Polls close in Holborn and St Pancras by-election overshadowed by Green Party Zionism row
October 8, 2026 at 10:28 PM · Updated 7d ago
9 reports · 1 in Arabic, 8 in English · over 12 hours
من اللجوء إلى مجلس العموم.. محجبة من أصول صومالية تفوز بمقعد في البرلمان البريطاني
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Zack Polanski faces greatest crisis of his leadership so far
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Zack Polanski on by-election loss
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Questions remain for Green Party leader Zack Polanski
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Moment Labour MP wins Holborn and St Pancras by-election
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Labour sees off Green challenge to win Holborn by-election
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Labour fends off Green party to win Holborn and St Pancras byelection
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Polls close in Holborn and St Pancras byelection as Labour hopes to retain seat
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Burnham calls on Polanski to reverse Green Party's Zionism motion
(opens the publisher’s site)Polls closed Thursday in the London by-election, where Labour defends Keir Starmer's former seat and Green leader Zack Polanski faces a row over the party's Zionism motion.
- Polls closed at 10pm Thursday in the north London contest, with the result expected between 2:30am and 4am Friday.
- Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali seeks to retain a seat Starmer won by more than 11,000 votes in 2024.
- Burnham called on Polanski to reverse the motion declaring Zionism a form of racism, calling it "completely wrong."
- Green members passed the motion Sunday by 1,022 votes to 813, against opposition from four of the party's five MPs.
- Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali won the by-election, defeating Green leader Zack Polanski as Labour's majority slipped from 11,572 votes to 3,364.
- Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali won the by-election with 12,292 votes, defeating Green leader Zack Polanski who took 8,928
- Turnout was 38.7 percent, the lowest recorded in any England by-election this parliament
- Green Party leader Zack Polanski said 'of course I can carry on' after the party's defeat in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
- Polanski, who is Jewish and banned from Israel, faced criticism from former leader Caroline Lucas, Jewish groups and sister Green parties in Europe.
- Polanski has not explicitly rejected the motion declaring Zionism a form of racism, deepening the crisis of his leadership.
- Abdi-Wali, 42, who arrived in Britain as a Somali refugee child, is the first woman to represent the constituency.
- Abdi-Wali said her priorities will be homelessness, housing, and public ownership of Thames Water.