Labour picks Somali refugee to fight by-election for Starmer's old seat… as Zack Polanski faces struggle to be Green hopeful

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 05:16 EDT, 10 September 2026 | Updated: 05:17 EDT, 10 September 2026 Labour has chosen a councillor who arrived in Britain as a child refugee from Somalia as its candidate for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali will contest the October 8 election to replace Sir Keir Starmer, who quit the Commons after being ousted as Prime Minister by Andy Burnham.Ms Abdi-Wali, who grew up in the area after fleeing the war-torn African state with her family in the 1990s, vowed to '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 wants to be chosen but is facing a challenge from local councillor Hamza Chowdhury, who put himself forward with a dig at 'famous' candidates being parachuted in.The Greens are likely to pose the greatest threat in the by-election 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 contest the October 8 election to replace Sir Keir Starmer, who quit the Commons after being ousted as Prime Minister by Andy Burnham Ms Abdi-Wali, who grew up in the area after feeling the war-torn African state in the 1990s, vowed to 'give back the hope you gave me' if elected next month Party leader Zack Polanski wants to be the Green candidate but is facing a challenge from local councillor Hamza ChowdhuryMr Polanski, a London Assembly member, said yesterday he was 'proud' to face a rival and dismissed Mr Chowdhury's comments that the constituency does not need 'another MP who arrives during an election campaign' then 'disappears once the votes are counted'.'I think the local party already knows that doesn't describe me at all. It's a place that I know very, very well,' Mr Polanski said.Ms Abdi-Wali, who has led Camden Council since May this year, said: 'I am delighted that local members have put their trust in me to be Labour's candidate in the area I've grown up in.'This place welcomed my family as refugees and gave us hope when we needed it most.'I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to build a life here, serving our community as a councillor, school governor and community activist. Now I am standing to say thank you and to give back the hope you gave me.'Throughout this campaign, I promise to put our communities at the heart of everything I do, now and for the future. Together, we can make hope win.'Only two MPs – both Labour – have ever represented Holborn and St Pancras: former health secretary Frank Dobson, from 1983 to 2015, then Sir Keir.At the most recent general election in 2024, Sir Keir held the seat with 48.9 per cent of the vote, ahead of independent candidate Andrew Feinstein in second place on 18.9 per cent and the Greens in third on 10.4 per cent.The Conservatives came fourth on 7.2 per cent, Reform finished fifth on 6.1 per cent and the Liberal Democrats were sixth on 5.8 per cent.The popularity of the independent and Green candidates at the 2024 contest, finishing second and third respectively, may have been partly down to former Labour voters protesting against Sir Keir's refusal to take a stronger position on Israel's actions in Gaza in the war with Hamas.The Green Party also made gains in the May local elections in the London Borough of Camden, the local authority that covers the constituency.