Jeremy Corbyn has emphatically held onto his Islington North seat in the general election.

Running as an independent, the veteran left-wing MP fended off a challenge from Labour candidate and Islington councillor Praful Nargund.

Pre-election polls were scarce, but most pointed to a tight race, albeit one that favoured Nargund.

But in the end, it was not even close, with Corbyn easily winning re-election for the eleventh consecutive time, gaining over 7,000 more votes than his opponent.

Speaking after he was declared the winner in the early hours of this morning (July 5), the former Labour leader said: “I think people saw that I was offering an inclusive campaign, I was offering a positive campaign, I wasn’t getting into the gutter with anybody, I wasn’t blaming minorities.

“I was saying we have got to come together as a society and a community to deal with the mental health crisis, the social stress, housing crisis and also give hope to young people.

“So, we put out a message of hope and people responded, I’m very proud of our result.”

His victory comes despite a projected landslide win for Labour across the country, with leader Sir Keir Starmer set to become the new Prime Minister after securing a sizable Commons majority.

Before this year’s poll, Islington North was one of the safest seats in the country and had voted Labour in every election since 1937.

But it became clear shortly after the election was called that this year’s race would not be straightforward for the party.

Corbyn, barred from standing as the Labour candidate by Starmer, declared he would run as an independent.

The decision saw his former party scrambling to find its new candidate; the local selection process was cut short before party members could be balloted, with Nargund imposed just hours after Corbyn declared his candidacy.

Corbyn quickly mobilised an army of volunteers, gaining support from scores of local Labour party members.

The 75-year-old attacked his opponent for refusing to attend candidate hustings, as well as for comments in which he said – “privatisation of healthcare is very, very important”.

Nargund claimed that the remarks were taken out of context, and defended his decision not to debate Corbyn, claiming he was instead making his case on the doorstep.

Shouts of – “O Jeremy Corbyn – and “free Palestine” – could be heard after the veteran MP was declared the winner.

In the borough’s other race, Labour’s incumbent Emily Thornberry also held onto her seat of Islington South and Finsbury.

Here are the full results in Islington North:

  • Vikkas Aggarwal – Liberal Democrats – 1,661
  • Jeremy Corbyn – Independent – 24,120
  • Karen Harries – Conservative and Unionist Party – 1,950
  • Paul Josling – Independent – 32
  • Sheridan Kates – Green Party – 2,660
  • Praful Nargund – Labour Party – 16,873
  • Martyn Nelson – Reform UK – 1,710