Orlando Hill reports on a rally and mass canvas for Jeremy Corbyn’s election campaign in Islington North

Approaching Newington Green in Islington North in London, it dawned on me how popular Jeremy Corbyn is as an MP. Along the road that leads to the green, various shops have displayed on their windows posters urging the public to ‘vote Corbyn, an independent voice for all of us.’ There is not a sign of any other candidate. 

A crowd of supporters were assembled in the green next to the café Lizzy on the Green that also had a Vote Corbyn poster on display. It was a mixture of people of all ages, from a sixth former, who had finished his A level exams and was ‘chilling’ while he waited for his results, to long-time supporters of Jermey Corbyn.

The MC of the rally kicked off the rally reminding us that Corbyn is not only one of us who wants a fully-funded public NHS and a foreign policy that seeks peace and not endless war, but also a brilliant local MP who has stood along the community in the defence of the number four bus and neighbourhood nature reserves. 

Then was the turn for Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu to fire up the rally with chants accompanied by a beat. “Who has the power?” Which was responded with “the people have the power”. Dr Shola came from another constituency because she thought it was important for the movement to have a voice in parliament. 

Corbyn thanked all those who have been coming to the canvasing everyday since the elections were called and have transformed the campaign into a people-led movement. As a teacher, he gave us a lesson of the importance of Newington Green in the history of the radical left.

Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the earliest feminists and the author of Vindication of the Rights of Women, lived and worked there. When she was 25, she established a girls’ boarding school just across the green. He also mentioned Richard Price who stood up against the hierarchy of the established Church of England and paid with his freedom. The Methodist Church where he preached is still in in use. He reminded us of what we were fighting for: a different society and a world where conflicts were resolved through diplomacy and not endless wars. 

Then, off we went to make sure that all those who were registered to vote did so. As we walked through the streets of Newington Green, people chanted the famous ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn,’ families stopped to have their selfies taken next to Jeremy. People called him by his first name as if dealing with an old friend. Some of the houses we called on had Corbyn posters and Palestine flags on displayed.

If you live in London and want to take part in the campaign toensure that Jermey Corbyn gets elected as a voice in parliament of the social movement, go to https://www.votecorbyn.com/.