The Mayor of Islington
The Mayor of Islington for 2025/26 is Councillor Jason Jackson, and the Deputy Mayor is Councillor Rosaline Ogunro.
Meet Councillor Jason Jackson
Cllr Jason Jackson was born in Nigeria and grew up in Hackney, East London. As a young adult, he moved to Islington, where he studied at City and Islington College. He later studied Business and Law at London Metropolitan University, and then did a Master’s degree in Big Data in Culture and Society at King’s College London.
While he was at university, Cllr Jackson led a campaign to stop London Metropolitan University from closing. This made him want to speak up for others and help make education and opportunities fair for everyone. He also became very interested in new technology, like artificial intelligence (AI), and how they can be used to help local communities. He believes this kind of technology should be fair and easy for everyone to use - not just for experts or big companies.
Cllr Jackson was first elected as a councillor in Holloway Ward in 2021 and was re-elected in 2022. He worked for three years as Chair of the Homes and Communities Scrutiny Committee, working to make sure public services, especially housing, are fair and work well for everyone in the borough.
Outside of his council work, Cllr Jackson is a business consultant and social entrepreneur. He co-founded the Black Policy Institute, which works to make policies across the UK more equal. In Islington, he helped lead the Young Black Men and Mental Health programme, a project to support the wellbeing of young Black men and make it easier to get help when they need it.
What does the Mayor do?
Islington has a ceremonial mayor. The Mayor is elected or chosen by other councillors and serves for one year. During that time, the Mayor represents the borough at many important events as the borough’s first citizen.
The Mayor also leads full council, a big council meeting. If there is ever a tie when councillors voted, the Mayor gets to make the final decision.
Each year the Mayor represents the council at around 500 events. These include:
- opening events, fairs and fetes
- visiting schools or day centres
- attending important events, like Refugee Week, Windrush Day, and LGBTQ+ History Month, and community festivals and religious celebrations
- celebrating local people and communities, like during Civic Pride Week volunteer awards, or summer reading challenge celebrations
- speaking at dinners and receptions for different groups and organisations
- visiting residents on their 100th birthday to say congratulations
- leading citizenship ceremonies for new UK citizens
- running all full council meetings.
The Mayor's priorities
This year, Cllr Jackson wants to focus on helping people and businesses in Islington grow and succeed. His theme is: “Thriving together: championing community and local enterprise.” This means he wants to celebrate Islington’s diversity, support small local businesses, and make sure the local economy works for everyone.
He is also passionate about helping young people find jobs, supporting mental health, and encouraging new and creative ideas in the borough.
Reflecting on his role as Mayor, he said:
“It’s an honour to serve as Mayor of the borough that helped shape me. Islington is home to incredible people, bold ideas, and strong communities. This year, I’ll focus on celebrating our diversity, backing local businesses, and helping every neighbourhood thrive, because when we work together, we all thrive.”
As Mayor, Cllr Jackson wants to build strong and lasting partnerships that help local people. He plans to work with local businesses, support new ideas, and make sure everyone in Islington feels included and heard to help make Islington a more equal and inclusive place to live.
His chosen charity for the year is Islington Giving, which helps people in the community. You can learn more about it on the Mayor’s Charity page.
Past Mayors of Islington
- 1965: Catherine Griffiths
- 1966-67: (Arthur James) Jim Coman
- 1967-68: Arthur Edward White
- 1968-69: Richard Ernest Trott
- 1969-70: Donald William Bromfield
- 1970-71: Robin Goodman
- 1971-72: Ernest Gough
- 1972-73: Mrs Patricia A Bradbury
- 1973-74: Harry Reid
- 1974-75: Jack Walker
- 1975-76: David J Davies
- 1976-77: Mrs Skip Gordon
- 1977-78: (HJ) Bert Stanfield
- 1978-79: Mrs Doris Rogers
- 1979-80: Arthur Bell
- 1980-81: James Evans
- 1981-82: Edna Browning
- 1982-83: Ted Doveton
- 1983-84: Patrick Haynes
- 1984-85: Rosie Dale
- 1985-86: Marjorie A Ogilvy-Webb
- 1986-87: Bob Crossman
- 1987-88: Terry Herbert
- 1988-89: Valda James
- 1989-90: Candy Atherton
- 1990-91: Maureen Leigh
- 1991-92: Joan Herbert
- 1992-93: Edna Griffiths
- 1993-94: Anne Gilman
- 1994-95: Michael Boye-Anawomah
- 1995-96: John Burke
- 1996-97: Sandy Marks
- 1997-98: Rupert Perry
- 1998-99: Meg Hillier
- 1999-2000: Jenny Sands
- 2000-01: Mary Powell
- 2001-02: Joe Trotter
- 2002-03: Margot Dunn
- 2003-04: Doreen Scott
- 2004-05: Joan Coupland
- 2005-06: Jonathan Dearth
- 2006-07: Jyoti Vaja
- 2007-08: Barbara Smith
- 2008-09: Stefan Kasprzyk
- 2009-10: Anna Berent
- 2010-11: Mouna Hamitouche
- 2011-12: Phil Kelly
- 2012-13: Jilani Chowdhury
- 2013-14: Barry Edwards
- 2014-15: Theresa Debono
- 2015-16: Richard Greening
- 2016-17: Kat Fletcher
- 2017-18: Una O'Halloran
- 2018-19: Dave Poyser
- 2019-20: Rakhia Ismail
- 2020-21: Janet Burgess
- 2021-22: Troy Gallagher
- 2022-23: Marian Spall
- 2023-24: Gary Heather
- 2024-25: Anjna Khurana