Labour's byelection candidate in Starmer's old seat focuses on local issues as Greens push hard

Sagal Abdi-Wali, the former leader of Camden council, is running as Labour's candidate in the byelection triggered by former prime minister Keir Starmer's departure from the Holborn and St Pancras seat. The 42-year-old insists she has no interest in national leadership ambitions, framing her campaign entirely around being a visible, committed local MP.

The vote takes place on 8 October and carries significant weight for Labour. A win would let party leader Andy Burnham claim his approach resonates even in London, while a loss would mark the end of his relatively smooth start in Westminster.

The constituency is notably young and diverse, with about 45% of residents born abroad and nearly half aged between 18 and 34. Once a reliable Labour stronghold, the party's majority there has been shrinking since 2015.

Abdi-Wali's main rival is Green party candidate Zack Polanski, who has centered his campaign heavily on Gaza, criticizing Labour councillors for not signing a solidarity statement with Palestine. Abdi-Wali has avoided directly engaging with his campaign, instead welcoming the government's recent decision to declare Israel's West Bank occupation unlawful and impose related trade sanctions.

Born in Somalia, Abdi-Wali arrived in London in the early 1990s with her mother and brothers after fleeing war, later joined by her father. She joined the Labour party in 2015 after witnessing a rise in homelessness around King's Cross. Housing remains a major issue in the constituency, where 76% of residents rent, far above the national average.

She acknowledges hesitating before entering the race, a decision influenced both by encouragement from supporters and by a widely criticized comment from a Reform UK spokesperson referencing her Somali origins. Abdi-Wali says she wants to show that political engagement can come from genuine community commitment rather than divisive rhetoric.