Shreya Nanda at the count

LABOUR held on to their seat in Hillrise after yesterday’s by-election despite having a less than a thousand votes.

Candidate Shreya Nanda secured 43 per cent of the votes, in comparison to Ollie Steadman’s 63 per cent back in May’s by-election.

Ms Nanda thanked her agent, and fellow Labour councillors for their support throughout the campaign.

She said: “I know the huge difference that a Labour council can make, from fixing our broken housing market, to working with community police to make our spaces safe, to investing in community centres, and supporting the most vulnerable people in our community.

“I’ve spoken to hundreds of people in Hillrise over the course of this election, who have taken the time to tell me about the problems that they face, from crime and antisocial problems in the area, to cramped and overcrowded housing.”

Ms Nanda added: “As your local councillor, I promise I will do everything I can to be an active presence in the community and work with my fellow Labour councillors to tackle these issues.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Imogen Wall said she was “delighted with the improvement in result” since the last by-election, as the Lib Dems surpassed the Green vote.

She said: “The campaign on the doorstep showed that people’s real interests have changed. People in Hillrise feel marginalised, overlooked, and by-passed for a long time.”

“We’ve re-established ourselves above the Greens as the alternative to Labour. There’s all to play for in 2026.”

Meanwhile, Green candidate Alex Nettle warned that “we should be worried that the turnout is so low”. “There’s a big appetite for something different”, he added.

Benali Hamdache, Green councillor for Highbury, said that, despite their win, Labour should take notice of their decreasing vote share.

He said: “The results show that Labour have been playing politics on easy mode for the last 14 years in Islington. Now that we have more active campaigning voices, they’ll have to work a lot harder to maintain their hold of the council”.

Mr Hamdache added: “Look what was done in six weeks, imagine what people can do in 18 months”.

Kaya Comer-Schwartz and Shreya Nanda

Independent candidate Alison Stoeker, who managed to get 24 per cent of the vote after building her campaign from scratch said she felt that “regardless of the outcome, we’ve won”.

“I had deep and difficult conversations with members of the community, and I feel that I have a clear understanding of what people need”, she said.

Ms Stoeker added: “This six week campaign has shown people power, people are feeling empowered to use their voices. We’ve started to sew the seed for something different in 2026. I think we can work together to turn the tide for the benefit of the electorate.”

FULL RESULT

Shreya Nanda (Labour) 968 ELECTED
Alison Stoeker (Independent) 539
Imogen Wall (Lib Dem) 350
Alex Nettle (Green) 322
Maxim Parr-Reid (Independent) 54

Turnout: 20.49 %

Total votes: 2243