“Anyone who knows my track record knows I won’t just be a backbencher”, says Sagal Abdi-Wali, who is standing as Labour’s candidate in the crucial upcoming Holborn and St Pancras by-election.

She is two weeks away from going head-to-head with Green Party leader Zack Polanski after former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer announced he would stand down from the seat, triggering a by-election.

But Sagal, who arrived in the UK as a child refugee from Somalia aged six, is not concerned about Polanski’s challenge and feels “really hopeful” about winning the poll on October 8.

“I don’t feel like I’m going up against anyone,” she says. “I’ve not really had too much time to listen to or see any of the other campaigns when I’m just focused on my own and speaking to residents and getting my own message out and hearing from them.”

It is her deep-rooted connection to the local community, where she was welcomed as a child and only left for a brief stint to study at university, which she hopes is coming across to voters.

“I think the response I'm getting from residents is that local element. I know this area inside out – it's the area that made me,” she said.

In what could be perceived as a dig at her opponent Polanski – who does not live in the area – she insisted voters want a representative they “know will be here, visibly every day”.

“I know the communities all over. I've worked really closely with all of our communities. And I think people really want a local community voice – a really visible voice that will fight for them every single day.

“Many people want someone who they know will be here, visibly every single day - after whatever happens,” she said.

Sagal pointed to community work and volunteering she’s been involved with across the borough since she was a teenager, before she joined the Labour party in 2015 and went on to lead Camden council.

But that’s not to say beating the Greens won’t be a challenge.

Polanski’s party has made great strides on the national and local stage in recent months, following the success of their candidate Hannah Spencer in the Gorton and Denton by-election in February.

In May’s local elections, the Greens also saw major success, with Zoe Garbett becoming the UK’s first directly-elected Green mayor in Hackney – ending decades of Labour power in the position. Hours later, the party won another mayoralty in Lewisham.

Labour lost three councils to the Greens, including Hackney, Waltham Forest and Norwich, and also became the largest party in Lambeth. They also swept up Hastings council which was previously under no overall control.

In her own Camden Square ward, Sagal won by only a small margin of 60 votes to the Green Party candidate.

But when asked about Green-leaning voters she’s spoken to out on the campaign trail, Sagal claimed there are some who are considering moving over to Labour.

“I’ve had people who have said they’ve voted Green in the past recently and actually are thinking of coming over because of the message we're putting out there. Because they've heard from me, because they know my story, because they know my track record.

“And to the people who might be thinking of going Green this time, I would say that what we have in front of us is an opportunity to a really push for Holborn and St Pancras to have a really local person who will understand the issues that we face already, is already trying to deliver on them and will be able to do that at a national level alongside the prime minister.”

One of Polanski’s main lines of attack is that, while he would hold the government to account in opposition, she will become just another Labour backbencher.

But Sagal pushes back on this idea, insisting that “anyone who knows my track record knows I wouldn’t just be a backbencher”.

“I think there's an opportunity to make sure that we have the prime minister’s ear – we have all the cabinet and the entire ministerial department’s ears on the issues that matter to us and get resolutions on those issues really quickly,” she said.

“I think putting down backbenchers is something I wouldn’t encourage anyone to do because we've seen a lot of social change and policy change come from backbenchers.”

Sir Keir represented the seat since 2015, something she says residents “really value”.

But she also said it’s been “really nice” to have the public backing of Sir Keir’s successor, Andy Burnham, who she praised particularly for his pledge on ending rough sleeping.

“The message that Andy Burnham is putting out there is resonating really well in the community here, so I think it's hitting really well and I want to make sure that we're able to take that forward into parliament as well.”

The contest will serve as a major test for the leaders of both Labour and the Greens.

Polling guru professor Sir John Curtice said there was a 95 per cent chance Labour would hold on to the seat in October.

A new YouGov MRP poll put Labour on 44 per cent of the vote share, while Greens polled at 23 per cent.

“Labour are now enjoying a Burnham bounce, the Greens are down but not least in the wake of the Burnham bounce,” he told The Independent.

He also said the government’s changed stance on Israel may be helping them “reconnect” with Muslim voters.

“I’m certain also the fact that George Galloway has not made Polanski's job any easier. So, it looks as though the Labour Party frankly should win it.”

If Labour lose, it would be bad news for Mr Burnham and the Labour MPs hoping for a more positive “life after Starmer”.

Prof Curtice previously warned the by-election could be “make or break” for Polanski because it serves as a “severe test” of the Green Party leader’s abilities.

He said Mr Polanski has "got a chance” of winning the by-election, but that it is "probably not a high chance”.

“It would be a tough gig, but of course we need to wait and see who Labour will put up,” he said.

Meanwhile, Labour sources have told the contest is being used as a test run for Mr Burnham to decide whether to pull the trigger on an early general election.

They said: “If we can beat Polanski in a by-election it will show that Labour is in good shape to fight a general election.”