Sagal Abdi-Wali, the newly-elected MP for Holborn and St Pancras, was set to take her seat in Parliament on Monday after beating Zack Polanski in the crunch north London by-election.
MPs were returning to the Commons on Monday after the break for the party political conferences. Parliamentary business will start in the Chamber shortly after 2.30pm.
By-election result
Ms Abdi-Wali, who as Camden Council leader defeated Mr Polanski in the by-election last Thursday, was expected to take her seat in the afternoon.
She got 12,292 votes, ahead of Mr Polanski on 8,928, a majority of 3,364 but with a 13% swing to the Greens, whose vote share was up by 22.4%. In third was Conservative Party candidate Ewan Cameron on 1,922, followed by Reform UK’s Peter Newman with 1,612. Turnout was 38.76%, with 27,309 votes being cast.
Leadership pressure on Polanski
Ms Abdi-Wali’s victory has plunged Mr Polanski into a leadership crisis after the highly-controversial vote at the Green Party’s conference earlier this month to declare Zionism as racism. The huge storm over the vote at the Brighton rally, which Mr Polanski did not take sides on, has led to calls for him to resign.
After her victory, new Labour MP Ms Abdi-Wali stressed that she wanted to bring Thames Water into “public ownership”, tackle rough sleeping and create more opportunities for young people.
Priorities and reaction
She said: “Homelessness is the issue that first drove me into politics, and no-one should be sleeping on the streets, and no family should be left without security in the home.
“I want to work with the Prime Minister Andy Burnham and our Labour Government to tackle rough sleeping while addressing the wider housing crisis, so that people don’t just get a roof over their heads, but the security and hope that comes with having a proper home.”
She also emphasised that her win was a victory for diversity and warned cohesion should not be “casually undone”. Her comments came after Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf was hit with a backlash after attacking her candidacy as a British-Somalian when she was selected to fight the by-election.
Ms Abdi-Wali stressed: “I hope this moment also says something about who gets to belong, for people who look like me, I hope they see themselves reflected in this place and know that their path too belongs here. This is Camden, and this is Britain.”
In early September Mr Yusuf posted on X: “The frontrunner being foisted on the people of Holborn by Labour to replace the former prime minister Keir Starmer in our parliament was born in Somalia. Do you understand what’s happening?”
His comments were criticised by Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds as “straightforward racism”. Mr Burnham described Holborn and St Pancras as having “voted for hope”, and said he was “looking forward to working together” with his party’s newest MP.
Sir Keir Starmer, whose resignation as an MP triggered the by-election, said: “Brilliant result. Congratulations to my friend @Sagal_AW, I know you are a brilliant champion for our communities and will be a fantastic MP.”
