Labour retains Holborn seat as AbdiWali defeats Polanski

Labour retained Holborn and St Pancras in a by-election on Thursday, October 8, with candidate Sagal AbdiWali defeating Green Party leader Zack Polanski by 3,364 votes. The result preserved Labour’s hold on the north London constituency, which it has represented since the seat was created in 1983. AbdiWali received 12,292 votes, compared with 8,928 for Polanski. The Conservative candidate, Ewan Cameron, finished third with 1,922 votes. The Green Party conceded before the official declaration. Turnout was 38.76%, with 27,309 ballots cast. At the 2024 general election, turnout in the constituency was 54.46%. The by-election was called after Keir Starmer resigned as an MP. Starmer had held the seat before stepping down as prime minister and leaving Parliament. The contest drew particular attention as a test for both parties: Labour sought to keep a long-held seat, while the Greens aimed to turn recent electoral gains into a parliamentary breakthrough. Polanski had campaigned on issues including rent controls, public ownership of water and climate policy.