London: Sagal Abdi-Wali wins in Holborn & St Pancras; Labour holds off the challenge from the Greens
The newly elected MP, a Somali refugee and local leader, has cemented Labour’s dominance in an election marked by internal tensions and a historically low turnout
LONDON – The Labour Party has won the by-election in Holborn & St Pancras, the London constituency left vacant by the resignation of former Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September. This result was expected in an area that has traditionally voted Labour, but it is nonetheless a further sign of the party’s resurgence since Andy Burnham took over as leader and British Prime Minister. The challenger in the constituency was Zack Polanski, the young and charismatic leader of the Greens.
Continuity chosen
Voters in the London constituency ultimately opted for continuity: Sagal Abdi-Wali, the Labour candidate, secured 45 per cent of the vote, compared with Polanski’s 33 per cent. Three factors worked in Abdi-Wali’s favour: firstly, her long-standing involvement in the party that has dominated the constituency for decades; secondly, the fact that she lives in the area – in 2022 she was elected as a councillor and subsequently became leader of the local council – and therefore knows the area and its residents well.
The third factor is her personal history. Abdi-Wali arrived in Britain as a child refugee, having fled war-torn Somalia with her parents. “I hope this moment means something to people like me,” said the newly elected MP. “ “I hope they feel they belong here.” Reform UK, the anti-immigration party led by Nigel Farage, had criticised the choice of a “person born in Somalia”, comments described as “racist” by Labour.
Turnout below 40%
Voter turnout stood at 38.7 per cent, one of the lowest in history, and Labour lost ground – Starmer had been elected with 49 per cent of the vote in 2024 and the party had secured 66 per cent in 2019. However, he managed to fend off the challenge posed by Polanski, who, since becoming leader of the Greens, has managed to attract over 150,000 new members, mostly young people. Today, Polanski explained that the reason he did not win was that ‘every voter I spoke to told me they wanted to give Burnham a chance to revitalise the Labour Party’.
“Holborn & St Pancras has voted for hope,” Burnham said today as he offered his congratulations to the newly elected MP. Starmer also congratulated Abdi-Wali, whom he described as “a brilliant champion of our community”.
