Polanski defends leadership after Labour holds Holborn and St Pancras
Zack Polanski has defended his leadership after Labour held Holborn and St Pancras and after the Green Party voted to define Zionism as a form of racism.
He was questioned about the conference motion on BBC Breakfast after his defeat in the by-election. The BBC published the interview as “Polanski questioned on Green Party's Zionism motion” and listed it under Politics. BBC
The Guardian reported that Sagal Abdi-Wali retained Holborn and St Pancras for Labour, defeating Polanski. She secured 12,292 votes, beating Polanski by 3,364 votes. The Guardian The Telegraph said the seat was Sir Keir Starmer’s former constituency. The Telegraph
The result was confirmed on 9 October. Polanski spoke to BBC Breakfast afterwards. The BBC interview page links to its coverage of the by-election defeat.
The defeat followed a vote at the party’s 2026 conference. The Green Party said that on 4 October it adopted a motion making it formally an anti-Zionist party. Green Party
Two motions were before conference. Motion E2 was titled ‘Zionism is Racism’ and Motion E3 was titled ‘Building a Consensus in Support for Palestinian Liberation’. On 2 October, officers of Jewish Greens published a statement urging members to vote against the ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion.
Reuters reported that the vote drew criticism from British Jews and the Israeli government. Reuters The BBC said Polanski did not vote in the debate. He left conference early to campaign in Holborn and St Pancras. He later said he would not have voted for the motion. BBC
The party published his reaction on 5 October. In it, he said “antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli state are, and must always be, completely distinct.” He also said he would not accept anyone being excluded from the party because of the religious or communal body they are part of.
The BBC said that response drew criticism from senior party figures. BBC Polanski has since faced pressure over his handling of the motion and the by-election loss. He has defended his leadership following the row.
The broader context here is familiar at Westminster. A leader seeking new voters must respect conference decisions while running effective by-election campaigns. Polanski distanced himself from E2 without disowning conference. That leaves questions about enforcement, candidate selection and how voters outside the activist base hear the policy. Labour’s hold by a clear margin will sharpen that test.
