Camden Council is set to get its third boss in a year following the current leader Sagal Abdi-Wali’s election as MP for Holborn and St Pancras.
Cllr James Slater has been picked to succeed Cllr Abdi-Wali as leader of the local Labour group, having won the backing of a majority of Camden Labour councillors. However, he is not due to become Council Leader until November.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Cllr Slater said it was a “huge honour” to have been selected. “I moved to this borough a decade ago and fell in love with Camden’s creativity, diversity and opportunity. I’ve seen it first-hand while living in all corners of our borough, and serving our diverse communities as a school and NHS governor, trustee, volunteer and now as a councillor.
“My mission is simple: I want every resident, in every part of Camden, to share in the borough’s success. That means working tirelessly to improve opportunities for young people, tackling the housing crisis, and transforming our public services,” he said.
Slater, 28, has held the planning and regeneration brief in the council cabinet since May 2026. He was first elected as a councillor for Kentish Town North in 2022.
During his four years on the council, he also chaired the Audit Committee and served as a policy adviser to the cabinet. Beyond the town hall, he has spent the last five years working in Parliament for three Labour MPs. Slater is currently employed as Head of Office for Catherine McKinnell MP, Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending. It is understood he will leave this job upon becoming leader.
Cllr Abdi-Wali will continue leading the borough until 16 November, when the full council will vote on her successor. With 30 seats on the council, Labour’s majority all but guarantees Slater’s election as leader.
Camden’s current leader was sworn in as MP for Holborn and St Pancras on Monday, 12 October, after holding the seat for Labour following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation in September.
The high-profile by-election saw Abdi-Wali beat Green Party Leader Zack Polanski by a 12-point margin to retain the seat.
Abdi-Wali, who is the first-ever British Somali woman MP, became Camden Council leader less than six months ago after her predecessor, Richard Olszewski, lost his seat at the local elections. She previously served as the cabinet member for better homes.
Following her by-election win, Abdi-Wali told the LDRS that what she “saw and learned” as leader and as a councillor was one of the reasons she stood as an MP, and she would “take forward” this experience in her new role in the House of Commons.
The new MP was first elected as a councillor for Camden Square in 2022. Abdi-Wali has confirmed to the LDRS that she is “committed” to staying on as councillor alongside her parliamentary role, but would not be taking a councillor’s allowance. The basic annual salary for MPs is £98,599.
“My commitment to Camden Square and the wider Holborn and St Pancras community remains as strong as ever, and I will continue to work hard to represent residents, listen to their concerns and deliver for our community,” Cllr Abdi-Wali said.
Abdi-Wali is one of two councillors representing Camden Square ward and she and her Labour colleague Tricia Leman were elected this May with 890 and 848 votes respectively.
The next council elections are not due until 2030.
Camden New Journal editor Richard Osley reported that “there have been discussions within the party as to whether she could stay on in both roles to avoid sending residents back to the polls to choose a new representative for their ward, but insiders said that having two jobs was not considered a good look by others in the group”.
Osley noted on social media that former councillors Georgia Gould, Danny Beales, and Lloyd Hatton “all stepped down from being a councillor once they became MPs”.
There is also speculation that Camden Labour don’t want to risk a fight with the Greens who came a very close second place at Camden Square this May, with candidates Helen Doyle and Adam Haswell polling 830 and 687 votes.
Additional reporting by Linus Rees.
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