Sagal Abdi-Wali (Sagal Cabdi-Wali)

Who is she?

Sagal Abdi-Wali is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras since October 2026 (Wikipedia, Sagal Abdi-Wali). She is the first British Somali woman to become an MP and the first Black woman to lead Camden Council (same source).

Early life

She was born in Somalia in 1984 and came to the United Kingdom aged seven with her mother and four brothers, after the family fled the civil war; her father joined them later (Wikipedia). The family settled in Gospel Oak, Camden (same source). Her mother, who had trained as a lawyer in Somalia, set up the British Somali Centre in Camden (same source). She went to Parliament Hill School and studied political science at the University of Leeds (same source). See Somalis in London.

Camden Council

She worked as a housing officer for Camden Council and joined Labour in 2015 (Wikipedia). She was elected councillor for Camden Square in 2022, became Cabinet Member for Better Homes in May 2024, and was chosen as council leader after the May 2026 election (same source). She chaired Labour's National Women's Committee from 2023 (same source).

Parliament

In the 2026 Holborn and St Pancras by-election, held after Keir Starmer left Parliament, she won with 45.2% of the vote, defeating Green Party leader Zack Polanski (Wikipedia).

In short

A Somali-born child refugee who rose from Camden housing officer to council leader and, in 2026, MP.