Labour Holds Starmer’s Former Seat as Green Leader Zack Polanski Loses By-Election
Sagal Abdi-Wali wins Holborn and St Pancras for Labour with 12,292 votes, defeating Green leader Zack Polanski by a majority of 3,364.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readLatest in Elections
Kinnock urges Burnham to introduce compulsory voting in UK elections
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to introduce compulsory voting, arguing that declining turnout is distorting election results.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readLabour gains Walkley from Greens in Sheffield Council by-election
Labour has regained Walkley from the Green Party in a Sheffield Council by-election, with Hannah Cawley winning 53.4% of the vote just four months after Labour lost the seat.
Daniel Whitmore · 2 min readConservatives gain Wreake Valley from Greens in Charnwood Council by-election
The Conservatives have gained Wreake Valley from the Green Party in a Charnwood Borough Council by-election, with Reform UK finishing second.
Daniel Whitmore · 2 min readSNP gains Avondale and Stonehouse in South Lanarkshire Council by-election
The SNP has gained the Avondale and Stonehouse seat on South Lanarkshire Council after Leigh Payne was elected at stage nine, with Labour second and Reform UK third on first preferences.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readElection watchdog warns candidate abuse is changing British politics after May elections
The Electoral Commission has warned that growing abuse and intimidation are changing how candidates participate in British politics following its review of the May 2026 elections in England.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readRayner withdraws council shake-up decisions and pauses reforms across England after new legal advice
Angela Rayner has withdrawn local government reorganisation decisions covering Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk and paused the wider programme for review following updated legal advice.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readReform UK takes more than £5.3m in donations, out-raising Labour and Conservatives
Reform UK accepted more than £5.3 million in donations during the second quarter of 2026, comfortably out-raising Labour and the Conservatives, according to new Electoral Commission figures.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readGreen leader Zack Polanski confirms bid for Keir Starmer’s former seat
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has confirmed he wants to contest the Holborn and St Pancras by-election triggered by Sir Keir Starmer’s departure from Parliament, although he must still be formally selected by local party members.
Charlotte Mercer · 5 min readBurnham Government launches taskforce to tackle UK political ‘mega-donors’
The Burnham Government has announced a cross-government team to examine the influence of UK-based political ‘mega-donors’, but ministers have not yet agreed a numerical cap on domestic donations.
Charlotte Mercer · 5 min readRupert Lowe’s Restore Britain lands first major donor with £500,000 war chest
Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain has secured its first major financial backer, with technology entrepreneur Simon Galbraith donating £500,000 through Cade Hill Investments.
Charlotte Mercer · 3 min readTories go on election alert as Badenoch seeks Civil Service access talks over possible Burnham snap poll
Kemi Badenoch has reportedly asked Cabinet Secretary Dame Antonia Romeo to seek approval for formal pre-election Civil Service access talks as the Conservatives prepare for the possibility of an early election under Andy Burnham.
Charlotte Mercer · 5 min read