Polanski heckled at Jewish community hustings after saying that Zionism is a form of racism – UK politics live

The Green leader, who is Jewish, made the remarks as part of his campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection

Our political correspondent, Alexandra Topping, has this profile on Sagal Abdi-Wali, the Camden council leader and Labour’s candidate for the Holborn and St Pancras byelection:

Sagal Abdi-Wali does not want to be the prime minister. She doesn’t even want to lead her party. Labour’s candidate for Holborn and St Pancras laughs and shakes her head with unusual vigour when asked if she would like to follow in the footsteps of the last member of parliament for the constituency, Keir Starmer.

“No, no, no, no, that’s not at all, in any way, what I’m trying to do,” she says during a break in campaigning in the Primrose Hill cafe in Regent’s Park. “I’m literally trying to get through the next few weeks and trying to be the member of parliament for this constituency, and that’s all I care about.”

It’s a message the 42-year-old leader of Camden council returns to with ruthless discipline ahead of a byelection on 8 October. It is plastered all over her campaigning material and brought up by every door-knocking Labour activist – every mention an implicit comparison between herself and her high-profile opponent Zack Polanski.

“All I’ve done, all my life, is be a committed champion for people here,” says Abdi-Wali. “Whether it’s volunteering as a teenager or being a councillor, and all the work I did in between, that’s all I’ve ever done. All I want to be is someone who will be visible and local and committed every single day.”