The leader of Camden Council is Labour’s candidate in today’s Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali was chosen to lead the north London council in May this year, but could be stepping down from her role if she wins the parliamentary seat vacated by former Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer after receiving her party’s nomination.
Background and political rise
Sagal Abdi-Wali first came to Britain in the early 1990s as a child refugee escaping civil war in Somalia. First elected as a local councillor in 2022, Ms Abdi-Wali made history in May by becoming Camden’s first black female leader.
She has previously discussed her experience fleeing Somalia, telling the LabourList website in 2019: "Camden has been my home since I moved here with my family as a child refugee, fleeing war-torn Somalia. This new home is where I was raised and educated; it's where I now work for the council and volunteer for local community groups and charities. It is an area steeped in close community values, progressivism and inclusion, all of which have shaped who I am and the socialist principles by which I stand."
She was first elected as a Labour councillor for the Camden Square ward in 2022. Prior to becoming leader, she served as the Cabinet Member for Better Homes, managing the borough's housing and neighbourhood development. She also helped lead Camden's path to achieving "Borough of Sanctuary" status in 2024.
By-election context
Sir Keir resigned from his seat in the summer, stating it was the “right time” to quit and "pass the baton to a successor", despite pledging to remain as a backbench MP until the next general election in 2029. His sudden exit from Parliament triggered the by-election, with the Green candidate, party leader Zack Polanski, mobilising to take a constituency that has typically been a Labour stronghold.
Labour had whittled down more than 100 candidates for the coveted seat to just three, who are all Camden councillors. But the favourite for the party at the by-election was Camden council leader Ms Abdi-Wali. She secured the candidacy following a selection meeting.
Controversy over Zia Yusuf’s comments
After Ms Abdi-Wali emerged as the frontrunner for the Labour candidacy following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation, Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf made a comment on social media platform X which was quickly criticised across the political spectrum as being “racist”. Mr Yusuf wrote: "The front runner 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?"
During an interview on Sky News, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds condemned Yusuf's remarks as "pretty straightforward racism", noting how Ms Abdi-Wali arrived in the UK as a child and has spent her career working to better the lives of those in her local community. The comments even triggered rifts internally within Reform UK. Reports from Reform's annual conference in Birmingham revealed that several senior party figures were furious with Mr Yusuf, The Observer reported. Party sources expressed frustration that his tweet was overshadowing their policy announcements, with some local councillors and party insiders reportedly calling for Nigel Farage to remove him from his position. Some pointed out the irony in his attack on Ms Abdi-Wali, considering Mr Yusuf himself is the son of Sri Lankan immigrants.
Ms Abdi-Wali later responded to the comments, telling The Standard: "I think it's quite sad. It didn't personally affect me. But I do think about how it might affect young people who might be interested in getting into politics or community work and seeing that kind of negativity and that rhetoric and walking away."
