At a meeting organised by the Camden Muslim Network in London, Polanski and Liberal Democrat candidate Patrick Stillman made their cases to residents beside empty seats. Their Labour and Conservative counterparts did not attend. Labour candidate Sagal Abdi Wali, a Somali-Muslim woman who leads Camden council, told The Guardian she had a prior obligation and the invite had come too late. The organiser pushed back, saying she had been invited earlier.
Fifteen candidates are contesting the seat, which Labour has held since it was created in 1983. Starmer first won it in 2015 and held it until his resignation. The meeting's conversation ranged from housing to Israel and Palestine. Stillman said his party had long called for Palestinian statehood but would not support a full boycott. Polanski drew applause arguing that the Labour government's position is "deeply cynical": apologising over Gaza while continuing to sell arms to Israel, a country he said is committing a genocide. The Greens, who recently voted to describe Zionism as racism, support a full boycott.
Green leaflets sent to constituents target Abdi Wali, who became leader of Camden council in May. One reads: "Bring change, Replace Labour, Vote Green" and claims every Camden Labour councillor refused to sign the Palestine solidarity pledge or support pension fund divestment. Abdi Wali told the Camden New Journal the claim was "obviously inaccurate", saying the council did feel strongly about the issue and that she wants to focus on the message of Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's government on Palestine, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
In January, Camden Friends of Palestine presented a petition with 4,000 signatures calling on the council to divest.