UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham's Labour Party faces a challenge from the Green Party in a by-election for Keir Starmer's former seat of Holborn and St Pancras on October 5. The election is seen as a test of whether Burnham can regain support among left-wing voters who turned to the Greens following Labour's poor performance during the Gaza war. Tech worker Dani Arbid, age 38, says he remains undecided but notes that Burnham’s recent messaging has improved his perception of Labour. Polls suggest Sagal Abdi-Wali from Labour is favored over Green Party leader Zack Polanski in this contest, reflecting a broader trend where Labour has rebounded in national polls while the Greens have faced setbacks due to internal controversies.
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
A by-election in Holborn and St Pancras, London's inner district, vacated by Keir Starmer’s resignation, pits the Green Party's leader Zack Polanski against Labour's candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali. Labour is favored with odds of 1-33 while Polanski has a much longer shot at 12-1. The contest reflects broader national trends: Andy Burnham’s Labour faces reviving support after losing left-wing voters over the Gaza war to the Greens, who gained their best-ever local election results in May. Polanski’s recent controversy, including his ban from entering Israel due to supporting a motion equating Zionism with racism, may hurt his campaign further. However, Burnham's shift towards a more assertive stance on issues like European ties and tougher messaging on Israel could sway undecided voters back to Labour.
Written for “Holborn By Election Campaign” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
UK PM Burnham's Labour Party faces challenge from Greens in Starmer's old seat
LONDON, Oct 7 -
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Party → face → seat
Andy Burnham needs to win over voters like tech worker Dani Arbid in a by-election on Thursday if he is to fend off a national threat to his Labour Party from the Greens — and the early signs are encouraging for Britain's new prime minister.
The vote for a parliamentary seat in the inner London electoral district of Holborn and St Pancras, made vacant by the resignation of former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, is a first test of whether Burnham can restore voters' faith in Labour, which saw its popularity among left-wing voters plunge over the war in Gaza.
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popularity → need → Gaza
Many, like Arbid, turned instead to the Greens, helping them to their strongest result ever in local elections in May.
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Many → turn → May
Now, he says he is undecided on how he will vote in Thursday's so-called by-election but welcomed Burnham's tougher messaging on Israel and his more ambitious approach to ties with the European Union.
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he → say → Union
"It's very important to read the room, which I think the current Labour government is doing a lot better job at," Arbid, 38, told Reuters.
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Arbid → read → Reuters
"There is still room for Labour to kind of claw back some of those losses for sure.
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Labour → be → losses
LABOUR TIPPED TO WIN BY-ELECTION
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LABOUR → tip → ELECTION
Unlike the national picture, where Nigel Farage's Reform UK poses a serious challenge to Burnham, the by-election is mainly a contest between Labour and the Greens, with thousands of activists from both parties out canvassing in recent weeks.
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thousands → pose → weeks
Burnham hopes to show he can consolidate the left-of-centre vote, strengthening his efforts to take on a British right now split between Reform UK and the Conservatives.
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he → hop → UK
But the by-election also offers him a chance to rob the Greens of the momentum they have built up under new leader Zack Polanski.
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they → offer → Polanski
Polanski himself is the Greens' candidate in Holborn and St Pancras but Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali, a local council leader, is tipped to hold the seat for the governing party.
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Wali → tip → party
Green gains in areas of London contributed to Labour's dismal local election results in May, which helped set in train a process that culminated on July 20 with Starmer's resignation and his replacement by Burnham.
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that → contribute → Burnham
Since then, however, Labour has rebounded in national opinion polls, while the Greens have suffered setbacks.
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Greens → rebound → setbacks
At a conference last weekend, Green Party members voted to class Zionism as a form of racism, drawing criticism from British Jewish groups, Israel and even some Green lawmakers.
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members → vote → groups
Polanski, who is Jewish, did not take part in the vote.
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who → take → vote
Burnham's government, which has taken a more critical approach towards Israel and banned the import of goods from West Bank settlements, said the Greens had overstepped a line.
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Greens → take → line
On Camden High Street, an area of London brimming with market stalls and popular with musicians, artists and tourists, Kamran Ahmed, a local resident who works in AI, said Polanski could have managed the issues raised at conference better.
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Polanski → brim → conference
But on a local level he said the Greens had something new to offer, echoing frustration heard around the country that the previously dominant Conservative and Labour parties no longer have the answers.
"
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parties → say → answers
Nothing is set in stone, but some of the mainstream parties have over-promised and under-delivered...
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some → set → parties
If you take an area like Camden, it could benefit from some of the fresher thinking that the Green Party offers," Ahmed said.
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Ahmed → take → that
Damian Lyons Lowe, head of pollster Survation, said the seat was one of the Greens' top targets, and that governments rarely did well at by-elections.
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governments → say → elections
But the Greens' anti-Starmer message, which resonated so well in May, was being tested by Burnham.
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which → resonate → Burnham
"Burnham has made direct appeals to Green-minded voters in terms of some of the things they care about," he told Reuters.
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he → make → Reuters
"The Burnham vibe check is very different to the Starmer-led Labour government, and that's a problem for the Green Party."
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that → lead → Party
The Aporia
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