The Labour Party has retained the Holborn and St Pancras parliamentary seat in the United Kingdom after its candidate, Sagal Abdi-Wali, defeated Green Party leader Zack Polanski in a by-election that significantly reduced Labour’s majority.
Abdi-Wali, the leader of Camden Council, secured 12,292 votes, representing 45 per cent of the total, while Polanski came second with 8,928 votes, or 33 per cent. However, Labour’s majority fell from 11,572 to 3,364.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as a member of parliament. It was regarded as an important electoral test for Labour, particularly amid concerns that the Green Party was attracting voters who had previously supported Labour.
Speaking at her victory rally, Abdi-Wali told supporters, “People voted for hope and now we’re going to be able to deliver for them.”
The new Labour MP, who arrived in the UK as a child refugee from Somalia, said her victory demonstrated the value of diversity and inclusion in the borough.
“Whether you voted for me or not, my commitment to this community runs deep,” 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. This is Camden, and this is Britain.”
She added, “That is what this victory represents. Winning not by making people afraid of each other, but by bringing people together.”
Abdi-Wali also highlighted homelessness as one of the issues that motivated her entry into politics, promising to support people sleeping rough.
She further expressed support for bringing Thames Water into public ownership, arguing that the company had “failed residents up and down our constituency”.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham congratulated Abdi-Wali on what he described as a “fantastic campaign” and said he looked forward to working with her.
Starmer also welcomed the result, describing the new MP as “a brilliant champion for our communities” who would be “a fantastic MP”.
Despite his defeat, Polanski said the result demonstrated growing support for the Green Party, whose vote share increased by 22 percentage points compared with the 2024 general election.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he described the outcome as evidence that his party had become “more of an electoral threat in these seats than we’ve ever been before”.
“This is the foundation we’re looking to build on,” he added, insisting that he would remain the party’s leader despite mounting pressure over his handling of a controversial motion on Zionism.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Polanski admitted he was disappointed but maintained that the result represented progress for the Greens.
“I’m not going to sit here and pretend I’m not disappointed. No politician runs in a by-election and doesn’t want to win,” he said.
“But at the same time, to see the growth in what was supposedly a safe Labour seat since 1983 [and] is now a marginal Labour seat, that’s clearly growth and next time we can get it over the line.”
Polanski also attributed the party’s growing support to its proposals on rent controls, climate change and public ownership of Thames Water.
He said, “So many people told me on the doorstep, so they want to give Andy Burnham a chance [as prime minister].
“Well, he’s got a chance now. Let’s see what he does with it.”
The Conservatives finished third, with candidate Ewan Cameron receiving 1,922 votes, or seven per cent.
Reform UK candidate Pete Newman secured 1,612 votes, while Liberal Democrat candidate Patrick Stillman polled 924. Restore Britain candidate Tyler Johnson received 692 votes.
The Holborn and St Pancras constituency, located in inner London, has been represented by Labour since its creation in 1983.
The party had consistently secured at least 40 per cent of the vote in every general election held in the constituency.
The Greens had hoped to overturn Labour’s longstanding advantage following gains in local elections in the area in May.
The party experienced a surge in support after Polanski became its leader in September 2025, although opinion polls in recent months suggested that the momentum had weakened.
Polanski’s leadership has also come under scrutiny following a motion passed at the Green Party conference in Brighton on Sunday that described Zionism as a form of racism.
The motion defined Zionism as an ideology supporting “an ethnonationalist Jewish state” and backed a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine”, including modern-day Israel.
Polanski was absent during the vote after leaving the conference early to campaign in the by-election.
Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas criticised his handling of the controversy, saying he had failed to demonstrate leadership by neither participating in the debate nor voting on the motion.
Describing the motion as “dangerous” and “divisive”, Lucas said she wanted Polanski to address the issue and demonstrate the leadership she believed had been missing at the conference.
Asked whether he should resign, she said, “I think let’s just see what happens in the coming days and weeks. Obviously he has been completely taken up with this by-election.
“I want him to speak now about what’s happened, I want him to show the leadership that was frankly missing on Sunday.
“I think the jury is out about whether he will do that – but I very much hope he will.”
