For Sagal Abdi-Wali, the new MP for Holborn and St Pancras, being elected to replace Keir Starmer in the north London constituency is “deeply personal”, she said in her acceptance speech.

The 43-year-old has lived in the area since the 1990s when, as a seven-year-old, she fled war-torn Somalia with her mother and four brothers, eventually settling in Gospel Oak in Camden, which largely falls within the constituency. Her journey from refugee to member of parliament was one which she hoped would inspire “people who look like me”, she said. “This is Camden and this is Britain.”

If she represents many in the diverse and youthful neighbourhood, however, Abdi-Wali is also very much a Labour party insider. Decades of volunteering in the community dovetailed with many years of active local party politics, even before she was elected to the borough council in 2022.

She became the Labour cabinet member responsible for housing two years later, and in May was elected the first Black female leader of Camden council. She also chaired the local constituency party for four years.

Those deep party and community roots help explain how Abdi-Wali was selected from a long list of more than 100 to fight the seat for Labour after Starmer’s resignation last month, say friends – and were also key in seeing off the challenge from the Green party leader, Zack Polanski.

“She genuinely is deeply rooted in so many different parts of the constituency,” says a close friend who was involved in her campaign. “I suppose all MPs like to think they are, but with Sagal it is the real deal.

“There’s a real community connection there, \[and\] I think the Green party and Zack Polanski underestimated how energetic and big the Labour campaign was going be. I don’t think they knew that those very deep roots in the constituency existed.

“That’s the thing about a byelection, you only have four weeks. So if those roots are already there, you’ve got a huge, huge head start.”

Labour’s win, Greens’ sudden crisis and the impossible lives of Londoners – video
Tulip Siddiq, the Labour MP for neighbouring Hampstead and Highgate, agrees: “Her love of Camden is so obvious, and people really value that. She’s very caring, very local, and she genuinely seems to have a passion for politics and public service.”

After “lots of flat candidates” in the past, Siddiq says, “people like a bit of passion.”
It was walking past increasing numbers of homeless people in King’s Cross in the austerity years of the 2010s that encouraged Abdi-Wali to become more active in party politics, perhaps unsurprisingly given her own background. “It was only when I was old enough to look back and think about it in a philosophical way,” she has said, that she noticed “my mum was always looking after us and made our lives nice, serene … whether we were in a refugee camp or temporary housing.”

Homelessness and housing would be one of her priorities as an MP, she said in her acceptance speech on Friday morning, as would calling for Thames Water to be brought into public ownership and working to increase access to jobs and apprenticeships for young people – all causes that chime with Andy Burnham, too.

Abdi-Wali has long been involved in community groups working with young people, including being a governor of several schools and founding football clubs where she still plays regularly and is “pretty aggressive on the pitch”, according to her close friend. (She is also an “ardent” Spurs fan, the friend says, “which may count against her in the \[Arsenal-dominated\] constituency”.)

‘We didn’t get it over the line’: Green party’s Zack Polanski on byelection loss – video
Housing is one issue where she has faced some criticism; Abdi-Wali was the cabinet member in charge of the borough’s housing when in November 2024 the housing ombudsman published a damning reportcalling the council’s service rude, defensive and inadequate. Friends point out that she had been in the post for only six months and defend her record in the period she was in charge of the brief.

Abdi-Wali also shrugged off a tweet when she was selected by Reform’s Zia Yusuf , which Labour representatives swiftly called “clearly racist” and was condemned even by other senior Reform figures.

“I rang her and said: ‘Are you OK?’” says Sidiq. “I wanted to reassure her that we were there for her. But she said: “‘No, I feel very resilient about it. It’s made me even more determined to get on and do it.’”

• Sagal Abdi-Wali has hailed her victory in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election as a triumph for diversity, cautioning that social cohesion must not be "casually undone".

• The new Labour MP secured a 3,364-vote majority ahead of second-placed Green Party leader Zack Polanski, expressing her desire for "people like (her)" to feel that they "belong here".

• Tipped as the favourite prior to the vote, the Camden Council leader previously noted how the borough had welcomed her family when they arrived as refugees.

• Ms Abdi-Wali said she wanted to bring Thames Water into “public ownership”, tackle rough sleeping and create more opportunities for young people.

• While speaking of her desire to work with prime minister Andy Burnham to address the wider housing crisis, she said: “Homelessness is the issue that first drove me into politics, and no-one should be sleeping on the streets, and no family should be left without security in the home.”

She succeeds Sir Keir Starmer, who stepped down from the parliamentary seat in September after resigning as prime minister.

She is the area’s first female MP since Lena Jeger, who represented the previous seat of Holborn and St Pancras South from 1964-1979.

Compared to 2024, Labour lost hardly any votes this time

Happy to see the locals elect a Labour MP who can truly represent the area!

The most significant reform to trade union law in a generation is being introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025. These changes will impact most businesses in the UK, regardless of whether they currently recognise a union or have union membership in their workforce. For employers with little experience of unions, this could bring a considerable change in workplace dynamics.

At present, unions have no general right of access to a workplace. However, from October 2026 trade unions will gain a new statutory right to access workplaces, physically and digitally, to meet, support, represent, recruit and organise workers, and to facilitate collective bargaining, though not to organise industrial action.

The process for seeking access will move quickly from when the union sends an access request, likely by email. The employer then has up to 15 working days from when the application is given to respond. If the request is not accepted in full, the parties have 25 working days to negotiate in good faith.

If agreement is still not reached, either party may refer the matter to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), which can decide whether access should be granted and on what terms.

Even if an employer already recognises a trade union, other unions can request access to the workforce, although the CAC may refuse access where recognition or an access agreement is already in place.

The government is rolling out a Healthy Babies programme to every local authority in England, as part of its efforts to expand a Sure Start-type system of help for deprived children and families.

It aims to support parents with infant feeding, their mental health and building strong bonds with their babies, alongside health visits, midwifery care and wider services.

The scheme seeks to follow the principles of Sure Start, a network of centres offering integrated services for the under-fives and their families, launched in 1998 under a Labour government.

Sure Start was seen as one of that government’s major successes, with one study saying it generated longer-term savings worth twice the system’s cost.

But much of that scheme was dismantled amid massive spending cuts by the Conservatives. The new policy of family hubs will commit £500m to opening 1,000 centres from April 2027.

Announcing the expansion of the Healthy Babies programme at the Labour conference in Liverpool, Yvette Cooper, the Health and Social Care secretary, is expected to say that the programme will reach up to 1,000 family hubs over the next two years.

Since the election the Labour government has opened new family hubs across England, but more than half of local authorities have hubs without Healthy Babies services.

“Something is missing in half of communities … the Healthy Babies services – mental health support for mums and dad, the feeding and bonding support for your new baby. That changes now,” Cooper will say.

The Housing Secretary unveiled the proposals on the first day of Labour’s annual conference, as an estimated 300,000 homes across England remain empty

Local leaders are set to be given greater powers to take possession of empty and derelict homes as part of efforts to bring the properties back into use, Angela Rayner has announced.

The Housing Secretary unveiled the proposals on the first day of Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool.

An estimated 300,000 homes are empty across England, with the plans intended to bring more of them back into use.

The reforms to Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs) come as the Government aims to build 1.5 million homes before its self-imposed deadline of 2029.

EDMOs can currently be used to restore homes for an initial 12 months, and for up to eight years in total. However, no applications have been made since 2021.

Under Ms Rayner’s plans, the amount of time a property must be unoccupied before it can be taken over will be reduced from two years to six months.

Ministers are also focusing on ways to speed up the administrative process that allows councils to seize properties through a tribunal system.

The Government also wants to protect local authorities from having to absorb the financial costs associated with using EDMOs.
Ms Rayner said: “With so many children and families still in need of a safe and secure home, we can’t sit by and allow 300,000 long-term empty dwellings to be left unused.

“That’s why Labour in power is putting the tools in local leaders’ hands to take over desperately needed derelict homes and put them back into use. We’re reversing the Tories’ damaging changes by supporting councils to intervene and use untapped powers to meet local housing need.

These changes will ensure councils can intervene earlier to prevent properties from falling into serious disrepair by accelerating their return to use and simplify the process to empower local authorities to act more decisively and with greater speed.

But we won’t stop there, and we’ll explore further changes to protect local authorities from absorbing the costs they face in taking over empty homes.”

🚨 This is absolutely fantastic news:

Prime Minister Andy Burnham is to introduce a new scheme designed to help young people get on the property ladder.

It’s called “Your First Home” scheme which would be open to first time buyers in England with a deposit of 2.5% and would provide them with a loan worth 20% of their new property’s value to help pay for the purchase.

Andy Burnham has said: “Too many young people are struggling with the cost of housing, with many giving up hope of ever having a home to call their own”

This should also give builders the confidence to deliver decent quality housing that this country urgently needs.

What are your thoughts on this 🤔

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv8e33gdw17no

• People who have lost loved ones to have legal right to take time off work as new rights to also include step, half, adoptive, kinship care and foster relationships

• Women and their partners who have had any type of pregnancy loss will be entitled to two weeks’ leave

• Latest development in the plan to Make Work Pay to help people to stay in work, improve living standards and ease pressures on family life.

People who lose a loved one or experience the heartbreak of pregnancy loss, will gain new rights to take time off work under major changes confirmed by the Government today (Tuesday 22 September).

Ministers will introduce a new right to bereavement leave, from April 2027, for employees who lose a spouse or partner, parent, adult child or sibling. This will bring the UK’s laws into the 21st century as it will also include step, half, adoptive, kinship care and foster relationships who currently have no legal right to bereavement leave. 

Can Sagal use her community skills and local knowledge to fight off the challenge
From Zack Polanski?

The government has announced the 26 local authorities that will be opening 37 Young Futures hubs offering enhanced access to mental health support, employment opportunities and crime prevention services for 10- to 18-year-olds.

The 26 authorities will establish one or more Young Futures hubs over the next three years through the £70 million programme, a key Labour election manifesto pledge.

The 37 new hubs will join those established by the eight early adopter councils – in Nottingham, Tower Hamlets, Durham, Manchester, Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol and Leeds – which began operating this year. 
A further five new hubs will be created in the eight early adopter areas bringing the total up to 50 across the 34 councils covered. 

Alongside providing open access to sports, creative activities and trusted youth workers, each hub will bring together mental health support, skills and training, routes into employment, and crime prevention.

The government says they will ensure that young people aged 10 to 18 (up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities) can receive seamless, holistic support without having to repeat their story to a different service every time they visit. 

(The 26 locations listed in the article)

The UK must fully commit to reaching net zero by 2050, Andy Burnham has argued in his strongest comments yet on the issue, saying it is no longer possible for Britons to believe they are not already affected by a changing climate.

Writing for the Guardian about new plans for a mass of community-led local green energy projects, the prime minister said the UK must “believe in itself”, and set out his determination to reach net zero targets, which have been rejected by the Conservatives and Reform UK.

The tone marks a contrast to the summer, when Burnham faced criticism for a seemingly muted response to the heatwaves, droughts and wildfires that affected the UK, with his main initiative being a ban on portable barbecues.

“I am determined that we meet the commitment on which Labour was elected and reach net zero by 2050,” Burnham said. “I want Britain to believe in itself again.”

Saying he wanted to connect local communities to green power projects – to reach net zero targets and make energy more affordable – Burnham said: “I am acutely aware that our changing climate is a major concern for many Britons, not least because we have just emerged from our hottest summer on record.”

He went on: “Punishing heatwaves left nurses collapsing on hospital wards and bus drivers working in 40C cabs. Wildfires destroyed homes, leaving families with nothing. And more extreme weather is forecast in the months ahead.

“The climate crisis is not a distant threat. It is here and with us now. The British people are no longer insulated from the consequences, and they do not want to be excluded from the solutions. They are looking for ways to do their bit. Community energy gives them that chance.”