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In the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali won with a 3,000-vote margin over the Green candidate Zack Polanski. The Conservatives finished third with 7.1% of the vote, slightly ahead of Reform at 5.9%. Notably, Restore received 2.5%, suggesting some voters may have shifted from Reform to this newer party. Tory strategists view this as a modest recovery, though Labour and experts caution against overinterpreting the results as indicative of broader national trends.
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, aiming to replace former Prime Minister Keir Starmer as the MP for this inner London seat. The main contenders were Labour’s incumbent candidate Sadiya Warsi (replaced later by Fatima Williams) and Green Party leader Zack Polanski. While Holborn and St Pancras has historically been a Labour stronghold since its formation in 1983, with Frank Dobson holding it for 32 years and Keir Starmer for 11, the race was unexpectedly tight.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged voters to support Labour’s current candidate Fatima Williams, emphasizing his party's commitment to addressing concerns such as rent controls and climate change. In contrast, Polanski highlighted issues like putting Thames Water into public ownership and opposing new drilling in the North Sea. The election saw a surge in Green Party membership and local council gains earlier in 2026, leading to speculation about whether this trend would extend to Westminster.
However, Polanski faced controversy when the Green Party conference passed a motion asserting that "Zionism is racism," though he later stated his opposition to exclusion based on religious or communal affiliations. Despite this contentious week, polls opened with both sides claiming the race was close, reflecting significant support for the Greens in recent local elections and the broader appeal of environmental issues among voters. The result could define Polanski’s leadership of the Green Party and challenge Labour's long-standing dominance in the constituency.
Written for “Holborn By-election Campaigns” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 38 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 68351 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-09
Claims extracted
14
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
7%
1 of 14 hedged
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Correction & hedging signals
64.5
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
39
Politics
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
The contest for Keir Starmer's old seat was a two-horse race between Labour and the Greens, with the former emerging victorious.
asserted
former → emerge → Labour
However, the Conservatives candidate managed to come in third, securing 7.1 per cent of the vote - roughly the same as at the general election in 2024.
asserted
candidate → manage → 2024
That was ahead of Reform's hopeful, with 5.9 per cent of the ballots cast.
asserted
cent → cast → ballots
Tory strategists will also be interested to note Restore seemingly eating into support for Nigel Farage's party.
asserted
Restore → note → party
The newcomers were backed by 2.5 per cent, with those 692 voters more than the difference between the Conservatives and Reform.
asserted
voters → back → Conservatives
Kemi Badenoch was attempting to build on fragile Tory improvement at the party's conference in Birmingham this week
Luke Tryl of polling firm More in Common suggested other Tories might have voted tactically for Labour to avoid the Greens winning.
uncertain
Greens → attempt → Labour
'Obviously this wasn’t a race that was about the battle for the Right but the Tories will be pleased to have come third, and continue to do better in London,' he said.
asserted
he → come → London
Kemi Badenoch was attempting to build on fragile Tory improvement at the party's conference in Birmingham this week.
asserted
Badenoch → attempt → Birmingham
The leader's personal ratings have improved sharply, but overall poll numbers have barely shifted.
asserted
numbers → improve → ?
Mrs Badenoch used her speech to make a bold vow on inheritance tax, saying main family homes would be exempt and couples would get a £1million tax-free allowance on their estates.
asserted
couples → use → estates
Labour's candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali romped home with a 3,000 majority in Holborn, despite Green leader Zack Polanski opting to stand himself.
asserted
Polanski → romp → Holborn
However, elections guru Sir John Curtice said Andy Burnham would be wrong to draw the conclusion that Labour is in a dominant position again.
asserted
Labour → say → position
Prof Curtice told the BBC that the outcome in Holborn reflected that the Greens were 'notably weaker' in national polls than the spring, when they made big gains in local elections.
asserted
they → tell → elections
'This is not a result that is indicative of Labour being able to do well enough to be able to win a general election with an overall majority,' he said.
asserted
he → do → majority
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