Labour has retained Keir Starmer’s former Holborn and St Pancras seat, with Sagal Abdi-Wali defeating Green Party leader Zack Polanski by 3,364 votes.
Camden Council’s official declaration confirms that Abdi-Wali received 12,292 votes, compared with 8,928 for Polanski. The parliamentary by-election took place on Thursday 8 October, with the result announced following an overnight count on Friday 9 October.
Confirmed result
- Sagal Abdi-Wali — Labour: 12,292 votes
- Zack Polanski — Green Party: 8,928 votes
- Ewan Cameron — Conservatives: 1,922 votes
- Peter Newman — Reform UK: 1,612 votes
- Patrick Thomas Stillman — Liberal Democrats: 924 votes
Turnout was 38.76%. The full results for all 15 candidates are available on Camden Council’s website.
Labour holds the seat, but Greens increase their support
The contest was triggered by former prime minister Starmer’s departure from Parliament. Abdi-Wali, the Camden Council leader, succeeds him as the constituency’s MP.
At the July 2024 general election, Starmer won 18,884 votes, with independent candidate Andrew Feinstein second on 7,312. Labour’s majority then was 11,572. The Green candidate, David Stansell, received 4,030 votes.
The Greens therefore more than doubled their vote total compared with 2024, while Labour retained the seat with a smaller majority. These are comparisons between elections with different candidates and turnout, rather than a direct measure of how individual voters changed their preferences.
Polanski to remain Green leader
ITV News reported that Polanski confirmed after the result that he intended to continue as party leader. His unsuccessful bid leaves him outside the House of Commons.
The outcome gives Labour a constituency victory against a prominent challenger. A single by-election does not, by itself, establish a national political recovery or explain voters’ individual motivations.