Sagal Abdi-Wali has been sworn in as the new Labour MP for Holborn and St Pancras, after winning the London by-election triggered by Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation from the seat.
The Camden Council leader took the parliamentary oath in the House of Commons on Monday, 12th of October, following her victory over Green Party leader Zack Polanski. She secured 12,292 votes to Polanski’s 8,928, a majority of 3,364.
Abdi-Wali is the first British Somali woman to become an MP. She is also the first woman to represent Holborn and St Pancras since its creation in 1983.
The 42-year-old came to Britain from Somalia as a child refugee in the 1990s and grew up in Camden. She was elected as a Camden councillor in 2022 and became the council’s leader in May.
Abdi-Wali has made housing her central priority. She said homelessness was the issue that first drew her into politics and pledged to work on improving housing conditions “every single day.”
She argued that addressing the crisis requires building more social and affordable homes, alongside other forms of housing. Before becoming council leader, she was Camden’s cabinet member for better homes and oversaw a £670 million programme to improve social housing.
After her victory, Abdi-Wali described the result as a win for diversity and said she hoped people who looked like her would feel they belonged in Britain. Her comments followed criticism of remarks by Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, about her Somali background.
She also pledged to tackle rough sleeping, bring Thames Water into public ownership and create more opportunities for young people. Prime Minister Andy Burnham congratulated her on the campaign, while Sir Keir Starmer said she would be “a fantastic MP.”
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