Somali refugee Sagal Abdi-Wali sworn in as MP — taking seat Keir Starmer left behind
Sagal Abdi-Wali, who came to Britain as a child refugee from Somalia, was sworn in on Monday as newest member of House of Commons
LONDON (MNTV) — Sagal Abdi-Wali, who came to Britain as a child refugee from Somalia, was sworn in on Monday as the newest member of the House of Commons — completing a remarkable journey from displacement to the heart of British politics, and taking the very seat vacated by former prime minister Keir Starmer.
The 42-year-old Labour politician won the Holborn and St Pancras by-election held on October 8, securing 12,292 votes, or just over 45 percent, as reported by multiple outlets. She defeated the Green Party leader, Zack Polanski, who took around 33 percent, winning by a majority of more than 3,000.
The contest was triggered by Starmer’s resignation from the central London seat, which he had represented for more than a decade before stepping down.
Abdi-Wali’s win makes her the first woman ever to represent the constituency — an honour she described as “extraordinary” — as well as the first person of Somali origin to do so. “I have officially been sworn in,” she wrote on X after taking her oath. “Great day meeting all my new colleagues, so excited to represent the people of Holborn and St Pancras.”
Her path to Westminster runs through the community she will now represent in Parliament. Abdi-Wali arrived in the U.K. with her family in the 1990s and grew up in the north London borough of Camden, which, she said in her victory speech, gave her family a home, an education, opportunities and a sense of belonging.
She spent more than a decade in community work — as a volunteer and trustee for local charities, a governor at two local schools, and an officer at Camden Council — before being elected to the council herself in 2022.
Her rise within local government was swift.
In May 2026 she became leader of Camden Council, the first Black woman and the first person of Somali heritage to hold the position, before stepping up to national politics just months later.
Her victory drew warm attention across Britain’s Somali and wider African communities, and beyond.
Kenya’s health minister, Aden Duale, congratulated her on what he called a “proud and historic achievement,” not only for her family but for the entire Somali community in Britain and around the world, adding that her success could inspire women and young people considering public service.
Abdi-Wali’s election adds to the slowly growing presence of Muslim and African-heritage representation in the House of Commons — and stands, for many, as a pointed counter-narrative at a moment when refugees and migrants are so often cast in Britain’s politics as a problem to be managed.
Her story, from a child seeking refuge to a member of Parliament, offers a different account of what newcomers can contribute to the country that took them in.
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