Sagal Abdi-Wali won the by-election in the British constituency of Holborn and St. Pancras, which was until recently represented by former Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Labour Party candidate received 45.17% of the vote.
The vote was held on October 8 after Starmer resigned as MP for the constituency. He also resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom before that. The constituency in North London is considered a traditionally strong one for Labour.
Greens admit defeat
Abdi-Wali's main rival was Green Party leader Zak Polanski. After the count, the party conceded defeat. "It is now clear that we will finish a close second," a Green Party spokesman said, quoted by ITV News.
Polanski campaigned on the housing crisis, public ownership of water supplies and climate policy. The Greens sought to turn the vote into a contest between the Labour government and a more radical alternative on the left.
From Somalia to the British Parliament
Abdi-Wali arrived in the UK as a child refugee from Somalia in the 1990s. She grew up in Camden and has worked and been involved in local community initiatives for more than a decade.
In 2022, she was elected as a councillor, and in May 2026 she became leader of Camden Borough Council. She became the first black woman to hold the seat. Before the by-election, she said she did not feel she was in direct competition with other candidates, but was focused on talking to residents and her own message.
Results compared to the 2024 election
In the 2024 general election, Starmer won the seat with 18,884 votes, or 48.9%. Independent candidate Andrew Feinstein received 18.9%, and the Green Party came in third with 10.4%.
Abdi-Wali's election retained the seat for the Labour Party, but the vote attracted attention due to the Greens' strong campaign and the participation of their national leader. The newly elected MP is set to take the seat vacated by Starmer in the House of Commons.
Sources: itv.com, independent.co.uk, theguardian.com