Item 1 of 2 Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali reacts following her victory in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, triggered by the resignation of former Prime Minister Keir Starmer as MP for Holborn and St Pancras, in London, Britain, October 9, 2026. REUTERS\/Toby Shepheard<\/p>\n
[1\/2]Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali reacts following her victory in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, triggered by the resignation of former Prime Minister Keir Starmer as MP for Holborn and St… Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab<\/a> Read moreLabour retains former leader Starmer’s seat with Abdi-Wali winGreen leader Polanski fails in bid to become a lawmakerBurnham gets boost in test of appeal among London votersLONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Andy \u200bBurnham<\/a>‘s Labour Party won an election for the parliamentary seat vacated by former leader Keir Starmer<\/a> on Friday, fending \u200coff a strong challenge from the left-wing Green Party in a boost for the British prime minister.<\/p>\n Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali, the leader of the local council, won the by-election in the central London constituency of Holborn and St Pancras with 12,292 votes, compared with 8,928 for Zack Polanski, the \u200bGreen Party leader.<\/p>\n Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n Labour had been widely expected to hold the seat, as Burnham seeks to repair his party’s damaged \u200bappeal among core voters in big cities after two bruising years in government under Starmer.<\/p>\n While Labour’s \u2060main rival in national polls is currently the populist Reform Party, the governing party is seeking to shore up support among \u200bleft-leaning voters who had turned to the Greens before a national vote due in mid-2029.<\/p>\n The result will be a blow to Polanski, \u200ba 43-year-old former actor and hypnotherapist, who has promised to make his party “an eco-populist” movement and draw support away from Labour \u2014 a strategy that had been working until Burnham came to power.<\/p>\n Abdi-Wali paid tribute to Starmer in her victory speech and said she wanted to work with Burnham on \u200bissues such as housing.<\/p>\n “We have a responsibility to defend what we’ve built and pass it on,” she said. “Throughout our campaign, we \u200bchose hope, and the people of Holborn and St Pancras chose it with us. And now it’s time to deliver.”<\/p>\n BURNHAM’S ARRIVAL HAS SAPPED MOMENTUM \u200cFROM GREEN \u2060PARTYStarmer was replaced as prime minister<\/a> in July and stood down as a lawmaker in September<\/a> after losing the support of his Labour Party over a series of missteps, U-turns and disastrous local election results<\/a> in May.The Green Party<\/a> had made record gains in London \u2014 largely at Labour’s expense \u2014 in May’s local elections, capitalising on Starmer’s unpopularity.But the Greens have fallen back in national polls since, after Burnham made several \u200bpolicy pitches that boosted Labour’s \u200bstanding among voters to the \u2060left, including a tougher line on Israel<\/a> and a more ambitious approach to relations with the European Union<\/a>.The result caps a damaging few days for Polanski, whose leadership of the Greens has been questioned \u200bafter party members passed a Zionism is Racism motion<\/a> to widespread criticism from Jewish groups, other parties \u200band even most \u2060Green party lawmakers.<\/p>\n After the result, Polanski, who is Jewish, said he believed the displacement of Palestinian people was racist, although he declined to say that he supported the motion after not taking part in the vote last weekend.<\/p>\n He said that he was disappointed not to \u2060win the \u200bseat but would stay on as Green Party leader, adding that the \u200bparty would continue to grow despite the setback.<\/p>\n “So many people told me on the doorstep that they want to give Andy Burnham a chance,” Polanski told broadcasters. “Well, \u200bhe’s got a chance now. Let’s see what he does with it.”<\/p>\n Adds background in paragraphs 9-12, Green Party reaction in paragraphs 13-15<\/p>\n Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Kevin Buckland<\/p>\n Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n