The Guardian
· collected 2026-10-09 · by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent
In the Holborn and St Pancras parliamentary byelection, Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali won with 45% of the vote, securing a 3,364-vote majority. The low turnout of 38.7% and close race for second place by Green Party candidate Zack Polanski, who received nearly 33%, suggests relief rather than disappointment among both parties. For the Greens, despite internal controversy over recent policy decisions regarding Israel, Polanski's strong performance indicates that the party remains competitive in urban areas, even under challenging circumstances.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Holborn and St Pancras by-election, scheduled on October 7, aims to replace former Prime Minister Keir Starmer as the MP for this inner London seat. Labour's Andy Burnham is urging voters to support the party candidate, Daniela Abdi-Wali, while Green Party leader Zack Polanski hopes to break Labour’s long-standing stronghold in the constituency. Historically a Labour bastion since 1983, the area now faces a challenge from rising green politics due to recent events and local issues.
Polanski's campaign has faced controversy after his party passed a motion at their conference asserting that “Zionism is racism,” which he abstained from voting on. Despite this setback, Polanski asserts that he will not exclude anyone based on religious or communal affiliations and emphasizes the need for a green voice to push Labour on issues such as rent controls and public ownership of utilities.
Voter sentiment remains divided: tech worker Dani Arbid is uncertain but appreciates Burnham’s improved messaging on Israel and EU ties. Polanski claims the contest is "close," aiming to secure his own seat in Parliament and solidify his leadership role within the Green Party, which saw significant gains in May 2026 local elections.
The by-election outcome could be pivotal for both Labour's and the Greens' national strategies, particularly regarding left-wing voter support. Burnham’s ability to restore faith in Labour among disillusioned voters will play a crucial role in determining whether Polanski can break through Labour’s historic dominance in Holborn and St Pancras.
Written for “Holborn By Election” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 34 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 67744: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-10-09
Parliamentary byelections can generate all sorts of emotional responses, often very strong ones.
asserted
byelections → generate → responses
For Labour, Sagal Abdi-Wali’s victory with just over 45% of the total vote was widely expected, but it allows the party to credibly claim Andy Burnham as a politician able to reach people in both Reform-leaning areas such as Makerfield, and in Green-friendly inner cities.
uncertain
party → expect → cities
Retaining a constituency formerly held by your last leader, Keir Starmer, and which has been overwhelmingly Labour since it was created in 1983, is in normal political times not that notable an achievement, but these are not normal times.
asserted
these → retain → times
A low turnout of 38.7% and Abdi-Wali’s numerically modest 3,364 majority that resulted might not appear the greatest endorsement of the government, but it is also likely to have been in part due to the widespread assumption that Labour would win.
uncertain
Labour → result → assumption
And what of the Greens, and particularly Zack Polanski, the party’s leader in England and Wales, who decided to go for the high-profile seat himself?
asserted
who → decide → seat
Again, it may sound curious to think he would be happy with second place, but after the most challenging week of his political life it could have been worse.
uncertain
it → sound → life
Polanski got just under 33% of the vote, well above anyone else apart from Abdi-Wali, a proportion which shows that in an another election, and up against a Labour party not enjoying a Burnham bounce, the Greens could still be highly competitive in seats like these.
uncertain
Greens → get → these
When Polanski said he wanted to stand, the hope was for another wave of enthusiasm and publicity of the sort that propelled Hannah Spencer to victory in February in another supposedly safe Labour seat, Gorton and Denton.
asserted
that → say → seat
He will nonetheless be quietly pleased that the result does not seem to have shown much of a shedding of Green votes after criticisms of, and deep divisions in, the party since it adopted a highly controversial policy on Zionism and Israel last weekend.
asserted
it → seem → Zionism
The new policy, decided by members at the Greens’ annual conference, equates Zionism, the movement for a Jewish state, with racism, and calls for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state.
asserted
Israel → decide → state
It is publicly opposed by four of the party’s five MPs, with numerous councillors distancing themselves as well and a handful resigning.
asserted
handful → oppose → themselves
Polanski’s decision to not take a side, and even to absent himself from Sunday’s debate so he could campaign in the byelection, has prompted deep unease among some Greens, who termed it a failure of leadership.
uncertain
who → take → leadership
It was notable that after the result, Polanski had to insist that he intended to stay as Green leader.
asserted
he → have → leader
“Yes absolutely, that’s what leaders do,” he replied.
asserted
he → ’ → what
While some in the Greens had questioned Polanski’s decision to contest a seat in north London, rather than east London, where he lives, his allies make the point that Nigel Farage took eight tries to become an MP.
asserted
Farage → question → tries
Either way, the result has not made Polanski’s position any worse.
asserted
position → make → ?
Had the Green vote collapsed he would have been under very intense pressure.
asserted
he → collapse → pressure
As it stands, he must try to reassure sceptics in the party before seeking re-election in a year from now, under the party’s policy of two-year terms for leaders.
asserted
he → stand → leaders
The Conservatives will be quietly happy with beating Reform UK to take third place, their 7.1% being almost exactly the same proportion of votes as they took in 2024.
asserted
they → beat → 2024
This might not seem like much of an achievement, but the party’s national poll ratings remain stubbornly below 2024 levels, and thus stasis will most likely be claimed as more evidence of a Badenoch bounce.
Way down in fifth place, the emotions begin the switch.
uncertain
emotions → seem → switch
While they are byelection specialists, the Liberal Democrats were never going to win here, but they had put in at least some effort to boost their vote, with MPs going out this week to knock on doors.
asserted
MPs → go → doors
Coming behind Reform on just over 3% of the vote will be a disappointment.
asserted
Coming → come → vote
Amid the noisy debates over the leadership of Labour, the Tories and Greens, it can be easy to overlook the disquiet among some of Ed Davey’s MPs that the Lib Dems do not appear to be cutting through.
asserted
Dems → overlook → MPs
He will not be feeling relief this morning.
asserted
He → feel → relief
The Aporia
