Your Party co-founder Jeremy Corbyn talks us through London in his eyes, from where he’d spend an ideal first date to where he relaxes.
Home is …
Islington North. I’d hitchhiked to London and the lorry driver dropped me off on Holloway Road, so I stayed. I lived in Harringay when I represented South Hornsey ward. I then moved back to Finsbury Park after I was elected for Islington North in 1983.
Where was your first flat in London?
It was just off Tufnell Park Road. It was a small bedsit in a house on St George’s Avenue that was owned by a lovely Italian man. He made his own wine in the basement, which he pressed from Italian grapes he brought back home in his little Fiat 600. The house was bought by Jon Snow, and later owners showed me what had once been my room — it had been converted into a bathroom.
What was your first job?
Working for the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers at 16 Charles Square.
Where would you recommend for a first date?
Mestizo, a lovely Mexican restaurant on Hampstead Road. My wife Laura likes it.
Which shops do you rely on?
Finsbury Food Market, New Beacon Books, Foyles and QHP stores on Seven Sisters Road, because they’ve always got what you need.
What’s the best meal you’ve had?
One of my recent favourites was a Palestinian dinner at Café Metro in Archway. They gave us so much food. It kept us going for three days.
What would you do if you were Mayor for the day?
Immediately freeze private sector rent and demand social housing in every development.
Who is the most iconic Londoner?
To me it is Charlie Chaplin. He endured an awful childhood in London. But his genius and imagination made him into the brilliant filmmaker he later became. The Great Dictator was his best work.
Where do you go and what do you do to have fun?
Usually a theatre, for example Park Theatre. And I recently paid a visit to Pleasance Theatre to record a cameo for their panto, The Wizard of Oz-lington.
What’s the best thing a cabbie has ever said to you?
“Here Jez, you’re from Islington right? Why are there so many parking problems and why have you closed all the roads?”
Where do you exercise?
At the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington — I always try to do 5k on the treadmill.
Have you ever had a run in with a police officer?
Yes — outside South Africa House on many demonstrations.
Who do you call when you want to have fun?
One of my three boys, who usually have some zany idea.
What are you up to at the moment for work?
Representing the wonderful people of Islington North in Parliament.
Who’s your hero?
Author Arundhati Roy. She has a wonderful range of inspiring and empowering knowledge.
Which podcast are you currently obsessed with?
BBC Radio 4 is enough for me.
What’s your favourite building or work of art?
St Pancras railway station. I really admire its beauty, its history and its restoration. In the 1960s, poet John Betjeman led the great campaign to save it — and the former Midland Grand Hotel, now St Pancras Renaissance Hotel — from demolition. There is a statue of him there now.
What was the last thing you googled?
A recipe for quince chutney.
What apps can you not live without in the city and why?
I don’t use them — apps are for others. Oh actually, I do use a bird song identifier.
What’s your London dress code?
Whatever you feel like wearing that day — that’s what I like about London.
Jeremy Corbyn is the MP for Islington North and interim leader of Your Party
