Greens defend Zack Polanski's by-election campaign video spoken in Urdu

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Howe, M. (2026, September 15). Greens defend Zack Polanski's by-election campaign video spoken in Urdu. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/greens-defend-zack-polanski-by-election-campaign-video-urdu-b1297051.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-15 · by Megan Howe

Quick Summary

Tory shadow communities secretary Katie Lam criticized the Green Party's campaign video for a Holborn and St Pancras by-election, arguing that it is inappropriate to conduct political campaigning in languages other than English. The video features the Green Party leader speaking in Urdu and includes subtitles in the same language. Lam claims this practice should be banned as it appeals to group-based grievances, while the Green Party defends the approach, asserting that democracy should not discriminate by language and that the area's diversity warrants such inclusive communication methods. The by-election is scheduled for October 8.

Written by AI on 2026-09-16, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, released a campaign video entirely in Urdu on his Bold Politics podcast channel on X to target voters from Pakistan for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election replacing former Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's seat. The election is scheduled for October 8. About 22% of the population in this London constituency identify as Asian, more than double the national figure of 9%, with roughly 10% being Bangladeshi, 3% Indian, and less than 1% Pakistani. The video has sparked controversy, particularly from Tory MP Katie Lam who criticized it for conducting British politics in foreign languages, deeming it "poisonous." However, the Green Party defended their approach, emphasizing that Holborn and St Pancras represents London's diversity, with many residents being bilingual.

Written for “Greens Urdu Campaign Video” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Greens Urdu Campaign Video

Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Greens leader Zack Polanski releases campaign video in Urdu to target Pakistani voters as he takes on Labour for Keir Starmer's former Commons seat Same event

Daily Mail

Hedges 2 of 30 claims Outlet record 68/100

'I thought as you're so fluent!' Sadiq Khan mocks Zack Polanski by answering him in Urdu after Green leader released by-election campaign video in South Asian language Different event

Daily Mail

⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 27 claims Outlet record 68/100

“Article A describes backlash against Zack Polanski's campaign video in Urdu, while Article B reports on Sadiq Khan mocking Polanski by answering him in Urdu during a London Assembly meeting. These are different specific events.”

UK Green leader confirmed as candidate for parliament seat vacated by Starmer Different event

The Straits Times

Hedges 1 of 7 claims Outlet record 66/100

“Article A reports on Polanski being confirmed as a candidate, while Article B discusses controversy over a campaign video and language used in the campaign.”

Sadiq Khan pokes fun at Greens’ Polanksi with Urdu answer at London Assembly Different event

Evening Standard

Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 65/100

“While both articles discuss Zack Polanski's use of Urdu in his campaign and its aftermath, they describe different occurrences: Article A focuses on the backlash against Polanski's video, while Article B reports on Sadiq Khan responding to Polanski in Urdu at a London Assembly meeting.”

George Galloway hit by growing backlash for standing against Zack Polanski in Holborn by-election Different event

Evening Standard

Hedges 2 of 10 claims Outlet record 65/100

“Article A discusses backlash over Zack Polanski's campaign video in Urdu, while Article B focuses on George Galloway facing criticism for standing against Zack Polanski in the same by-election.”

Andy Burnham makes surprise London by-election visit as Labour faces Zack Polanski in fierce vote showdown Different event

Evening Standard

⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 18 claims Outlet record 65/100

“The articles describe different aspects of the election campaign, with Article A focusing on Andy Burnham's visit and Article B on a video campaign in Urdu.”

Sadiq Khan pokes fun at Zack Polanski's by-election campaign video by speaking to him in Urdu Different event

Evening Standard

Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 65/100

“Article A discusses backlash against Zack Polanski's campaign video spoken in Urdu, while Article B describes a light-hearted exchange at a meeting where Sadiq Khan responded to Polanski in Urdu as a reference to the video.”

Zack Polanski has been hitting Dualingo again! Green Party leader issues new election message in Bengali after being mocked for his attempts at Urdu and French Different event

Daily Mail

Hedges 3 of 23 claims Outlet record 68/100

“The articles describe different campaign videos or messages issued by Zack Polanski, one in Urdu and another later in Bengali.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

withheld

no quote in the article backed the model's score

Publisher signals

65/100

Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Politics

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articles that frame the event the way this one does

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Evening Standard · 7934 article(s) · 65 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 65 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Megan Howe

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Topics

Greens Holborn London St Pancras Tory

Subjects

Holborn GPE · 3× Greens ORG · 2× London GPE · 2× St Pancras GPE · 2× Bangladeshi NORP · 1× British NORP · 1× Indian NORP · 1× Katie Lam PERSON · 1× Pakistani NORP · 1× Tory NORP · 1×

Narrative

The Holborn and St Pancras by-election will take place on October 8, with candidates including Zack Polanski (Greens), Sagal Abdi-Wali (Labour) and Ewan Cameron (Conservatives) battling for the seat vacated by former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-16

🔮 The Holborn and St Pancras by-election will take place on October 8, with candidates including Zack Polanski (Greens), Sagal Abdi-Wali (Labour) and Ewan Cameron (Conservatives) battling for the seat vacated by former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.

2026-09-16 · Evening Standard

Greens defend Zack Polanski's by-election campaign video spoken in Urdu · assertive framing

Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)

But the video has sparked backlash from MPs, with Tory shadow communities secretary Katie Lam branding the campaign “poisonous” and arguing that British political campaigning should be conducted strictly "in the language of public life". asserted

campaigning → spark → life

According to census data, around 10% of voters in Holborn and St Pancras are Bangladeshi, while 3% are Indian and less than 1% are Pakistani. uncertain

% → accord → Holborn

Writing on X, Ms Lamm said: “Here's the leader of the Green Party, campaigning in Urdu. asserted

leader → write → Urdu

“Attempting to appeal to group-based grievances by campaigning in foreign languages is poisonous. asserted

Attempting → attempt → languages

“We must ban this practice for good. asserted

We → ban → practice

Politics in our country should be conducted in the language of public life.” asserted

Politics → conduct → life

The Green Party's video does feature subtitles, but those subtitles are also in Urdu, meaning English-speaking voters need a translation to understand the message. asserted

voters → feature → message

Read More But the Greens have defended the video, saying it reflects the diversity of London. asserted

it → read → London

A Green Party spokesperson said: "The Greens believe that democracy doesn't discriminate by languages spoken. asserted

democracy → say → languages

Holborn and St Pancras is a true reflection of the diversity of London and of our country and we choose to embrace and celebrate that. asserted

we → choose → that

“If we want to speak to people who speak Urdu, it makes sense to speak to them in Urdu. asserted

it → want → Urdu

We're proud to reach voters in as many languages as possible". asserted

We → reach → languages

candidates → take → Starmer

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