Green Party leader Patrick Polanski faced calls for his resignation after losing a by-election in Holborn and St Pancras to Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali. Despite securing 33% of the vote, a significant increase from previous results but still short of victory, Polanski insisted he would continue as leader pending a leadership vote scheduled for next year. The defeat follows controversy over his absence during a divisive anti-Zionism motion at the party’s conference, which was supported by many Green members but opposed by former leaders like Caroline Lucas.
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 took place on October 7 to replace former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who resigned from his seat as MP. The contest primarily pits Labour candidate Fatima Abdi-Wali against Green Party leader Zack Polanski in a North London constituency that has been traditionally held by the Labour Party since its formation in 1983.
Labour's Andy Burnham issued a last-minute appeal to voters, emphasizing that "hope can win," while Polanski claimed the race was "close." The election is seen as a critical test for both parties: if Labour wins, it will solidify their stronghold; if the Greens succeed, it could signal a shift in voter sentiment.
Polanski’s campaign has faced challenges recently due to a controversial motion passed at his party's conference asserting that “Zionism is racism,” which led to Israel banning him from entering. Despite this, Polanski insists he will not "accept any exclusion" based on religious affiliations and argues for issues like rent control and public ownership of utilities.
Polls show Abdi-Wali as the frontrunner, with Labour traditionally holding a strong voter base in the area. However, the Green Party’s recent surge in local elections suggests that Polanski's candidacy could be competitive. The election outcome will provide early indicators for Prime Minister Burnham's ability to restore faith in Labour among left-wing voters who have increasingly turned towards the Greens over issues like climate change and Israel policy.
Written for “Holborn By-election Campaigns” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 35 other(s) covering the same event.
The Green Party of England and Wales leader’s position was being questioned by senior colleagues even before he was unsuccessful in ousting Labour in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election triggered by the resignation of former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.
asserted
he → question → Starmer
Mr Polanski said “of course I can carry on” as party leader but acknowledged that ultimately Green members would decide his fate.
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members → say → fate
The party leader missed the crucial conference vote which endorsed a policy effectively calling for Israel to be abolished and replaced with a single Palestinian state.
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Israel → miss → state
Former leader Caroline Lucas said Mr Polanski “should have been there and he should have voted” while ex-co-leader Adrian Ramsay has called for the party to get “back on track” and return to its “core purpose” of championing environmental causes.
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party → say → causes
Mr Polanski said it would be up to Green Party members whether he continues as leader, with a scheduled leadership vote due next year.
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he → say → vote
Asked how confident he was to be re-elected as leader, he told Sky News: “That’s going to be up to the members and that’s going to be up to the leadership election that happens next summer.
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that → ask → election
“What I’m experiencing, though, is an immense amount of people who are saying actually they’ve never been prouder to be a Green Party member.”
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they → experience → people
He said it was “difficult being leader of any party, particularly the Green Party”.
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it → say → party
“But I signed up for that difficult job and I’m more than ready to continue,” he added.
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he → sign → job
He defended his decision to miss the conference vote on the anti-Zionism motion because he was campaigning in the by-election.
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he → defend → election
Asked if he supported the motion, he said: “I would have supported the motion as amended.
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I → ask → motion
It wasn’t amended, so no.”
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It → amend → ?
But he added: “Ultimately, I agree with the substance of the motion.
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I → add → motion
Where I disagree is the idea the Green Party should be deciding what the future of the region looks like.”
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future → disagree → region
On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Mr Polanski, who is Jewish, repeatedly refused to say whether Israel had a right to exist.
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Israel → refuse → right
“I believe Israelis and Palestinians should have equal rights in a democracy,” he said.
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he → believe → democracy
Asked to give a yes/no response on whether Israel had the right to exist, he added: “At the moment Palestinians don’t have equal rights, so I think I’m answering your question really clearly.”
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I → ask → question
Mr Polanski was defeated by Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali, who retained the north London seat for Labour.
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who → defeat → Labour
She secured 45% of the vote to the Greens’ 33%, a majority of 3,364 but seeing a 13% swing to the Greens, whose vote share was up by 22.4%.
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share → secure → %
Ms Lucas, who was the Green Party’s first MP, said people should “see what happens in the coming days and weeks” when asked about Mr Polanski’s future on Thursday night’s BBC Newsnight.
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what → say → Newsnight
She pointed to Mr Polanski’s failure to take part in the controversial anti-Zionism motion on Sunday, saying he “should have been there and he should have voted”.
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he → point → Sunday
The adoption of the motion at the party’s conference makes it policy, despite the opposition of Ms Lucas and four of the party’s five MPs, but it does not mean it will necessarily appear in the future manifesto.
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it → make → manifesto
Holborn and St Pancras has been a Labour stronghold since its formation in 1983, held by Frank Dobson for 32 years and Sir Keir for 11.
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Holborn → hold → 11
Conservative candidate Ewan Cameron came in third in the by-election, followed by Reform and the Lib Dems.
Ms Abdi-Wali said her victory was a testament to the success of diversity in the borough.
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victory → come → borough
She said: “I hope this moment also says something about who gets to belong, for people who look like me, I hope they see themselves reflected in this place and know that their path too belongs here.
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path → say → place
She added: “I’ve watched people across Camden work to build communities where difference is not something to fear, but something to value.
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difference → add → communities
We cannot allow that work, built over generations, to be casually undone by those who seek to divide us.
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who → allow → us
“We have a responsibility to defend what we’ve built, and pass it on.
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we → have → it
“People need to believe that politics can make their lives better and that their communities can thrive and that tomorrow can be better than today.”
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tomorrow → need → today
She added: “That is what this victory represents.
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victory → add → what
Winning not by making people afraid of each other, but by bringing people together.”
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people → win → people
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