Labour Party selects Somali refugee to contest Keir Starmer’s seat
Sughla Abdi-Wali has emerged as a prominent British political figure attracting widespread attention after the Labour Party officially selected her to contest the by-election in the constituency formerly represented by former Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Sughla Abdi-Wali, 42, arrived in Britain from Somalia as a child in the 1990s, and her family settled in Camden, north London, which later became the center of her political and community career. She was first elected as a Camden Borough Council member for Labour in 2022, before taking on the council’s housing portfolio, and in May 2026 became leader of Camden Council, making her the first Black woman to lead the council. She also served for over a decade as a volunteer and board member of local charities, and sat on the boards of two schools in the area. Abdi-Wali says Camden was the place that gave her family safety when they arrived as refugees, and that her experience there drove her to work in community service.
In the latest development, Labour members selected Abdi-Wali as the party’s candidate for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election on the evening of September 9, following the vacancy created by Keir Starmer’s resignation from the House of Commons. The election is scheduled for October 8, 2026. This gives her a chance to move from local council leadership to the British Parliament; if she wins, she would become the first Somali woman to enter the UK Parliament, according to reports covering her candidacy.
Although the constituency has historically been a Labour stronghold, the upcoming election will not be easy. The party faces strong competition from the Green Party, with its leader, Zack Polanski, likely to enter the race, as Green popularity has risen among younger and left-leaning voters. Conversely, Abdi-Wali holds a significant advantage as a well-known local figure, having spent around 35 years in Camden and worked on housing, homelessness, and community services.
Her name gained international attention before her official selection following a controversial post by Zia Yusuf, spokesperson for Reform UK’s home affairs team, who mentioned that she was born in Somalia while discussing the possibility of her running to succeed Starmer. The post drew widespread criticism, and UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds described the comment as “clear racism,” noting that Abdi-Wali is British and an elected leader of Camden Council.
Abdi-Wali’s story carries strong political and symbolic weight: a child who arrived in Britain as a refugee from Somalia, she grew up in the community that welcomed her family, became its council leader, and is now seeking to enter the British Parliament from the seat once held by the former prime minister. Consequently, the upcoming election represents for Labour not merely an attempt to retain a seat, but potentially a test of Britain’s multicultural image and the party’s ability to maintain the votes of left-leaning and younger voters in the face of the Green Party’s rise.
