Labour has held Sir Keir Starmer’s former Holborn and St Pancras constituency after defeating Green Party leader Zack Polanski in a closely watched by-election, delivering a boost to Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Sagal Abdi-Wali, the Labour candidate and leader of Camden council, secured 45% of the vote against Mr Polanski’s 32.7%, winning by 3,364 votes.
The Conservatives finished a distant third, ahead of Reform UK, while turnout fell to 38.8% from 54.1% at the 2024 general election.
Mr Polanski insisted he would not resign despite mounting pressure over his leadership and controversy surrounding a Green Party conference motion declaring that “Zionism is racism”.
Former Green leader Caroline Lucas described his failure to challenge the motion as a “mistake”, while Mr Polanski defended the by-election campaign as “an opportunity to present Green Party values”.
Ms Abdi-Wali, a former Somali child refugee, described her victory as “deeply personal” and said she hoped it would inspire others from similar backgrounds.