Somali native takes Starmer's seat in the British Parliament

Somali-born politician takes Starmer's seat in British Parliament

Labour Party representative Sagal Abdi-Wali has won the by-election in the London constituency of Holborn and St Pancras. In the House of Commons, the Somali-born politician will replace former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Abdi-Wali secured 12.3 thousand votes, defeating Green Party candidate Zack Polanski, who was supported by 8.9 thousand voters. Conservative Ewan Cameron came third, receiving 1.9 thousand votes.

The vote took place on October 8. The by-election was called after Starmer resigned his parliamentary seat in September. Following the election results, Labour retained the seat for the constituency.

Starmer announced his decision to step down as Prime Minister and resign as leader of the Labour Party on June 22. This was preceded by a prolonged period of domestic political pressure, which significantly weakened the Prime Minister's position despite his earlier statements of intent to continue his work. The situation for the head of government became critical after the May local elections in England, Wales, and Scotland, in which Labour lost more than 1,500 seats, triggering a wave of harsh internal criticism.

, that Starmer's successor as head of the British government will be Andy Burnham, who previously led Greater Manchester.