Labour conceded two wards within Keir Starmer’s constituency to an independent pro-Palestine party and a 27-year-old Green Party candidate who only joined politics last year, despite holding Camden.
The Green Party’s Hamza Chowdhury beat the Labour Council leader Richard Olszewski’s in Holborn and Covent Garden – which is made up largely of voters in Starmer’s Holborn and St Pancras constituency.
Although Labour retained overall control of the council, winning 30 of the 55 seats, they were usurped in another part of the prime minister’s constituency.
Pro-Palestine independent Sha Abdul Majeed Bakth won in St Pancras and Somers Town, knocking Labour councillor Edmund Frondigoun out of his seat.
Chowdhury, a former IT student, said: “I’m a bit shocked that we have taken on the Prime Minister’s ward, which has been Labour for over two decades and it’s quite shocking that the Prime Minister’s team has gone down.
“It’s a bit disappointing too, because a lot of people across the country were rooting for Labour – but they’ve now lost faith and it’s a shame we’re here. I think it’s a shame we’re here.”
Olszewski took over as leader of Camden Council in 2024 but decided to change wards from Fortune Green to the Labour safe Holborn and Covent Garden for the 2026 elections.
After a heavy day of loss for the Labour party, Olszewski said: “The people of Camden need a Labour‑running council to be delivering the high quality services that they depend on, whether it’s to make ends meet, to be properly housed, to feel safe and secure in their communities and to be able to live in a wonderful, vibrant, diverse borough.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed personally to lose my seat, but when you stand for election, you always take the risk that you can lose.”
Another blow for the borough’s Labour candidates came as Bakth won representing Camden People’s Alliance – a pro-Palestine, housing and locally-focused independent party.
He told the Camden New Journal that the public have trusted him with a position he hopes he can live up to, and hopes to make the area a better place – with the help of the community around him.
This sentiment was echoed by Chowdhury, who said: “This is a historic win, and I stole the show – but why?
“It’s not because I’m Bangladeshi or because I’m a student – it’s because of local connection and because of friends and family and neighbours.
“We see the neighbours every day and local people believe in me.
“I’m not a politician, I’m 27 years old, I just work in IT, and this may be the start of something very exciting in the future.”
Feature image taken by Charlotte Houldey.
Join the discussion