Labour local election candidate honours pledge to late partner by canvassing for Jeremy Corbyn

A LABOUR Party candidate in the recent local elections has honoured a pledge to his late partner who died during the campaign by travelling from Cork to London to canvass for former Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who is now running as an independent candidate in Islington North.

James Joy was a candidate in Cork City North West and stepped back from the campaign after his partner and fellow political activist, Marc Ó Foghlú, died suddenly in May, just as the campaign was getting going in earnest.

He resumed his campaign because he knew it was something his partner would have wanted him to do, such was the interest they both shared in politics. In the end his election bid was unsuccessful, but his interest in politics and canvassing remained undimmed.

“I’ve always been a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn anyway as he was Labour leader but myself and my partner, Marc, months ago had said that we had said that we were going to over and canvass for him during the election because he was going to run as an independent,” Mr Joy said.

“The election was only called a week after Marc passed so in part it was because he was someone I support but also to honour Marc as it was a plan that we had to do together.”

Speaking to The Echo from Islington in the UK Mr Joy said the campaigning in London was very impressive with multiple teams going out in relays to canvass the constituency.

“It’s very different, I was running in the locals so it was all very local issues but I know from canvassing in general elections, it’s still local elections really,” he said.

“My experience today is that it was either hyper local — problems with the next door neighbour — or it was national issues, or to do with personalities.”

He said the support for Jeremy Corbyn, who was first elected as an MP for the Labour Party in Islington North in 1983 and served as the party’s leader between 2015-2020, was very strong even though the MP was expelled from the Labour Party in May 2024.

Mr Joy said there was very little discussion of ideas on the doorsteps, more statements such as ‘I hate the Tories’ or ‘I hate Labour’ or ‘I love Jeremy’ and he added that there were posters up in every second or third shop or business urging people to vote for Mr Corbyn.