Labour holds London seat as Green Party leader vows to stay on

Sagal Abdi-Wali secured victory in Thursday's by-election for the Holborn and St. Pancras constituency, retaining a Greater London seat previously held by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. She won 45% of the vote while Green Party leader Zack Polanski finished second, according to British media reports.

Abdi-Wali received 12,292 votes, representing 45.17% of the total cast in the north London constituency — a traditional Labour stronghold that has consistently returned party candidates in previous elections. She replaces Starmer as the Member of Parliament for the seat, which became vacant when the former opposition leader succeeded to Downing Street following the general election victory earlier this year.

Green leader vows to stay on

Polanski secured 8,928 votes, or 32.81% of the total, pushing the Greens into second place ahead of the established opposition parties. Despite failing to overturn the Labour majority, the Green Party leader told journalists he would remain at the helm, rejecting suggestions that contesting the seat had been a strategic error.

"I don't think it was a mistake at all. I think it's been an opportunity to present the Green Party values, to talk about rent controls, tackling the climate crisis, nationalizing Thames Water," Polanski said. "It's been amazing to speak to people in Holborn and St. Pancras. I've really enjoyed the last few weeks," he added.

Full results

The Conservative Party finished a distant third with 1,922 votes, followed by Reform UK with 1,612 and the Liberal Democrats with 924 votes. The result maintains Labour's grip on a seat that has remained in party hands for decades, despite the Greens' significant advance into second position.