Isabel Loubser

United Kingdom

Reporter at Islington Tribune

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Articles

Independents plan ‘fightback’ at council elections

1 month ago | islingtontribune.co.uk | Isabel Loubser

Phil GrahamTWO independent councillors have announced they will be standing in the 2026 council elections, and are recruiting candidates to join their group. Phil Graham and Ilkay Cinko-Oner have both left the Labour Party in the past year and now sit on the Town Hall benches as independents. Their group has gone through a number of rebrands, originally calling themselves the Islington Independent Socialists, but now they will campaign under the banner of Islington Community Independents (ICI).
Invasion of the ‘health hazard’ plants on estate

1 month ago | islingtontribune.co.uk | Isabel Loubser

Joel Deason, secretary of the Park View residents’ association, said the plants had ‘sprung up in the last couple of weeks’A LONG-SUFFERING estate which has been rubble-filled and fenced off for years thanks to a delayed new-build project has now got another problem to add to the list – dozens of hemlock plants.
Baths’ ‘overzealous’ trans ban criticised

1 month ago | islingtontribune.co.uk | Isabel Loubser

Cllr Caroline Russell: ‘It looks like a hasty exclusionary over-reach by GLL’A DECISION by a gym and swimming pool to bar transgender individuals from single-sex toilets and changing rooms has been met with dismay from councillors and customers who say it breaches Islington’s equality policy. In an email seen by the Tribune, Ironmonger Baths in Old Street said their new policies have been put in place to reflect the Supreme Court ruling that defined a “woman” based on biological sex.
Break from the norm - Burberry collaboration cafe set to close

1 month ago | islingtontribune.co.uk | Isabel Loubser

A CAFE which shot to notoriety with a controversial collaboration with Burberry has announced that it is closing its doors. Norman’s Cafe, in Archway, opened in 2020 as a modern take on a greasy spoon, and quickly attracted thousands of customers with their servings of British classics, including beans on toast and jam roly-poly. But the cafe came under fire during London Fashion Week in 2023 after Burberry took over its blue gingham interior and plastered logos on plates and ketchup bottles.
Doris: How to live to… 102

1 month ago | islingtontribune.co.uk | Isabel Loubser

Doris JamesA FORMER school teacher who lived most of her life in Islington has celebrated her 102nd birthday in style by taking a tour around all the places that shaped her. Doris James was born on Sebastian Street in Clerkenwell and later spent more than 50 years living in Highbury, before eventually leaving the borough to move into a care home in Essex last year.
Fresh calls for ‘cash cow’ park festivals to end

1 month ago | islingtontribune.co.uk | Isabel Loubser

Gina Harkell and Katie Dawson, co-chairs of Friends of Finsbury ParkA COMMUNITY group is calling for an end to festivals in Finsbury Park following a High Court ruling that restricts the use of public parks for commercial events. The Friends of Finsbury Park have spent a decade campaigning for Haringey Council to stop using the park as a “cash cow”. Now, bolstered by a battle that has been raging in south London, they have renewed their efforts.
Head to head! Women join hair & beauty show’s ‘battle of barbers’

1 month ago | islingtontribune.co.uk | Isabel Loubser

The Afro Hair & Beauty show will take place at the Business Design Centre on Sunday and MondayBEAUTY businesses from across the borough, and further afield, will be taking over the Business Design Centre this weekend for a 44th annual convention of “Europe’s premier” Afro Hair & Beauty show. Barbers, hairdressers, make-up artists, and skincare specialists are all expected to showcase their skills and their products to the public on Sunday and Monday.
Removing canal bins doesn’t cause more litter? What a load of rubbish!

1 month ago | islingtontribune.co.uk | Isabel Loubser

Litter on the Regent’s Canal towpathCAMPAIGNERS are gearing up to fight back against the “appalling” level of litter on Islington’s canals that they say is caused by a decision to remove all bins. Cleaner Canals have launched their campaign on Instagram, and are encouraging residents to write to MP Emily Thornberry, after they say litter has turned “a beautiful area into a dumping ground”.
Housing protester ejected from new mayor ceremony

1 month ago | islingtontribune.co.uk | Isabel Loubser

Kane Newman shouts from the balconyA PROTESTER was escorted out of the Town Hall’s public gallery after disrupting the mayor-making ceremony. Kane Newman, North London Field Organiser for housing campaign group ACORN, shouted from the balcony as proceedings were getting under way last Thursday. He accused the council of failing to provide residents with decent accommodation, leaving them living with damp, mould, and overcrowding.
‘Zen Den’ bus puts the brakes on stress levels

1 month ago | islingtontribune.co.uk | Isabel Loubser

COMMUNITY groups from across Islington were invited to take some time out this week as the “Zen Den” arrived. Housed in an old American school bus, the Zen Den travels up and down the country running mindfulness sessions and on Monday was stationed outside the Jean Stokes Community Centre on Caledonian Road. One of the social enterprise’s founders, Kay Smith, told the Tribune: “We’re all about bringing mental health support to people who might not normally have access to it.