Zia Yusuf, Reform UK's home affairs spokesperson, has been accused of "straightforward racism" by business secretary Jonathan Reynolds after posting on X that Labour's potential candidate for the Holborn and St Pancras byelection was not British. The post referred to Sagal Abdi-Wali, a former child refugee from Somalia and leader of Camden council, who is being tipped as an early favourite to contest the London seat. Reynolds described Yusuf's comment as "pretty straightforward racism" during an appearance on Sky News, while Nadine Dorries, a Reform UK figure, called it "nasty". The post has been viewed 8 million times and drawn criticism from within Reform UK.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Zia Yusuf, a Reform UK politician, has been accused of making a racist comment about Laila Cunningham, the Labour party's front-runner for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. On social media, Yusuf said that Cunningham, who is the leader of Camden council, was "born in Somalia", implying that she is not British. This statement was widely criticized as "straightforward racism" by Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, and other senior Reform UK figures. Cunningham, who was born to Egyptian immigrant parents, said she didn't understand what Yusuf meant by the comment and called it a "nasty tweet". The incident has sparked controversy within the Reform party.
Written for “Racism Accusations in Politics” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score -0.85 for article 5644 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-06
Labour has accused Reform’s Zia Yusuf of “straightforward racism” after he suggested the party’s frontrunner to replace Keir Starmer in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection was not British.
uncertain
frontrunner → accuse → byelection
Sagal Abdi-Wali, a former child refugee from Somalia and the leader of Camden council, has been tipped as an early favourite to contest the London seat for Labour after the former prime minister’s resignation.
asserted
Wali → tip → resignation
Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, posted on X last week: “The frontrunner being foisted on the people of Holborn by Labour to replace the former prime minister Keir Starmer in our parliament was born in Somalia.
asserted
frontrunner → post → Somalia
Do you understand what’s happening?”
asserted
what → understand → ?
The post, which has been viewed 8m times, drew sharp criticism from several senior Reform UK figures during the party’s conference in Birmingham at the weekend.
asserted
which → view → weekend
Appearing on Sky News on Sunday, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, also condemned Yusuf’s post as “straightforward racism”.
asserted
secretary → appear → racism
Asked by the presenter Jon Sopel for his thoughts on the message, Reynolds said: “Pretty straightforward racism, isn’t it?
asserted
it → ask → message
There’s a potential candidate referenced there; spent decades in this country, huge contribution to her local community, so I think that speaks for itself.”
asserted
that → ’ → itself
When Sopel asked whether it was “plain racism”, Reynolds replied: “Absolutely.”
asserted
Reynolds → ask → ?
Yusuf has drawn significant criticism for his inflammatory comments on X in recent months, including from top Reform UK figures.
asserted
Yusuf → draw → figures
Nadine Dorries, a former Conservative minister who defected to Reform UK last year, described the post about Abdi-Wali as “nasty”.
asserted
who → defect → Wali
Zia Yusuf is a brilliant man, and he’s a genius actually, and he’s an incredible communicator.
asserted
he → ’ → ?
I wish he closed down his Twitter account,” she told Times Radio.
asserted
she → wish → Radio
Laila Cunningham, Reform’s candidate for mayor of London and the daughter of immigrants from Egypt, told the Standard: “I don’t know what he meant by that comment.
asserted
he → tell → comment
I read it a few times.
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I → read → it
“I didn’t understand what he meant by that comment.
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he → understand → comment
Of course, you know, that woman is British.
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woman → know → ?
She’s the leader of Camden council.
asserted
She → ’ → council
I didn’t understand what he meant by that.”
asserted
he → understand → that
Reform UK has been contacted for comment.
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UK → contact → comment
Abdi-Wali arrived in Camden as a child refugee from Somalia.
asserted
Wali → arrive → Somalia
She has worked for more than a decade as a volunteer and trustee for local charities and is a governor of two schools in the borough, according to Labour.
uncertain
She → work → Labour
She was first elected as a councillor in 2022 and became the leader of the council in May, when she said: “Camden has been my home for 35 years.
uncertain
Camden → elect → years
It is the place that gave my family sanctuary, that welcomed us, and that has shaped so much of who I am, what I stand for and what inspired my commitment to public service and to working for the community that welcomed us.”
asserted
that → give → us
Labour is expected to announce its candidate for the Holborn and St Pancras byelection by Wednesday.
asserted
Labour → expect → Wednesday
Labour faces a battle against the Green party to retain the seat as the latter is expected to confirm Zack Polanski, the leader of the Greens in England and Wales, as its candidate.
asserted
latter → face → candidate
