London, United Kingdom– At a pre-election gathering hosted by the Camden Muslim Network, candidates from the Green and Liberal Democrat parties presented their platforms to residents, while Labour and Conservative counterparts were notably absent.
Sagal Abdi Wali, the Labour candidate and a Somali-Muslim woman, stated she missed the meeting due to a scheduling conflict and claimed the invitation arrived too recently. However, the Camden Muslim Network disputed this assertion, maintaining that she had been invited well in advance.
The contest features fifteen aspirants vying for the constituency previously held by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, including Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who aims to secure a parliamentary seat. Labour has maintained control of Holborn and St Pancras since its creation in 1983; Starmer held the seat from 2015 until his resignation, which precipitated the by-election.
Discussions at the forum covered local concerns such as housing alongside the conflict in Israel and Palestine. Liberal Democrat candidate Patrick Stillman noted his party has long advocated for Palestinian statehood but stopped short of endorsing a complete boycott.
Polanski took a firmer stance, addressing applause from the crowd to argue that the Labour government’s position was “deeply cynical.” He criticized the administration for refusing to fully acknowledge wrongdoing while continuing arms sales to Israel, which he described as a country committing genocide. He confirmed his party supports a full boycott, following a recent vote to describe Zionism as racism.
‘Vote Palestine’
Green Party literature targeted Abdi-Wali’s tenure as a Labour councillor and recently as Camden council leader, a role she won in May. One leaflet urged voters to “Replace Labour,” while the reverse argued that every Camden Labour councillor refused to sign the Palestine solidarity pledge or back pension fund divestment, contrasting this with the Greens’ steadfastness on the issue.
Last month, Abdi-Wali responded to the leaflets in the Camden New Journal, labeling the claims “obviously inaccurate.” She insisted the council did feel strongly about the issue and sought to highlight the current message being delivered by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband regarding Palestine, Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.
In January, Camden Friends of Palestine (CFOP), formed in response to the war on Gaza, delivered a petition with 4,000 signatures demanding the council divest its pension fund from companies linked to Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories. At the time, Abdi-Wali, serving as a Labour councillor, did not back the motion; instead, most councillors agreed to refer the matter to the pension board for review.
Shadin, a 38-year-old resident and CFOP organizer who intends to support Polanski, criticized Abdi-Wali. “My impression of her and her politics is that she’s just really incredibly silent on everything, if there isn’t a career motive for her, and that’s kind of disappointing,” he said. He added that witnessing the conflict via livestream has caused many acquaintances to disengage from mainstream and parliamentary politics.
Housing remains a central theme across London constituencies. Camden council’s “2026 state of the borough” report indicated that 8,380 households were on the social housing waiting list as of the end of March 2025, a 9.5 percent increase year-on-year.
On Friday, in the affluent Primrose Hill area, one resident pledged to support Labour, while another remained skeptical that the outcome would alter their daily life. Elsewhere in Camden, a resident told Al Jazeera they were unaware of the election, even as Labour canvassers knocked on nearby estate doors.
As both major parties mount final campaigns, recent polling suggests a tight contest. In the 2024 general election, Starmer won the seat with 49 percent of the vote, while pro-Palestine independent Andrew Feinstein placed second with 19 percent. Both betting firm Ladbrokes and the polling analysis site Stats for Lefties currently predict a Labour victory.
