Labour Party members in the south of the borough have backed Jeremy Corbyn in his bid to win a second leadership contest.

At what has been described as the biggest general committee meeting in the history of Islington South Constituency Labour Party, 189 members took part in a ballot on Wednesday which saw them support the neighbouring Islington North MP by a margin of two-to-one.

A total of 121 members backed Mr Corbyn against 54 who supported challenger Owen Smith, Labour’s former shadow work and pensions secretary.

The turnout was bigger than last year’s, when 166 attended and a majority also backed Mr Corbyn. Party insiders said this showed he was gaining new support among members rather than losing it, despite having lost the backing of 80 per cent of MPs.

However, some critics have questioned his leadership qualities and blame him for a lacklustre performance during the European referendum campaign.

Islington South MP Emily Thornberry has so far not declared who she will support in next month’s ballot but has shown steadfast loyalty to Mr Corbyn since he was elected leader last year. She did not attend this week’s meeting.

Islington North Constituency Labour Party will vote at St Mellitus Church, in Tollington Park, on Wednesday.

• Keywords
  SOCIALISM, POLITICAL PARTIES, POLITICS
• Geographical keyword
  ARCHWAY
• Persons keyword
  Jeremy Corbyn, Owen Smith, Islington South Constituency Labour Party