Somali-born Sagal Abdi-Wali sworn in as British MP after by-election

Somali-born Sagal Abdi-Wali has been sworn in as MP for Holborn and St Pancras in the British House of Commons.

Abdi-Wali won last week's by-election for the central London constituency with 45% of the vote, beating Green Party leader Zack Polanski who secured about 33% of the vote.

The by-election was triggered by former prime minister Keir Starmer's resignation as MP.

advertisements “I have officially been sworn in! Great day meeting all my new colleagues, so excited to represent the people of Holborn and St Pancras,” she said in a post on X.

Abdi-Wali was born in Somalia and went to Britain as a child refugee. She spent much of her life in Camden and worked with local communities for more than a decade before rising become the leader of Camden Council.

According to her Labour party, she has served the community as a volunteer and trustee for local charities, a school governor at two local schools, and as a local government officer at Camden Council.

Her political and community work was shaped in part by her own experiences growing up in Camden.

Her candidacy drew significant attention among Britain’s Somali and wider African communities, reflecting her progression from arriving in the country as a refugee child to serving as a senior figure in local government.