Labour wins Sir Kier Starmer's former seat
Sagal Abdi-Wali becomes Holborn and St Pancras' first female MP.
Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali has retained the Holborn and St Pancras seat for Labour in a by-election called after former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer stepped down, defeating Green Party leader Zack Polanski.
She becomes the first female MP to represent the constituency.
Ms Abdi-Wali won with 12,292 votes or 45%, with Mr Polanski in second with 8,928 or 33%.
The Conservative candidate came in third, followed by Reform and the Lib Dems.
The Greens had conceded earlier, but a spokesperson said that “taking the fight to Labour in one of its safest seats shows just how far the Greens have come”.
Ms Abdi-Wali said her victory was a testament to the success of diversity in the borough.
“I hope this moment also says something about who gets to belong, for people who look like me, I hope they see themselves reflected in this place and know that their path too belongs here. This is Camden, and this is Britain.”
She added: “I’ve watched people across Camden work to build communities where difference is not something to fear, but something to value. We cannot allow that work, built over generations, to be casually undone by those who seek to divide us.
“We have a responsibility to defend what we’ve built, and pass it on. Hope is not naive. Without hope there is nothing to build on, and nothing to build for.
“People need to believe that politics can make their lives better and that their communities can thrive and that tomorrow can be better than today.”
She added: “That is what this victory represents. Winning not by making people afraid of each other, but by bringing people together.”