The Guardian
· collected 2026-10-08 · by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent
Voting has begun for the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, a contest viewed as crucial for assessing Labour leader Andy Burnham’s voter appeal and the Greens’ ability to challenge Labour in traditionally strongholds. Zack Polanski, the Green Party candidate and its lead figure in England and Wales, is running against Sagal Abdi-Wali, Labour’s candidate and Camden council leader. The seat was previously held by Keir Starmer with majorities of 11,500 and nearly 28,000 votes in recent elections. Polanski’s campaign has been intense but faces challenges after the Green Party adopted controversial policies equating Zionism with racism, leading to internal divisions and criticism from several MPs. Burnham’s Labour party aims to demonstrate its renewed strength following his leadership, while a loss could indicate continued vulnerability to Green competition in urban areas.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali is running against Green Party leader Zack Polanski in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election to replace Sir Keir Starmer. The North London constituency has been a Labour stronghold since 1983, held continuously until recently when Sir Keir Starmer stepped down. Polls opened on Thursday with 15 contenders including representatives from smaller parties like Reform UK and the Communist League.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham issued an appeal to voters, emphasizing the importance of voting for Abdi-Wali to maintain a Labour presence in the area. Polanski claims the contest is "close" but faces controversy after abstaining on a Green Party conference motion asserting that “Zionism is racism”. Despite this setback, Polanski continues to campaign, urging voters to choose the Greens as a way to push Labour towards better policies on issues like rent controls and public ownership of Thames Water.
The by-election could be a defining moment for Polanski’s leadership of the Green Party, which has seen significant growth in membership and local election results in May 2026. However, recent events have posed challenges for his campaign. The Labour party remains strong with Abdi-Wali's background as a refugee who has dedicated herself to her community since arriving in Camden in the 1990s. Voters will decide whether to maintain Labour’s longstanding control or support Polanski and the Green Party’s push for change.
Written for “Holborn And St Pancras By Election” on 2026-10-08,
grounded in this article and the 9 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.
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Burnham, who succeeded Starmer as prime minister in July, is seen as having revitalised Labour, and used his speech at the party’s annual conference last month to set out a more ambitious and left-leaning collection of policies.
left describes Burnham's policies as 'ambitious and left-leaning'
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Polanski has been criticised for not saying whether or not he backed the motion and leaving the conference before the vote took place to resume campaigning.
right criticizes Polanski's lack of clarity on a controversial policy
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Failure to win the seat by a reasonable margin could end his honeymoon period and bring renewed doubts about Labour’s ability to protect inner-city seats from the Greens, who won several London councils in May’s local elections.
right suggests that losing the election would be detrimental to Labour's standing
Leaning: leans left for article 64897 (medium confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-08
Voting has opened in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, a contest seen as a key gauge of Andy Burnham’s ability to energise voters and whether Zack Polanski’s Greens can still peel off support from Labour’s left.
asserted
Greens → open → left
Polanski, who leads the Greens in England and Wales, is standing for his party in the north London constituency, previously held by Keir Starmer before he stood down as an MP shortly after resigning as prime minister.
asserted
he → lead → minister
Starmer won it with a majority of 11,500 at the 2024 general election despite strong challenges from the Greens and a leftwing independent candidate, who is not standing again and has endorsed Polanski.
asserted
who → win → Polanski
In 2019, Starmer won by nearly 28,000 votes.
asserted
Starmer → win → votes
Polanski has run a highly energetic campaign.
asserted
Polanski → run → campaign
He has mobilised a large numbers of supporters to knock on doors, mimicking February’s Gorton and Denton byelection where the Greens overcame an even bigger Labour majority to take the seat.
asserted
Greens → mobilise → seat
However, the political landscape has changed.
asserted
landscape → change → ?
Shortly after Gorton and Denton, YouGov polling put the Greens briefly above Labour, on a peak of 21%.
asserted
polling → put → %
The most recent equivalent had Polanksi’s party on 11%, 16 points behind Labour.
asserted
equivalent → have → Labour
Burnham, who succeeded Starmer as prime minister in July, is seen as having revitalised Labour, and used his speech at the party’s annual conference last month to set out a more ambitious and left-leaning collection of policies.
asserted
who → succeed → policies
Polanski’s fortunes in contrast appear to have declined, especially since last weekend’s Green party conference where a vote by members to adopt a policy equating Zionism with racism and calling for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state prompted condemnation and splits in the party.
asserted
Israel → appear → party
Four out of the five Green MPs have condemned the policy, while councillors and others have distanced themselves from it or in some cases left the party.
asserted
councillors → condemn → party
While policy is decided by Green members in direct votes, Polanski has been criticised for not saying whether or not he backed the motion and leaving the conference before the vote took place to resume campaigning.
The stakes are also high for Burnham.
asserted
stakes → decide → Burnham
Failure to win the seat by a reasonable margin could end his honeymoon period and bring renewed doubts about Labour’s ability to protect inner-city seats from the Greens, who won several London councils in May’s local elections.
Holborn and St Pancras could be promising ground for the Greens, with a young and diverse population that includes many students.
uncertain
that → win → students
About 45% of constituents were born overseas and 48% are aged between 18 and 34.
asserted
% → bear → 18
Labour has campaigned hard, fielding as its candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali, the 42-year-old leader of Camden council who arrived in London in the early 90s, speaking no English, after fleeing war in Somalia with her four brothers and her mother, who trained as a lawyer in Somalia.
asserted
who → campaign → Somalia
In a pre-poll message to voters, Burnham said: “This area gave Sagal a home when she arrived here as a refugee in the 1990s.
asserted
she → say → 1990s
Camden gave Sagal and her family hope.
asserted
Camden → give → hope
Now she wants to give that back to the communities that have always been there for her.
asserted
that → want → her
It’s hard to think of someone more committed to their local area and the care of people than Sagal.”
asserted
It → ’ → Sagal
In his own statement, Polanski said the result was “looking close”, and that voters should choose him to pressure Labour.
asserted
voters → say → Labour
He said: “We already have a Labour government, a Labour council and a Labour [London] mayor.
asserted
We → say → government
Isn’t it time for a Green voice for Camden to push Labour to do better on issues like rent controls and to put Thames Water into public ownership – issues where they’ve been backtracking?”
asserted
they → push → issues
The Aporia
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