Saiqa Ali #

Introduction #

Saiqa Ali is a Green Party politician who was elected as a councillor in the Streatham St Leonard’s ward of Lambeth Council, in south London, on 7 May 2026 — one of 29 Green councillors in the borough on a night the party’s gains cost Labour overall control. She took office under a double shadow: per the Evening Standard, she had been arrested by Met Police officers on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred after allegedly posting antisemitic comments online, and the Lambeth Green Party had suspended her at the time of the election, meaning she could not take her seat as a Green and would have to sit as an independent or join a different group. Ali denies the attribution of the posts, telling the BBC that “statements I would never make or support in any form have been falsely attributed to me.”

Background Information #

Public detail on Ali’s life before the 2026 local elections is limited to what emerged in the coverage. In her statement to the BBC, she cited “over two decades of charity work and community service” as the record that “speaks to who I am and what I stand for.” She was 56 when elected, winning Streatham St Leonard’s alongside two sitting Green Party members.

She was also not an isolated case. Per the Standard, at least nine Green candidates standing in London had been accused of posting antisemitic content online, with several suspended amid investigations, and party leader Zack Polanski — described by the paper as the only Jewish leader of a major UK political party — rejected claims that he was failing to tackle racism in his party.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

The allegations centre on social media posts. Per the Standard, Ali and fellow Lambeth Green candidate Sabine Mairey were detained by Met officers on the Thursday before publication — late April, and per the BBC in that month — after allegedly posting antisemitic comments online, and both were arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred. The Guardian likewise reported that Ali, “a councillor in Lambeth council’s Streatham St Leonard’s ward”, “was arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred online.” The BBC separately reported that in April, two Green Party candidates — women aged 54 and 56 — were arrested in relation to alleged antisemitic posts, and that it understood one of the two had been suspended.

These are allegations resting on a suspicion-based arrest, not findings of guilt: an arrest is not a charge or a conviction, and no charge against Ali had been reported, with the police inquiry unresolved in the public record. The party’s action ran on a separate track. Lambeth Green said Ali had been suspended pending investigation, that the alleged posts did not reflect the Green Party’s values and “we condemn them fully”, and that the party opposed “all forms of racism… including antisemitism and any threat to the Jewish community”.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

Because electoral law does not allow nominations to be changed during an election, Ali still appeared as a Green candidate on the ballot despite her suspension — and won on 7 May. The Lambeth Green Party said she would have to sit as an independent councillor or join a different group. A Green Party spokesperson told the Guardian that candidates including Ali had been “suspended from the Green party at the time of the election so will not be able to sit as Green party councillors. They will sit as independents.”

The story fed a wider political fight. Labour accused the Greens of not taking the issue seriously enough — pointedly after Mairey, still under investigation rather than suspended, was seen campaigning with party members — and Communities Secretary Steve Reed said: “We need the Green Party to do what the Labour Party did and kick out members of their party who are openly antisemitic.” Polanski called the rise in antisemitism an “emergency” that needed addressing, and said that for him “Jewish safety and making sure we tackle antisemitism is incredibly important.”

Ali responded in a statement to the BBC: “I unequivocally reject all forms of discrimination and racism.” She said she was “cooperating fully with all ongoing processes” and was considering whether to sit as an independent. To voters she said: “I am genuinely honoured that the people of St Leonard’s ward placed their trust in me and I do not take that lightly”, adding, “I ask only that you look at my record, my work, and my values.”

Current Status #

As of the latest reporting, Ali remains the elected councillor for Streatham St Leonard’s but outside the Green group: the party has said she cannot sit as a Green councillor, and she was weighing the independent route while “cooperating fully with all ongoing processes”. No criminal charge had been reported against her, and she maintains the posts were falsely attributed. The Green Party said most of the candidates it suspended during the campaign over alleged antisemitic comments were not elected, making Ali one of the few whose suspension followed her into office.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

Ali arrived at the council chamber with an electoral mandate she cannot exercise under the banner she stood for: suspended before her term began, barred from the Green group, and facing a police inquiry on suspicion she denies. Her case became part of the Guardian’s wider account of the 2026 intake, in which newly elected councillors across parties faced scrutiny over alleged racist, antisemitic or anti-Muslim remarks drawn from their social media histories. Whatever the outcome of the party investigation and any police process, her first months in office were defined by the suspension — and by her public request that voters judge her by two decades of charity and community work rather than by posts she says were falsely attributed to her.