Sagal Abdi-Wali, a former child refugee who arrived in Britain from Somalia at the age of six, has made history after winning a high-profile parliamentary by-election to take over a seat previously held by former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Abdi-Wali, representing the governing Labour Party, secured 12,292 votes in the Holborn and St Pancras constituency, defeating Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who garnered 8,928 votes in the October 8, 2026, contest. She received approximately 45 per cent of the vote against Polanski’s 33 per cent.
Her victory marks a significant milestone in her political career and comes decades after her family fled Somalia amid the civil war before settling in north London, where she grew up and built a career in public service.
The 42-year-old politician succeeds Starmer, who vacated the parliamentary seat in September after stepping down as prime minister. Her election also makes her the first woman to represent the constituency in decades, following Lena Jeger, who represented the predecessor seat of Holborn and St Pancras South between 1964 and 1979.
From Somali refugee to political leader
Abdi-Wali’s journey to Parliament began when her family left Somalia in 1991 as the country descended into civil war following the collapse of the military government.
Her father, Abdiwali, worked in diplomacy, while her mother, Khadija, had trained as a lawyer in Somalia. The family travelled to Britain with their five children before eventually settling in Camden, an area that would become central to Abdi-Wali’s upbringing and political career.
Having arrived as a young child, she grew up in the local community, attended schools in the area and developed close ties with residents. She has repeatedly described Camden as the place that shaped her, building her political identity around her connection to the people and communities she grew up alongside.
Her mother also played a role in supporting other Somali families who had sought refuge in Britain. After arriving in the country, she established a volunteer-run centre in Camden to help British-Somali refugees navigate services, including healthcare and the education system.
Abdi-Wali later became involved in community work herself. From the age of 16, she volunteered in various initiatives, served as a school governor and worked as a Somali-language interpreter for refugees seeking housing assistance.
Her growing involvement in local issues eventually drew her towards party politics, particularly after she observed rising homelessness in Camden following her return from university, where she studied political science at the University of Leeds. She joined the Labour Party in 2015 and went on to become a prominent local politician.
In May 2026, Abdi-Wali became leader of Camden Council, making history as the first Black woman to hold the position. Her election to Parliament now marks another major milestone in a career that has taken her from community volunteering to leadership at local and national levels.