Labour holds Starmer’s old seat, with Polanski’s Greens second
Polanski’s party conceded defeat before the declaration, days after its conference passed a motion on Zionism.
Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali has held Keir Starmer’s old seat of Holborn and St Pancras, polling 12,292 votes to 8,928 for Green Party leader Zack Polanski in the by-election.
The result was declared at Camden council’s headquarters in north London early on 9 October, after voting on 8 October. Abdi-Wali, who leads Camden council, won by a majority of 3,364.
Ewan Cameron of the Conservatives came third with 1,922 votes and George Galloway of the Workers Party received 314. Turnout was 38.76%, with 27,309 ballots cast.
The seat fell vacant after Starmer, the former prime minister, stood down as an MP in September. The Guardian reported that the turnout was the lowest for any by-election held in England during this parliament.
In the acceptance speech, Abdi-Wali said the pledge applied whether or not people had voted for the new MP: “I will work every day to do whatever I can and all I can to improve your life”.
The Greens conceded before the declaration. A party spokesperson said: “It is clear now we will come a close second in this by-election.” The spokesperson added that “taking the fight to Labour in one of its safest seats shows just how far the Greens have come”.
The result comes days after the party’s conference voted on 4 October for a motion saying Zionism should be “treated as any other form of racism”. The motion passed despite opposition from four of the party’s five MPs. Polanski, who was campaigning in the constituency instead, missed the debate and did not cast a vote.
Caroline Lucas, the former Green leader, told Newsnight shortly after polls closed that Polanski should show “the leadership that was frankly missing” when the motion was voted on. Asked whether Polanski should resign, Lucas said: “I think let’s just see what happens in the coming days and weeks”.
