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Holborn and St Pancras by-election result in full: How many votes did Zack Polanski get?

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Yadav, N., & Burford, R. (2026, October 9). Holborn and St Pancras by-election result in full: How many votes did Zack Polanski get? Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/holborn-st-pancras-by-election-london-result-in-full-b1300062.html

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Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-09 · by Niva Yadav, Rachael Burford

Quick Summary

In the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali won with 12,292 votes, while Green Party leader Zack Polanski received 8,928 votes. The election took place after a tough week for Polanski, during which both parties engaged in extensive campaigning; the Greens mobilized numerous campaigners on the ground, and Labour leveraged support from senior party figures to secure victory in one of its safest seats.
Written by AI on 2026-10-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The Holborn and St Pancras by-election took place on Thursday to replace former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had resigned from his seat in Parliament. The race is between Labour's Dani Arbid-supported candidate Fadila Halima, also known as Ms Abdi-Wali (the exact name varies across sources), and the Green Party leader Zack Polanski. This election is significant for Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who needs to restore faith in Labour among left-wing voters after its decline during the Gaza war.

The North London constituency has been a Labour stronghold since 1983, held by Frank Dobson for 32 years and Keir Starmer for 11. Polanski is hoping to break this streak and secure his seat in Parliament. However, it's noted that Polls indicate the contest between Labour’s Halima and Green Party leader Polanski is close.

Polanski has faced a difficult week after his party passed a controversial motion at its conference asserting “Zionism is racism,” though he abstained from voting on this resolution. He later stated his commitment to inclusivity, rejecting exclusion based on religious or communal affiliation.

The election also marks a critical moment for Polanski's leadership of the Green Party, which has seen significant growth, gaining over 440 councillors and control of five councils in recent local elections.

Polanski appeals to voters by arguing that a Green voice can push Labour on issues such as rent controls and putting Thames Water into public ownership. He also emphasizes the importance of voting against new drilling in the North Sea, an issue that Labour delayed addressing until after the election results.

Overall, while polls suggest a close race, it remains uncertain whether Polanski can upset the long-standing Labour dominance in this constituency.

Written for “Holborn By-election Campaigns” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 47 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Holborn By-election Campaigns
Politics · 48 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
10
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 10 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.
Outlets on this story
48
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

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Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8091 article(s) · 68 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 68 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Niva Yadav
54 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Chancellor John Healey’ Budget contained a raft of measures that will affect millions of people in London.
2026-10-31 · assertive framing · What does the Budget mean for London's Gen Z?
🔮 The Chancellor revealed during the first Budget under the Burnham administration that households in council tax bands A-D would receive a £100 payout directly into their bank accounts to help cope with surging energy bills.
🔮 The Met Police has warned that anyone planning to attend the demonstration on Saturday could face arrest as a result.
🔮 Many young people had hoped Chancellor John Healey’s landmark Budget would deliver measures to boost home ownership, create opportunities and ease financial pressures on a generation that often feels locked out of traditional milestones.
🔮 His actions could easily have caused horrific injuries. "
🔮 Green-led Lambeth is also projected to face a £130 million deficit in its funding by 2029-30, making it the third council to seek an unspecified tax increase.
🔮 Chancellor John Healey will announce the Government’s tax and spending plans in his first Budget speech this afternoon.
🔮 “It caused a lot of devastation,” he said, as he remembered “trying to salvage what [he] could and hoping just that no one was injured.”
🔮 The protests have already been replicated in other European countries, like Albania and Italy, and have sparked fears that they could spark unrest in Britain.
🔮 "We will be in a better position to provide further information once we have established the full facts."
Also by Niva Yadav
What does the Budget mean for London's Gen Z?
2026-10-31 · Evening Standard
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 54 articles by Niva Yadav →
Rachael Burford
61 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Business rates cut The move would mean thousands of high-street shops, cafes, pubs and other small businesses would no longer have to pay business rates.
🔮 Buses, taxis, private hire vehicles, bicycles, scooters and pedicabs will all be diverted.
🔮 The Mayor suggested he was confident more resources to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in the capital would be announced.
🔮 The Mayor of London stressed that closer ties to Europe were more vital then ever as Vladimir Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine rages on and Donald Trump appears to have an “unsettling ambivalence” towards security on the continent.
🔮 Council sources said it was the “largest ever” number of job cuts the borough had seen in one go and will hit departments “across the board”.
🔮 Tory London Mayor challenger vows to scrap affordable housing targets and free up space for 300k new homes
🔮 He said he would also set up automated announcements on trains to remind the public not to disturb other passengers with phone calls, music or videos.
🔮 Homes in just one borough - Tower Hamlets - could remain slightly below the threshold, analysis by the Standard reveals.
🔮 A major London Tube station could be forced to close because of its crumbling infrastructure.
🔮 Read More “And I hope the Reform Party will take immediate and firm action against those who’ve been revealed to be making these abhorrent comments.”
Also by Rachael Burford
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 61 articles by Rachael Burford →

Topics

Green Party Greens Holborn Labour St Pancras

Subjects

Labour ORG · 8× Greens NORP · 4× Conservative NORP · 2× Ewan Cameron PERSON · 2× Green Party ORG · 2× Holborn GPE · 2× Polanski PERSON · 2× St Pancras GPE · 2× Zack Polanski PERSON · 2× London GPE · 1×

Narrative

The Greens put huge effort into defeating Labour, mobilising dozens of campaigners in the streets of north London in the lead up to the poll. But Labour also ran an organised and relentless campaign, calling on cabinet ministers and other senior party figures to come and drum up support in the constituency.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-09
🔮 A party spokesperson said: "It is clear now we will come a close second in this by-election.

Claims (10 extracted, 0 hedged)

Labour has stormed to victory in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election despite a challenge from Green Party leader Zack Polanski. asserted
Labour → storm → Polanski
She won with 12,292 votes to Mr Polanski’s 8,928. asserted
She → win → 8,928
Conservative Ewan Cameron came in third. asserted
Cameron → come → ?
Ahead of the official declaration, the Greens conceded defeat. asserted
Greens → concede → defeat
A party spokesperson said: "It is clear now we will come a close second in this by-election. asserted
we → say → election
“Taking the fight to Labour in one of its safest seats shows just how far the Greens have come. asserted
Greens → take → seats
Voters want us to keep Labour’s feet to the fire on affordable housing, public ownership of water and the climate crisis. asserted
us → want → water
“Greens will be there every single day, holding Labour to account and demanding the change people voted for." asserted
people → hold → change
The Greens put huge effort into defeating Labour, mobilising dozens of campaigners in the streets of north London in the lead up to the poll. But Labour also ran an organised and relentless campaign, calling on cabinet ministers and other senior party figures to come and drum up support in the constituency. asserted
Labour → put → constituency
Labour’s efforts follow a tough week for Mr Polanski. asserted
efforts → follow → Polanski
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