Islington Conservatives' Manifesto for 2026 includes:
A promise to reduce Council Tax by 5%
- Islington has one of the highest levels of Council Tax in London, about twice what Wandsworth and Westminster charge. A Conservative administration will conduct an immediate, comprehensive review of all Council spending, applying a business like approach, cutting all unnecessary spending and providing value for money.
- At the same time we will protect the core services which matter to residents, such as weekly bin collections, street sweeping, fly tipping and graffiti.
Policies to encourage housebuilding
Islington’s requirement that all new developments should include 50% “affordable” housing sends developers elsewhere. London does not specifically have a shortage of social housing, it has a shortage of housing in all categories.
- We would reduce the “affordable” target to 35%, making stalled projects financially viable and making sure new properties are actually built.
Help for responsible landlords
The private rental sector forms an important part of the housing market, and is essential for those not eligible for social housing. While we will still pursue rogue operators who exploit tenants, our approach will assume innocence until proof of guilt. Aggressive rhetoric and heavy handed licensing can lead to good landlords selling up, to the detriment of the overall housing stock.
- We will set up a dedicated helpline for “accidental” landlords – people who become landlords by circumstance rather than design, and can often be overwhelmed by the compliance and management regulations associated.
- We will introduce a grace period where new single property landlords will be offered a waiver on certain licensing fees while they complete their accreditation
An end the practice of buying back Right to Buy properties and a focus on repairing existing stock
- We will end the programme of buying back Right to Buy properties. While some of the funding for this is provided by the GLA and by national government, Islington has spent £89 million of its own funds on this over the last four years. Buying properties from the private sector does not add a single new home to the borough, it merely moves them from one category to another.
- Instead, we will focus on the repair and maintenance of the Council’s existing stock. The budget for Right to Buy repurchases will be reallocated to the maintenance of lifts, heating, CCTV etc.
Scrapping LTNs
The Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme introduced by Labour was intended to aid the borough in reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 - This has not worked.
Instead, it has increased pollution and congestion on main roads, isolated the vulnerable and increased response times for emergency services.
- We would scrap the scheme.
Combatting crime in our neighbourhoods
- we will introduce ‘Bobbies on Bikes' who can patrol our neighbourhoods and respond quickly to street crime, such as phone thefts, assaults, muggings etc.
- Take advantage of the Government’s Safer Streets Fund to improve lighting and CCTV in crime hot spots and areas where people feel unsafe.
- Make sure that residents know the name of their local police officer(s).
- Work between the schools and the police to help educate our young people on the perils of knife crime.
Our full manifesto (in pdf format) is available via the link below
