Evening Standard
· collected 2026-09-11 · by Nicholas Cecil and Luke Reevey
Andy Burnham made a surprise visit to London's Holborn and St Pancras constituency for a Labour by-election campaign, endorsing candidate Sabrina Abdi-Wali to replace outgoing MP Sir Keir Starmer. The Greens, led by Zack Polanski, are also running in the election, which is seen as an early test of Burnham's popularity with the public. According to the article, Labour has held the seat since 1983, but there was a significant protest vote against Starmer in the last general election due to his stance on Israel's actions in Gaza. The by-election will officially take place after the writ was moved in the House of Commons by government chief whip Anneliese Midgley on Monday.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Manchester, made a surprise visit to the London constituency of Holborn and St Pancras, which is currently holding a by-election. The visit was unexpected because it's not his local area. He met with Labour candidate Sara Abdi-Wali and expressed support for her campaign. The by-election has been described as a "fierce vote showdown" between Labour and the Green Party, who are also running a candidate named Zack Polanski. Polanski stated that the Greens have momentum in the election, despite being underdogs, and aim to win one of Labour's safest seats. The election is notable for the contrast between Labour's efforts to re-elect their candidate and the Green Party's bid to take the seat.
Written for “London By-Election Showdown” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 0 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 score -0.35 for article 7861 (medium confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-11
“I was so pleased for you,” Mr Burnham told Ms Abdi-Wali.
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Burnham → tell → Wali
“I think you've been amazing what you've achieved with Camden Council, but we want you in Parliament.”
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we → think → Parliament
“It's been an amazing day to be able to just get out there and hit the ground running,” she said.
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she → get → ground
“We had the Prime Minister come down to Holborn and St Pancras, and it was amazing to meet him.”
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it → have → him
She added: “We've been able to leaflet all of our Tube stations, and it's amazing the response we’ve had.
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we → add → response
“We’ve been walking around the entire constituency, being stopped by local people, telling me that they're going to support us and wanting us to win and make sure that we keep this seat Labour.”
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we → walk → seat
He said: “Greens are underdogs here but we have the momentum – and I know we can achieve a historic victory in one of Labour’s safest seats.
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we → say → seats
“If elected, I will fight every day, in this constituency and in the Houses of Parliament, for the things people care about.
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people → elect → things
London Assembly member Mr Polanski added: “We will fight a positive campaign on the issues we know people care about, and to put as much pressure as we can on Labour to lower bills, for much more affordable housing and rent controls, to reduce massive wealth inequality and to make sure Labour don’t back down on climate action by allowing more North Sea drilling.”
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back → add → drilling
However, he was competing against local councillor Hamza Chowdhury for the Green nomination.
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he → compete → nomination
The by-election will provide an early test of Mr Burnham’s popularity with the public.
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election → provide → public
After his low-key visit to north London on Thursday, it was not yet clear how prominent a role he will play in Labour’s by-election campaign.
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he → play → campaign
Prime Ministers tend to stay away from many by-elections as the party in Government often loses these contests.
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party → tend → contests
Only two Labour MPs have ever represented Holborn and St Pancras: former health secretary Frank Dobson, from 1983 to 2015, then Sir Keir.
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MPs → represent → 2015
At the most recent general election in 2024, Sir Keir held the seat with 48.9% of the vote, ahead of independent candidate Andrew Feinstein in second place on 18.9% and the Greens in third on 10.4%.
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Keir → hold → %
The Conservatives came fourth on 7.2%, Reform finished fifth on 6.1% and the Liberal Democrats were sixth on 5.8%.
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Democrats → come → %
The popularity of the independent and Green candidates at the 2024 contest, finishing second and third respectively, may have been partly down to former Labour voters protesting against Sir Keir’s refusal to take a stronger position on Israel’s actions in Gaza in the war with Hamas.
uncertain
popularity → finish → Hamas
Government chief whip Anneliese Midgley moved the writ in the House of Commons on Monday, officially triggering the by-election.
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Midgley → move → election
