Zia Yusuf has been accused of racism after highlighting the Somali birthplace of a Labour politician who could stand in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
The Reform UK home affairs spokesman targeted Sagal Abdi-Wali, who became the leader of Camden Council earlier this year and is reportedly among those considering an application to replace Sir Keir Starmer.
Yusuf wrote on X that a Labour frontrunner in the contest “was born in Somalia”, before asking his followers:
“Do you understand what’s happening?”
He offered no criticism of Abdi-Wali’s record, her work in Camden or any political position she holds. Her country of birth was the only objection contained in the post.
That prompted an immediate backlash, with Yusuf accused of suggesting that somebody born outside Britain should not be allowed to represent a British constituency.
Mail columnist Dan Hodges called the post “simply racism”, adding:
Abdi-Wali arrived in Britain as a child refugee more than 30 years ago and has spent most of her life in Camden.
She was elected as the Labour councillor for Camden Square in 2022 and returned to the council at the 2026 local elections.
Labour councillors chose her as their new leader in May after the party’s previous council leader, Richard Olszewski, lost his seat to the Greens.
Her appointment made Abdi-Wali the first Black woman to lead Camden Council. The council’s announcement described her as a lifelong Camden resident and noted her involvement in securing Borough of Sanctuary status for the area.
Her Labour biography says she has worked as a school governor and local government officer, as well as volunteering with charities in the borough.
Whether she will become Labour’s parliamentary candidate remains undecided. Applications only opened following Starmer’s departure and are due to close at noon on Friday, September 4.
Abdi-Wali has been described in reports as a frontrunner, but Labour has not yet selected anybody. Yusuf’s description of her as being “foisted” on voters therefore gets ahead of a selection process that is still taking applications.
Even after Labour chooses a candidate, the seat will be decided by voters in a parliamentary by-election.
Yusuf’s post receives a furious response
Several people responding to Yusuf asked why Abdi-Wali’s childhood birthplace had any relevance to her suitability for Parliament.
@graphicgoggs pointed out that she came to Camden as a child, had lived in the borough for 35 years and had already been elected by its residents.
@SamCKx offered Yusuf a simple explanation of what was happening:
“It’s called a parliamentary democracy.”
Labour councillor Abdi Duale, posting as @AbdiDuale_, described Yusuf’s intervention as “disgraceful” and racist.
Broadcaster James Hanson, @jhansonradio, pointed to other senior British politicians with significant connections overseas:
“Boris Johnson was born in New York and Kemi Badenoch grew up in Nigeria. So what?!?”
Others noted that Yusuf is himself the son of immigrants. His parents came to Britain from Sri Lanka during the 1980s and both worked for the NHS.
Journalist Mehdi Hasan accused Yusuf of repeating the kind of rhetoric once directed at his own family.
Yusuf has previously argued that people should not assume his politics from his background, saying those who judged him because he was the child of immigrants were themselves displaying prejudice.
No response from Yusuf to the latest criticism had been published at the time of writing.
Labour faces a potentially crowded contest
Starmer represented Holborn and St Pancras from 2015 until his resignation from Parliament this week.
The former prime minister had previously indicated that he intended to remain as a backbench MP after leaving Downing Street. He has now decided to concentrate on work involving international security, defence and trade.
His departure leaves Labour defending a seat it has held comfortably for decades, although its advantage narrowed considerably at the last general election.
Starmer received 18,884 votes in 2024, giving him a majority of 11,572. His share of the vote fell by more than 17 percentage points.
Independent candidate Andrew Feinstein came second with 7,312 votes, while the Greens finished third with 4,030.
Reform’s candidate, David Roberts, received 2,371 votes and finished fifth with 6.1 per cent, according to the official parliamentary result.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski is now considering contesting the by-election. Local Green members have reportedly encouraged him to stand, although the party must complete its own selection process.
Feinstein could also return, potentially leaving Labour facing separate challenges from the Greens and an independent candidate to its left.
Abdi-Wali would bring a strong local connection to the contest if she applies and is selected. She already represents part of the constituency at council level and leads the local authority covering most of the parliamentary seat.
Voters will ultimately decide whether that record makes her suitable for Westminster.
Yusuf chose not to discuss any of it. Instead, he pointed to the country she left as a child and asked people to draw their own conclusions.
The reaction suggests many understood exactly what he was doing.
Joe Connor is a UK-based reporter specialising in politics, public policy, and national affairs. He has previously contributed to publications including The London Economic (JOE Media Group) and Spotted News.
At The Daily Britain, he covers Westminster politics, elections, and breaking political developments, alongside in-depth analysis of policy decisions and their real-world impact.
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