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Evening Standard
· collected 2026-10-07 · by Kumail Jaffer and Stewart Carr
Zack Polanski, a London Assembly member since 2021 earning £66,390 annually, has skipped numerous City Hall duties to focus on his Green Party bid for Holborn's by-election. Since declaring his candidacy in September, Polanski missed several committee meetings and full assembly sessions, leading to criticism from a City Hall source about the absenteeism. The by-election is considered highly significant nationally, with Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali viewed as the frontrunner despite the Greens aiming for an upset victory.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Zack Polanski, a London Assembly member since 2021 earning £66,390 annually, has skipped multiple City Hall sessions since declaring his candidacy for the Holborn by-election to replace Sir Keir Starmer. The election is on Thursday and is considered one of Britain's most closely watched campaigns. Polanski became Green Party leader last year and aims to become one of only a few Green MPs at Westminster. However, his absence from duties has been criticized by City Hall sources who argue he should prioritize the job he was elected for rather than campaigning. The campaign intensified after a divisive motion declaring Zionism as a form of racism passed during the party's annual conference in Brighton, causing internal and external criticism.
Written for “Polanski Holborn By-Election Bid” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 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: leans right for article 62871 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-07
Claims extracted
15
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
7%
1 of 15 hedged
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Correction & hedging signals
66.6
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
The London Assembly member has not attended a full City Hall session since being selected as the Greens' candidate to succeed Sir Keir Starmer in the north London constituency, according to attendance records.
uncertain
member → attend → records
Mr Polanski, who was elected to the Assembly in 2021 and receives a salary of £66,390, is fighting one of the most closely watched by-election campaigns in Britain.
asserted
who → elect → Britain
Polling day takes place on Thursday, with Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali widely regarded as the favourite but the Greens are hoping to pull off a major upset.
asserted
Greens → take → upset
The contest has assumed growing national significance for Mr Polanski, who became Green Party leader last year and is seeking to become one of only a handful of Green MPs at Westminster.
asserted
who → assume → Westminster
His campaign has also been thrown into the spotlight in recent days following a controversial motion passed at the party's annual conference in Brighton declaring Zionism to be a form of racism and calling for a single Palestinian state across historic Palestine.
asserted
Zionism → throw → Palestine
The vote sparked fierce criticism from political opponents and deep divisions within the party, with the issue becoming one of the defining controversies of the final week of the campaign.
asserted
issue → spark → campaign
Against that backdrop, Mr Polanski has focused heavily on canvassing in Holborn and St Pancras, encouraging activists to prioritise campaigning in the constituency.
asserted
Polanski → focus → constituency
Since declaring his interest in the seat in early September, he has given apologies for four committee meetings and left a session of Mayor's Question Time after putting a question to Sir Sadiq Khan.
asserted
he → declare → Khan
The meetings he did not attend included the Economy, Culture and Skills Committee, where he serves as deputy chairman, as well as sessions of the Fire Committee, Budget and Performance Committee and a full Assembly plenary meeting.
asserted
he → attend → Committee
A City Hall source criticised the absentee record, saying: "Of course these are special circumstances, but if Zack can prioritise a somewhat selective presence at his party conference in Brighton, surely he can find time to do the job he's actually been elected to do, as well as chasing the job he'd rather have?"
Read More
asserted
he → criticise → More
Analysis of Assembly records shows Mr Polanski has recorded 26 absences from 257 Assembly and committee meetings since entering City Hall in 2021, with around half of those absences coming since he became Green Party leader in September 2025.
asserted
he → show → September
A spokesman for Mr Polanski said his attendance record remained "exemplary" and stressed it was common practice for Assembly members to send substitutes when they were unable to attend meetings.
asserted
they → say → meetings
The spokesman added that Mr Polanski had always submitted his apologies in advance and had occasionally needed to prioritise campaigning commitments alongside his responsibilities as Green Party leader.
asserted
Polanski → add → leader
I'd use a recent image of Polanski canvassing in Holborn and St Pancras, or alternatively one from the Brighton conference.
asserted
I → use → conference
Both are more relevant than a standard City Hall file picture because they visually reinforce the central argument of the story: that he is focused on the campaign rather than Assembly business.
asserted
he → reinforce → business
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