Where are they now? Flashback to Islington Labour romping to victory at the last council elections

AT least five Labour councillors are expected to stand down ahead of the next council elections as the party works out who will be on the ballot paper next year.

The selections will be made with a newly-formed Islington North Constituency Labour Party in place ­– following the fallout of Jeremy Corbyn’s win as an independent at the general election.

The council will be saying goodbye to Gary Heather, Tricia Clark, Diarmaid Ward and Praful Nargund who have all announced they will not seek re-election. At least one more councillor is expected to tell their residents shortly that they will not be standing again.

Cllr Heather, who has represented Finsbury Park for more than 10 years, said: “I will miss being a Labour councillor, and all that goes with that privilege, but in my heart and my head I will always cherish the memories I have of serving Islington residents and the community to the best of my ability and going the extra mile to do so”.

Meanwhile, Cllr Nargund told the Tribune: “I will miss working alongside my colleagues on the council, but remain deeply committed to supporting them and the residents of Islington in any way I can.”

Selections for Labour candidates across all wards are expected to begin from May.

The CLP in Islington North say they have been hamstrung for months as members were denied access to the systems over fears information would be shared with Mr Corbyn’s supporters and campaign organisers.

This meant the CLP was unable to organise meetings, campaigns, or identify Labour voters, it said.

But with organisation needed for the defence of its council majority, the national party has now handed them back control and a new set of officers have been elected.

The general election last July brought division and stretched loyalties amongst long-time Labour supporters after the national party cut members out of the selection process and instead imposed candidate Praful Nargund.

Many of those who had been members for years then left the party to campaign for the long-serving MP in his successful bid to win the seat as an independent.

As the CLP seeks to rebuild itself, insiders say that some of the fault lines remain in place among party members and there are debates over how strict they should be with regards to identifying those who voted for Mr Corbyn and barring them from meetings.

In February a new set of officers were nominated across all ward branches, and a second general meeting is scheduled for next week.

David Poyser, a councillor in the Hillrise ward who retired the position last year, was elected the chair of Islington North CLP, while Alexander Gardiner, who was the agent in Cllr Nargund’s failed effort to reach the Commons, was given the position of secretary.

“There’s been understandable strong feeling in the local party as so many had long-standing loyalty to the former Labour MP, so we want all the factions within the party to unite from now on,” said Mr Gardiner.

Phil Graham, who last year quit the Labour Party and sits in the Town Hall as an independent said his group planned to “stand as many candidates as we possibly can”.

He said of his former colleagues: “I don’t know how they can stand for Labour because it’s so divorced from what the Labour Party should be.

“These attacks on the disabled and everything is an absolute disgrace. I’ve had people on the phone to me crying because they’re terrified they’re going to lose their benefits.”