‘The real deal’: Sagal Abdi-Wali’s journey from child refugee to Labour MP in former PM’s seat

Decades of volunteering combined with years of active local party politics, propels Abdi-Wali to victory over Green leader Zack Polanski

For Sagal Abdi-Wali, the new MP for Holborn and St Pancras, being elected to replace Keir Starmer in the north London constituency is “deeply personal”, she said in her acceptance speech.

The 43-year-old has lived in the area since the 1990s when, as a seven-year-old, she fled war-torn Somalia with her mother and four brothers, eventually settling in Gospel Oak in Camden, which largely falls within the constituency. Her journey from refugee to member of parliament was one which she hoped would inspire “people who look like me”, she said. “This is Camden and this is Britain.”