Sadiq Khan pokes fun at Zack Polanski's by-election campaign video by speaking to him in Urdu

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Howe, M. (2026, September 17). Sadiq Khan pokes fun at Zack Polanski's by-election campaign video by speaking to him in Urdu. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/sadiq-khan-zack-polanski-by-election-campaign-video-urdu-b1297333.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-17 · by Megan Howe

Quick Summary

Sadiq Khan responded to Zack Polanski's by-election campaign video during a London Assembly meeting by speaking in Urdu, referencing Polanski’s controversial video which used the language and drew criticism from some MPs. The mayor joked about his proficiency in Urdu while addressing a question posed by Polanski regarding data centers. This exchange was met with laughter but also faced backlash from critics like Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds who argued that campaign material should be strictly in English to ensure voter comprehension, despite only around 156 people listing Urdu as their main language in the constituency.

Written by AI on 2026-09-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, mocked Zack Polanski, a Green Party leader running for MP in Holborn and St Pancras, by responding to him in Urdu during the London Assembly's Mayor's Question Time on Thursday. This came after Polanski released a campaign video addressing voters in Urdu earlier that week. Khan joked about his proficiency with the language, saying he feared Polanski might ask questions in Urdu. The exchange was seen as a lighthearted response to criticism from some MPs who argued political videos should be conducted "in the language of public life." Despite the criticism, Khan's Urdu reply received laughter from fellow assembly members and praise for his pronunciation skills.

Written for “Sadiq Khan Mocks Campaign Video” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Sadiq Khan Mocks Campaign Video

Politics · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

'I thought as you're so fluent!' Sadiq Khan mocks Zack Polanski by answering him in Urdu after Green leader released by-election campaign video in South Asian language Same event

Daily Mail

⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 27 claims Outlet record 68/100

Sadiq Khan pokes fun at Greens’ Polanksi with Urdu answer at London Assembly Same event

Evening Standard

Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 65/100

Greens leader Zack Polanski releases campaign video in Urdu to target Pakistani voters as he takes on Labour for Keir Starmer's former Commons seat Different event

Daily Mail

Hedges 2 of 30 claims Outlet record 68/100

“The first article describes Zack Polanski releasing a campaign video in Urdu, while the second article details Sadiq Khan's humorous response to Polanski at a meeting using Urdu, referencing but not directly being the original video incident.”

Greens defend Zack Polanski's by-election campaign video spoken in Urdu Different event

Evening Standard

Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 65/100

“Article A discusses backlash against Zack Polanski's campaign video spoken in Urdu, while Article B describes a light-hearted exchange at a meeting where Sadiq Khan responded to Polanski in Urdu as a reference to the video.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

withheld

no quote in the article backed the model's score

Publisher signals

65/100

Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Politics

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articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-17 · how these are computed

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Running correction rate · 64 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Megan Howe

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Topics

Holborn London Assembly Pakistan St Pancras the Green Party

Subjects

Polanski PERSON · 4× Holborn GPE · 2× Business PERSON · 1× Jonathan Reynolds PERSON · 1× Khan PERSON · 1× London Assembly ORG · 1× Pakistan GPE · 1× St Pancras GPE · 1× Tory NORP · 1× the Green Party ORG · 1×

Narrative

The light-hearted exchange was a reference to Mr Polanski’s Urdu campaign video for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, which came under fire from some MPs who argued that political videos should be conducted strictly “in the language of public life”.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17

🔮 “I thought chair that as the member is so proficient in Urdu, I would speak in Urdu,” he said, jokingly adding: “I was worried the question might be in Urdu.”

2026-09-17 · Evening Standard

Sadiq Khan pokes fun at Zack Polanski's by-election campaign video by speaking to him in Urdu · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 1 hedged)

“I thought chair that as the member is so proficient in Urdu, I would speak in Urdu,” he said, jokingly adding: “I was worried the question might be in Urdu.” uncertain

question → think → Urdu

Mr Polanski had asked the mayor about data centres at Wednesday’s meeting, before receiving a response in the national language of Pakistan. asserted

Polanski → ask → Pakistan

videos → come → life

Lord Khan’s surprise response was met with laughter from fellow London Assembly members and Mr Polanski himself, while one member praised the mayor’s pronunciation. asserted

member → meet → pronunciation

Mr Polanski’s video was an attempt by the Green Party to appeal to voters in the constituency ahead of the by-election, but it sparked criticism from MPs. asserted

it → appeal → MPs

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said voters should be able to understand what candidates are saying, while Tory shadow communities secretary Katie Lam branded the campaign video as “poisonous”. asserted

Lam → say → video

Mr Reynolds said the footage made him feel “uncomfortable”, telling Times Radio that his views “have hardened” on the need for campaign literature to be in English. asserted

literature → say → English

Other critics pointed to the 2021 Census data showing that 816 Pakistanis lived in the constituency, with around 156 people listing Urdu as their main language. asserted

people → point → language

Defending the Urdu video, a Green Party spokesperson said: “The Greens believe that democracy doesn't discriminate by languages spoken. asserted

democracy → defend → languages

Holborn and St Pancras is a true reflection of the diversity of London and of our country and we choose to embrace and celebrate that. asserted

we → choose → that

Read More “If we want to speak to people who speak Urdu, it makes sense to speak to them in Urdu. asserted

it → read → Urdu

We're proud to reach voters in as many languages as possible”. asserted

We → reach → languages

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