See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 10:16 BST, 10 September 2026 | Updated: 15:11 BST, 10 September 2026
Labour has chosen a councillor who arrived in Britain as a child refugee from Somalia as its candidate for the by-election in Sir Keir Starmer’s former seat.Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali will stand in Holborn and St Pancras on October 8 after the former prime minister announced he was standing down as an MP last week.Ms Abdi-Wali, who grew up in the area after fleeing the war-torn African country with her family in the 1990s, told voters she would 'give back the hope you gave me' if elected next month. But she faces a battle to hold on to the seat, with the Greens set to unveil their candidate tomorrow.Party leader Zack Polanski has confirmed his intention to stand in the by-election but is facing a challenge from local councillor Hamza Chowdhury, who made a dig at 'famous' candidates being parachuted in.The Greens are likely to pose the greatest threat to Labour, which has held the inner London constituency continuously since the seat was created in 1983, winning at least 40 per cent of the vote at every election. Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali will stand in Sir Keir Starmer's former seat of Holborn and St Pancras on October 8 after the former PM announced he was standing down as an MP
