Abdi-Wali described the victory as "deeply personal" in her acceptance speech. She has lived in the area since the 1990s, when, aged seven, she fled Somalia with her mother and four brothers and eventually settled in Gospel Oak in Camden, which largely falls within the constituency.
She said she hoped her journey from refugee to member of parliament would inspire "people who look like me", adding: "This is Camden and this is Britain."
The 43-year-old is also a Labour party insider. Decades of community volunteering combined with years of active local party politics preceded her election to Camden borough council in 2022. Two years later she became the Labour cabinet member responsible for housing, and in May she was elected the first Black female leader of Camden council. She also chaired the local constituency party for four years.
Friends say those deep party and community roots explain how Abdi-Wali was selected from a long list of more than 100 candidates to fight the seat after Starmer's resignation last month, and were key to seeing off the challenge from Green party leader Zack Polanski.
"She genuinely is deeply rooted in so many different parts of the constituency," a close friend involved in her campaign said. Photographs from the count show Polanski applauding as Abdi-Wali was announced the winner.