Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali wins Starmer's former seat in Holborn by-election

Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali, a Somali-born former refugee, won the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, defeating Green leader Zack Polanski for the seat vacated by Keir Starmer.

• Abdi-Wali, Camden Council leader, won 45% of the vote (12,292 ballots) against Polanski's 32.7% (8,928), a margin of 3,364 in the central London constituency.
• Abdi-Wali, a Muslim who arrived in the UK as a child refugee from Somalia, becomes the first woman of Somali refugee origin elected to the Commons.
• Polanski said he would remain Green Party leader despite the defeat, facing internal pressure after party members passed a motion declaring Zionism racism.
• Abdi-Wali called the victory a defeat for "those who seek to divide us" and said she hopes people who look like her see themselves reflected in Parliament.
• The Greens increased their vote share in Holborn and St Pancras compared with the 2024 general election despite Polanski's defeat.
• Abdi-Wali, 43, who has lived in the constituency since the 1990s, previously served as Camden Council's first Black female leader.
• Abdi-Wali pledged to address the housing crisis, bring Thames Water into public ownership and improve job access for young people.
• Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell said the result shows the party is beginning to win back left-wing voters disillusioned under Keir Starmer.