Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali Wins Holborn and St Pancras By-Election
Sagal Abdi-Wali retained the Holborn and St Pancras seat for the Labour Party, defeating Green Party leader Zack Polanski despite a significant swing toward the Greens.
Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali won the Holborn and St Pancras by-election on October 9, 2026, securing 12,292 votes (45%) to retain the seat for her party. The election was triggered by the resignation of former prime minister Keir Starmer, who stepped down to focus on international affairs. Abdi-Wali, the leader of Camden Council and a former child refugee from Somalia, becomes the first woman to represent the constituency.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski finished second with 8,928 votes (33%), while Conservative candidate Ewan Cameron placed third with 1,922 votes. Although Polanski lost, the result showed a 13% swing from Labour to the Greens and a 22.4% increase in the party's vote share. Total turnout for the election was 38.63%.
Polanski faced internal party tension during the campaign following a conference motion in Brighton asserting that Zionism is racism. Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas criticized Polanski for failing to vote on that motion. Despite the defeat and internal pressure, Polanski vowed to remain as party leader, citing the party's growth to 220,000 members and the campaign's success in promoting values such as rent controls and the nationalization of Thames Water.
