So let’s use the Arsenal parade and its aftermath as an opportunity to renew a nationwide campaign: fair pay and conditions for cleaners.

We must make the following demands on the government:

• fund local government;
• end insecure employment; and
• work with employers to guarantee proper pay packages for all.

Ultimately, protecting these essential workers creates a healthier, cleaner, and safer society for us all.

Hopefully, next year, we can cheer Arsenal on not only as Premier League winners, but Champions League winners too.

The best cause for a celebration? Cleaners getting the pay and conditions they deserve.

Jeremy Corbyn is the Independent MP for Islington North and former leader of the Labour Party.