By Richie Hancox
In the 2016 European referendum, 78% of Jeremy Corbyn’s Islington North constituency voted to remain in Europe. With public opinion now divided on the Brexit outcome, Islington North’s opinion has become a sticking point for the Labour leader.
With many believing that a politician should represent their constituents’ wishes, Corbyn has continued to follow a Leave narrative – albeit with a European customs union involved, that goes against the electorate of Islington North.
Late in February 2019, retired lecturer Margaret Georgiadou, 77, set up an online petition calling for Article 50, the treaty calling for the United Kingdom to leave the EU, to be revoked. The petition gathered momentum after Theresa May publicly addressed the nation before heading to Brussels last week.
To date the petition has gathered 5.7 million signatures, averaging nearly nine thousand an hour, with over 25,000 having signed from Corbyn’s Islington North constituency. This is nearly a third of the eligible voters and should be a sure sign that opinion in Islington is still the same.
The Islington public, when asked, all had the nearly the same answers – and all seemed confused with what was really happening.
When asked about Brexit, lettings manager, John Chrysanthou, 42, was walking on the corner of Hornsey Road near the Sobell Leisure Centre. “I know the Commons voted yesterday to do something? I would rather stay, we were all right before and without people from Europe this country wouldn’t run.
“Do I want another referendum? Yes, let the people vote again, they didn’t know the facts before.”
Administration manager, Jade Fernando, 25, said, “Aren’t they getting her out? [Theresa May] I’m sure I read somewhere they are getting her out this week.
“I’m not worried about it because I don’t think it will happen. I don’t want another referendum because I didn’t want Brexit to happen in the first place.
Small business owner, Mike Barnette, 37, was outside Argos on Holloway Road. He said: “I ain’t got a clue, I know we can’t make up our minds, we can’t reach a deal.
“I’m not worried about it. It will be an inconvenience for us but there are always ways around things.
“I want another referendum because I think people understand things more now and the consequences instead of Farage feeding you with bulls**t and the others arguing.
“I didn’t vote as I didn’t know enough and wasn’t that interested but if there was another referendum I would vote to remain.”
He added, “All the money and time we have spent on Brexit could have been spent on sorting our issues with Europe instead.”
With the Commons divided, public divided and seemingly no closer to a compromise being agreed, the coming week of political debates will be historic in their outcomes no matter what they are.
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