Labour holds Holborn and St Pancras

What's happened

Labour has won the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Sagal Abdi‑Wali has taken 45% (12,292 votes) to Green leader Zack Polanski’s 33% (8,928). The result has intensified scrutiny of Polanski after the Green conference motion equating Zionism with racism and his absence from that vote; he has said he will remain party leader.

What's behind the headline?

What the result means

• Labour has held a symbolic seat and will use the victory to consolidate Andy Burnham’s position and reclaim left‑leaning voters.
• The Greens increased their vote share compared with some previous contests but have lost the narrative momentum they enjoyed earlier in the year.

Who won and who lost

• Sagal Abdi‑Wali has won and will enter Parliament as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras; her personal story as a former child refugee and local council leader has helped her campaign.
• Zack Polanski has lost the bid for a Commons seat and is facing intensified internal pressure after the party conference motion and his decision not to participate in that vote.

Why this will matter next

• Labour will use the win to show Burnham can recover votes from the Greens; this will reduce the Greens’ short‑term leverage over government policy.
• Polanski staying on as leader will keep internal party conflict active and will force the Greens to choose between consolidating grassroots growth or moderating positions to regain broader appeal.

Forecast

• Labour will strengthen its appeal to left‑leaning urban voters over the next year, which will make further Green parliamentary gains less likely unless the Greens moderate or refocus on core environmental issues.
• The Greens will hold a leadership reckoning in months ahead and internal disputes will shape whether the party sustains membership growth or fragments.

How we got here

The by-election was triggered by Keir Starmer’s resignation. The contest has tested Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s early popularity and Polanski’s bid to translate Green membership growth into parliamentary seats. The Greens surged in local elections earlier this year but have slipped in national polls after internal rows over the Zionism motion and other controversies.

Our analysis

The coverage presents a consistent core narrative but different emphases. The Guardian (Alexandra Topping) has emphasised the toll on Polanski’s leadership, noting he took 33% while Sagal Abdi‑Wali won 45% and quoting party figures who said he "should have been there" for the Zionism vote. Al Jazeera reported the same vote totals and highlighted Polanski’s defence that he campaigned in the by‑election rather than attend the conference vote, quoting him that he put all his "energy into the race". Reuters set the contest as a test of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s ability to win back left‑leaning voters and reported Greens’ conference motion drew criticism; it quoted local voters saying Burnham is "reading the room" better. The Scotsman framed Abdi‑Wali’s win as a positive story about immigration, noting she is the first British Somali MP and quoting her promise to "work every day" for constituents. The Times of Israel and Arab News emphasised the regional and identity angles, noting Polanski is Jewish and the party motion led to his ban from Israel. BBC, Bloomberg and Politico provided the electoral detail and campaign spending context: BBC underlined the symbolic relief for Labour, Bloomberg and Reuters gave the vote percentages, and Politico outlined targeted ad spending and campaign messaging. Across these sources, direct quotes anchor the main points: Abdi‑Wali saying she wants to "defend what we’ve built" (Times of Israel); Polanski saying the result was part of "Andy Burnham's honeymoon" (Al Jazeera); and Caroline Lucas in The Guardian saying Polanski "should have been there and he should have voted." These attributions show agreement on results but divergence on interpretation: some outlets treat the loss as a crippling leadership blow (Guardian, Mirror), others present it as evidence of continued Green growth despite the defeat (Al Jazeera, Green statements quoted by multiple outlets).

Go deeper

• Will Green members trigger a leadership contest for Polanski?
• How will Burnham use the victory to shift policy on housing and climate?
• Will Abdi‑Wali take a vocal stance on the Israel‑Gaza debate in Parliament?

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