Labour holds Holborn seat as Greens' Polanski loses by 3,364

Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali held the Holborn and St Pancras by-election on 9 October 2026, beating Green Party leader Zack Polanski by 3,364 votes. Abdi-Wali, the Camden council leader, took 12,292 votes (45%) to Polanski's 8,928 (33%), with Conservative Ewan Cameron a distant third on 1,922. The result cut Labour's majority in the north London seat from 11,572 to 3,364.bbc.co.uk+1

The contest was the first significant electoral test of Andy Burnham's premiership, and the seat had been Keir Starmer's before he stood down as an MP after being ousted as prime minister. Labour has held the constituency since it was created in 1983, taking at least 40% of the vote at every general election. The Greens poured significant resources into electing their high-profile leader to a Westminster seat.

Why the result matters for Burnham

The Greens claimed a 22% increase in vote share since the general election, calling it an incredible result in one of Labour's safest seats during a honeymoon period for the new prime minister. Turnout was 38.76%, below the 47.62% at Gorton and Denton in February, when the Greens took that seat from Labour, and below the 58.7% at Makerfield in June that paved Burnham's way to power.

Polling expert John Curtice said the result was still by far and away the Greens' second best ever result in a parliamentary by-election, but warned the party was now operating in a more politically competitive environment. He noted that bringing down an unpopular opponent leader meant the Greens had to deal with the consequences of Labour putting in place somebody more popular.

Abdi-Wali, who came to the UK as a child refugee from Somalia, told the count in Camden that her victory showed who gets to belong. She said she hoped people who look like her would see themselves reflected in the place. Reform UK's home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf had attacked her candidacy as a British-Somalian shortly after the by-election was called.

Where the votes came from

Abdi-Wali said local people at school gates found the Greens' Zionism motion divisive, and pointed to Ed Miliband's work on Gaza, Palestine and Israel as resonating well with local people. She vowed to work with Burnham on homelessness and to push to bring Thames Water into public ownership. A Labour official said voters who were not giving the party a hearing earlier in the year were now listening again.

The result landed as Green Party members passed a motion at their conference in Brighton declaring Zionism a form of racism, defining it as an ideology supporting an ethnonationalist Jewish state and backing a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine. Polanski left the conference early to campaign in Holborn and St Pancras and was not present for the vote.politico.eu

Greens split over Zionism motion

Former Green leader Caroline Lucas said that Polanski should have been at the vote and should show the leadership that was frankly missing, calling the motion dangerous and divisive. One London councillor called the move electoral suicide. A senior Green local politician allied to Polanski said leadership elections were not due for another year, so a coup could not easily be forced.

Polanski said he absolutely intended to stay on as leader, telling broadcasters he had taken a loss but the movement was bigger than one election or one motion. He denied losing control of the party, saying membership had grown from 55,000 to 60,000 when he ran for leader to 220,000 now. He declined to say whether he agreed Zionism is racism, saying the displacement of the Palestinian people and the genocide is clearly racist.

Greens said voters wanted to give Andy Burnham a chance, adding he has got a chance now. A Labour official said voters who had not been listening earlier in the year were now hearing the party again. The next scheduled test comes with future elections, while Green leadership elections are not due for another year, according to a senior Green local politician allied to Polanski.