EXCLUSIVE: Sagal Abdi-Wali, a former child refugee from Somalia, hit out at criticism from Reform’s Zia Yusuf over not being born in Britain, in an attack Labour branded ‘straightforward racism’
Labour’s candidate in Keir Starmer’s old seat has hit out at the “hateful rhetoric” around her selection, and issued a defiant defence of immigration.
Sagal Abdi-Wali, a former child refugee from Somalia, faced criticism from Reform’s Zia Yusuf over not being born in Britain in an attack Labour branded “straightforward racism”.
The Labour candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras has now said the language has made her more determined to be a voice for young people, and show them the strength of diversity.
In her first interview with a national newspaper, she said: “The negative rhetoric hasn’t had an effect on me personally. It’s made me think quite deeply about what it would mean to a young person who’s thinking of wanting to get involved in their community and be more active, and seeing that divisive and hateful rhetoric and thinking maybe that’s not a role that they want to get involved in because it’s too negative.
“I want to be a voice for that young person and show them we’re a constituency that really values immigration, really values diversity, and sees a real strength in it. Camden is a borough of sanctuary because of the work that we did in a Labour council, and it’s something that so many people across this constituency support.
“The messages of support and keeping strong and going for it and sending a message back to those kind of voices across this constituency that I’ve had over the last week have been immense and really helped me with my resolve to make sure that we win this election and send that message back to those voices and those people.”
Mr Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, had posted: “The frontrunner being foisted on the people of Holborn by Labour to replace the former prime minister Keir Starmer in our parliament was born in Somalia. Do you understand what’s happening?”
The leader of Camden Council since May 2026, Ms Abdi-Wali is facing off with Green leader Zack Polanski in the seat, with voters going to the polls on October 8.
In a message to Green voters, she insisted voting Labour was still the best way to transform lives.
She said: “The Labour party has proven itself to be the single biggest vehicle for social change this country has ever seen, and I want to be part of the next phase of that.
“So many people across this constituency across our communities have had their lives improved because of Labour governments, because of Labour councils.
“I think that’s that’s why I want to make sure that we have a Labour member of Parliament, who will be in those rooms when decisions are being made, have the ear of the Prime Minister, who will have the ear of cabinet members and cabinet ministers and be influencing decisions.”
There was also praise for the new PM Andy Burnham, particularly his pledge on the steps of Downing Street to end rough sleeping.
She said: “I think he’s brought a real message of hope and the actions and values that really sit well with the people in this constituency. When he walked into Number 10 and spoke about wanting to essentially eradicate rough sleeping and solve homelessness, that is a major major thing for people here. It’s one of my passions in terms of housing, homelessness, rough sleeping. It’s an issue that has massively increased here over the last decade.”