Labour Holds Holborn and St Pancras Against Green Leader's Challenge
Labour has defeated the Green Party in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. The BBC confirmed the result on 9 October 2026. BBC
The seat is in London, in England. A by-election is a Commons vote held to fill a vacancy. Green leader Zack Polanski stood as the Green candidate after the party said he had been selected. Green Party The defeat denied the Greens a Westminster gain.
BBC Political Editor Chris Mason said questions remain for Polanski about a motion passed at Green conference. Conference votes normally set party policy, so leaders are expected to answer for them. The motion declared Zionism a form of racism, defined as an ideology supporting "an ethnonationalist Jewish state". BBC
Polanski was criticised for his response to the motion, the BBC said. BBC He then faced further pressure over that response and over the by-election loss. BBC He defended his leadership after the row, the BBC said. BBC
In his own account, Polanski said the displacement of Palestinians is racist. He said no one will be excluded from the Green Party. BBC The party published his statement on 5 October 2026 under the title Zack Polanski reaction to Zionism is racism motion. Green Party
Reuters reported the conference vote drew criticism from British Jews and the Israeli government. Reuters Reuters also noted Polanski is Jewish. Reuters
Reuters said the sitting prime minister in October 2026 was Labour's Burnham. Reuters The Green Party lists Rachel Millward as deputy leader and Hannah Spencer as MP for Gorton and Denton, in England. It lists Geraldine Coggins as candidate for Greater Manchester Mayor, in England, with a 10-year plan for 20,000 genuinely affordable homes in Greater Manchester. Green Party
The broader context here is familiar at Westminster. A motion passes at conference and the leadership must handle it. Polanski tried to set his own language around racism and exclusion. Critics said that was not enough, and the by-election defeat sharpened the argument. Labour's hold kept the seat and steadied an administration facing a vocal challenge from the Greens on its left.
In my view, two tests now run in parallel. Can Polanski carry the party with him while distancing himself from a motion he did not support in those terms? And can the Greens turn conference energy into wins in Labour-held urban seats, or can Labour under Burnham keep closing those contests down?
