Sagal Abdi-Wali has said her victory in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection is a testament to diversity, warning that community cohesion should not be “casually undone”.
The Labour candidate won with a majority of 3,364 over Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who came second. Ms Abdi-Wali said she hoped her win would signal to people “like her” that they belong in Britain.
She succeeds Sir Keir Starmer, who resigned the seat in September after stepping down as prime minister.
Victory speech and message of belonging
Speaking after the result was announced at Camden Council’s headquarters in north London, Ms Abdi-Wali said: “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.”
Her comments followed criticism from Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf, who attacked her candidacy as a British-Somalian shortly after the byelection was called. 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 remarks were condemned by Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds as “straightforward racism”. Reform UK’s candidate Peter Newman finished fourth with 1,612 votes, just under 6%.
Response to criticism and campaign focus
Ms Abdi-Wali told Sky News she was “less upset, more just a bit sad than disappointed in that kind of rhetoric” about Mr Yusuf’s comments. She added: “I’ve got quite strong shoulders and thick skin, and that sort of stuff never bothers me. But I do think about how impacts on people and people want to get involved in their community and politics, and then find it’s a negative place to be, and just try to like make this campaign about how much this place belongs to them.”
On stage, she said: “In Camden, our diversity is a strength and our cohesion has been too hard won to take for granted. I’ve watched people across Camden work to build communities where difference is not something to fear, but something to value. We cannot allow that work, built over generations, to be casually undone by those who seek to divide us.
“We have a responsibility to defend what we’ve built, and pass it on. Hope is not naive. Without hope there is nothing to build on, and nothing to build for. People need to believe that politics can make their lives better and that their communities can thrive and that tomorrow can be better than today.”
Full results and priorities
Ms Abdi-Wali received 12,292 votes, ahead of Mr Polanski on 8,928. Conservative Ewan Cameron came third with 1,922, followed by Reform UK’s Peter Newman on 1,612. Turnout was 38.76%, with 27,309 votes cast, down from 54.46% at the general election.
The winning candidate paid tribute to her family and activists who helped her get elected. She said she wanted to bring Thames Water into “public ownership”, tackle rough sleeping, and create more opportunities for young people.
Ms Abdi-Wali 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 becomes the area’s first female MP since Lena Jeger, who represented a previous seat of Holborn and St Pancras South from 1964 to 1979.
Full results: Sagal Abdi-Wali (Labour) 12,292; Zack Polanski (Green Party) 8,928; Ewan Cameron (Conservative Party) 1,922; Peter Newman (Reform UK) 1,612; Patrick Stillman (Liberal Democrats) 924; Tyler Kurtis (Restore) 692; George Galloway (Workers’ Party) 314; Briony Kapoor (Rejoin EU) 236; Barmy Brunch (Monster Raving Loony Party) 87; Helen Spiby-Vann (Christian Peoples Alliance) 63; Claire Fischer (Climate Party) 51; Ben Walker (UKIP) 51; Ketankumar Pipaliya (UK Voice) 23; Jonathan Silberman (Communist League) 9; Tom Darwood (No description) 7.
