Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters celebrate last year’s general election result in Islington North [Milo Chandler]

“MAKE no mistake: this is just the beginning.” That is what I said after our election victory in Islington North last summer – and I meant it.

For many people, the past year in politics is easy to define: Labour has failed to deliver the change the British people demanded and deserved. It’s easy to see why. Refusing to scrap the two-child benefit cap; cutting the winter fuel allowance; slashing disability benefits – from the moment this government was elected, they have balanced the books off the back of the poor.

Going under the radar, however, is another definition of the past year, and another kind of politics: up and down the country, communities have been organising for something different.

In my own constituency of Islington North, I’ve been proud to hold regular People’s Forums, which I pledged to set up after the election. More than just regular meetings, these forums serve as a shared, democratic space for local people to discuss the issues that matter to them: the housing emergency, the mental health crisis, water privatisation, insecure work, and disability rights.

Everything I do in parliament is traced back to the people I have met, listened and learned from in our community.

It is because of our People’s Forum on housing that I have been campaigning for rent controls. Other countries have them. Why can’t we?

It is because of our People’s Forum on water privatisation that I have spoken in parliament on numerous occasions for the public ownership of our water, alongside energy, rail and mail.

Mr Corbyn wins Islington North at last year’s general election [Milo Chandler]

More recently, it is because of our local meetings on disability rights that I voted against the government’s disgraceful “Disability Benefits Cuts Bill”. Our welfare system has been decimated by years of austerity – and this government had an opportunity to repair it. It is truly appalling that it chose to push even more people into poverty instead. Our local meetings are also the reason why I will keep demanding that this government scraps the two-child benefit cap, one of the leading causes of child poverty in this country.

It is because of our community that I have been vociferously opposed to the government’s outrageous attacks on the rights of migrants and refugees. Diversity is our strength, and I am proud to represent a constituency made up of people of all backgrounds and faiths.

Together, we are also building a movement for peace. This month, my Gaza (Independent Public Inquiry) Bill returned to parliament, having passed its first reading in June. If passed, this bill would seek to establish the truth over Britain’s involvement in Israeli military operations in Gaza, including the sale, supply or use of weapons, surveillance aircraft and Royal Air Force bases.

Over the past 18 months, our questions have been met with evasion, obstruction and silence, leaving the public in the dark over the way in which the responsibil­ities of government have been discharged.

Jeremy Corbyn

Transparency and accountability are the cornerstones of democracy. The public deserve to know the scale of UK complicity in genocide – and we will not give up. We will continue to campaign for an end to all arms sales to Israel, for an end to the occupation, and for justice for the Palestinian people.

We have been fighting back against this government by building power from below – and we are not alone. Trade unions and tenants’ unions are fighting back against corporations, bosses and rogue landlords profiting from the cost-of-living crisis. Disability justice campaigners are mobilising in their thousands to resist cruel welfare cuts, anti-racist campaigners are resisting the prime minister’s attack on migrants, and climate activists are bringing into focus the single greatest threat facing humanity.

A global movement for Palestine is still demonstrating in unprecedented numbers against this government’s complicity in genocide.

These movements can only achieve so much by themselves. However, think of what we could do, together.

Today, 4.3 million children are living in poverty in the sixth richest country in the world. We believe in the radical idea that everyone should live in dignity – and that if the wealthiest in our society should pay a bit more to ensure that happens, so be it! We believe that privatisation has been a total and utter disaster – and that it is time to put public services back in public hands. We believe in protecting our planet for our children, which means standing up to fossil fuel giants destroying our natural world. We believe in welfare, not warfare – and that no one will ever stop us from speaking up for a more peaceful world.

This future we speak of is no pipedream. Look around you, and you will see the enormous appetite for transformative policies this country needs. You will find proof that a better world is possible.

One year on, I am still incredibly grateful for the support we received. I am truly proud to represent Islington North as your independent MP. And I am as determined as ever to work alongside you to build a more equal, peaceful and sustainable world for all.