1885–1918 The seat was created by the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, as one of four divisions of the new
parliamentary borough of Islington. The constituency was defined in the legislation as consisting of the single
ward of
Upper Holloway of the
parish of
Islington. The ward was one of eight used in the election of Islington
vestrymen under the
Metropolis Management Act 1855.
1950–1974 At the next redistribution of seats by the
Representation of the People Act 1948 the constituency was again defined as Tollington, Tufnell and Upper Holloway wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington, with boundaries as they existed at the end of 1947.
1974–1983 In 1965 local government in
Greater London was reorganised, with the formation of
London boroughs. The changes were reflected in parliamentary boundaries from 1974. The
London Borough of Islington was divided into three constituencies. Islington North was defined as comprising seven wards: Highview, Hillmarton, Hillrise, Junction, Parkway, St. George's and Station.
1983–1997 In 1983 the parliamentary representation of Islington was reduced to two constituencies. The new, enlarged, Islington North was formed from ten wards of the borough as they existed in February 1983. These were Gillespie, Highbury, Highview, Hillrise, Junction, Mildmay, Quadrant, St. George's, Sussex and Tollington wards.
1997–2010 In 1997 there were only slight boundary changes, with the constituency defined as the same ten wards with their boundaries as they existed on 1 June 1994.
Since 2010 The seat covers the northern half of the
London Borough of Islington, which includes the areas of
Holloway,
Highbury,
Tufnell Park,
Upper Holloway and
Archway. From 2010 until 2022, the constituency comprised the following eight
electoral wards:
Finsbury Park, Highbury East, Highbury West, Hillrise, Junction, Mildmay, St. George's and Tollington. Following a review of local authority ward boundaries which came into effect on 4 May 2022, the seat now comprises the following eight London Borough of Islington wards:
Arsenal;
Finsbury Park;
Highbury;
Hillrise;
Junction;
Mildmay;
Tollington;
Tufnell Park. The boundaries of the constituency were not changed as part of the
2023 review of Westminster constituencies. These boundaries have been considerably changed since 1970, when Islington returned three MPs and shared another with Hackney. This reflects the depopulation of central London on a lowering of adult occupancy of households and the local authority has replaced
tower blocks. The core of the constituency was the area north of Seven Sisters Road and Camden Road. At the
Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies begun in 2012 the seat was approximately 1,300 electors below the electoral quota and the highest concentration of elector density nationally. The criteria of successive reviews emphasise equal electorates as well as restricting seats to one or, if unavoidable, two local authority areas. ==Political history==