Image source, PA Media

Labour has won the Holborn and St Pancras by-election - triggered by Keir Starmer's resignation as an MP - with Green Party leader Zack Polanski coming second.

Although it's been a Labour seat since its creation in 1983, the by-election was seen as a key test of Andy Burnham's ability to win over left-wing voters from an ascendant Green challenge.

Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali held the north London seat for Labour, but the party's majority was reduced from 11,572 to 3,364 - here's the vote in numbers.

"People voted for hope and now we're going to be able to deliver for them," Abdi-Wali told Labour activists at a celebratory rally this morning.

Although "disappointed", Polanski says his party tripled its vote share and turned a Labour safe seat into a "marginal".

Polanski went into the by-election with much of the focus on his response to a controversial Green Party motion that declared Zionism is a form of racism, and has faced a call to resign by the chair of Jewish Greens group as a result.

Polanski says he will "of course" stay on as leader, but Green Party sources tell our political correspondent Harry Farley that the current status quo is untenable.

We're ending our live coverage now, but you can read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

It's been hours since Labour held the seat of Holborn and St Pancras in north London - here's an overview of how the night unfolded:

• The polls closed at 22:00 BST on Thursday, with counting beginning around 23:30
• At around 02:30 the Greens conceded, saying it was clear they would come a "close second"
• The result was announced just after 03:00 - Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali won with 12,292 votes, the Greens came second with 8,928, and the Conservatives third with 1,922 votes
• In her victory speech this morning, Abdi-Wali said homelessness was the issue that drove her into politics and that she wanted to work with the government to "tackle rough sleeping while addressing the wider housing crisis"
• Around 15 minutes after the result was announced, Polanski said he would carry on as leader, saying "so many people" told him they wanted to "give Andy Burnham a chance"
• Polanski then spoke to broadcasters this morning, where he faced a barrage of questions about his handling of a controversial party conference motion that declared Zionism is a form of racism

Image source, PA Media

The Green Party's former co-leader Sian Berry says senior party members should have spoken up in a more "unified" way against the conference motion that declared Zionism is a form of racism.

"I am full of regret for so much that has happened," Berry, one of the party's five MPs, says in a statement posted on social media.

She says she voted and argued against the motion because it needed "serious amendment", but that the looming by-election meant "many of us were persuaded not to campaign publicly" to change or reject it.

"I should have worked harder to persuade more of our leading figures to speak up in a unified way to say that the motion as written was clearly not reflective of our values and policy principles," she says.

Berry goes on to apologise to constituents and party members "for where we are now as a party", but says she is ready to work with colleagues to "restore trust".

She also welcomes Polanski's statement this morning that he would not support the motion unamended.

Former Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley says there is now a "certain toxicity" around the Green Party but believes Zack Polanski's popularity among members will protect him if his leadership is challenged next year.

Speaking to Radio 4's World at One, he says the motion at party conference on Zionism "wasn't handled well...I think it was a failure of leadership from Zack" and the "toxicity" is "gaining some traction, we're losing some older voters".

Bartley says Polanski remains "hugely popular" among the membership and will likely stay on as leader but will likely face a "strong challenge" in the leadership election due next year.

He says that the party is struggling with the influx of new members since Polanski's election as leader last year, saying "they don't get always the Green Party philosophy".

Polanski faces a big test of his leadership but a challenge isn't likely soonpublished at 11:33 BST 9 October

11:33 BST 9 October

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Zack Polanski is facing the biggest test to his leadership so far. But is his position under immediate threat?

I’ve been speaking to some of his critics in the party this morning and even they acknowledge he isn’t likely to face a challenge in the near future.

They point to the large numbers of people who have joined the Greens since Polanski became leader and admit he is still popular with the party’s grassroots.

Caroline Lucas, the former Green leader who last night accused Polanski of failing to show leadership, has this morning mollified her criticism.

She posted on X: “His leadership has transformed the party. I hope he now brings the same leadership to help resolve huge issues we face & transform our internal structures.”

But in private plenty of longstanding Green figures remain frustrated and accuse Polanski of being “missing in action” because he did not speak or vote in the debate at his party’s conference to declare Zionism is racism.

They say the situation in the party, after members voted in favour of a motion most of its MPs oppose, is untenable.

This morning Polanski for the first time said he would have voted against the motion because it wasn’t amended in the way he wanted. It means he leads a party whose policy on the Middle East he disagrees with.

So, his critics now ask, what will he do about that? Will he lead an effort to see that changed at the party’s next conference?

And while some in his party are pleased to hear him say he would have voted against, it will have irritated those who campaigned for it, many of who joined the Greens since Polanski became leader.

“He is in danger of losing the confidence of both wings,” one critic pointed out.

The chair of Jewish Greens Vivien Lichtenstein says Zack Polanski should resign over his handling of the conference motion that declared Zionism is a form of racism.

Polanski, who is himself Jewish, had called for the motion to be amended to add in protections for Jewish members and remove language referring to a "single democratic Palestinian State".

He did not vote on the motion, which he told Radio 4's Today programme was because he was campaigning in the by-election.

Speaking to Times Radio, Lichtenstein says Polanski not contributing to the debate virtually was a "big mistake".

Asked if he should continue as party leader, she says: "No, I think he should resign."

She also reiterates to Times Radio that she is "thinking" about quitting the party, but is "discussing with senior members of the party and with colleagues".

Earlier, Polanski told the BBC he would "of course" continue as Green Party leader after its by-election loss.

Image source, Getty Images

Zack Polanski - who came second in yesterday's by-election - has been the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales since September 2025.

He has never served as an MP, but has been a London Assembly member since 2021.

Born in 1982, Polanski grew up in Salford and went to university in Aberystwyth, Wales. He currently lives in the Hackney area of east London.

He is gay and also Jewish, changing his name from David Paulden when he reached 18 in order to embrace the identity erased by his family's anglicised surname, as well as to differentiate himself from his stepdad, who had the same first name.

He had an unconventional path to politics, previously working as an actor, hypnotherapist and mental health counsellor.

His first foray into politics was joining the Liberal Democrats, a party he now criticises as being insufficiently left-wing. He joined the Greens in 2017.

He became the party's deputy leader in 2022 and went on to win the leadership in 2025 pitching himself as an "eco-populist" promising more radical action to fix unfair societal systems, rather than "briefcase politics".

Susana Mendonca
BBC Radio London political reporter

I’ve been speaking to people in Camden Town, which is in the centre of the constituency, to get a sense of how people are feeling this morning.

Claire Essex, who usually votes for Labour, tells me she is feeling "a bit disappointed".

She decided to vote Green this time because she feels "really despondent" with Labour-led Camden Council, as well as how Keir Starmer "operated as an MP".

Asked what she thought of the idea of an Andy Burnham bounce, Claire says there has "definitely" been an improvement but that Labour "has some way to go" to regain her trust.

Another local resident, Lorenzo Tedeschi, says he is "very happy" with Sagal Abdi-Wali's victory and that he voted for Labour "because I think it creates the right climate to live in Camden".

Lorenzo says he wants Abdi-Wali to focus on the "reduction of poverty".

"It's been getting worse in the past 10 years, and the past two or three years it has been very, very bad."

Image source, Getty Images

Sagal Abdi-Wali begins her speech at the London Irish Centre by thanking her supporters and pledges to work to make their families' lives better.

"Homelessness is the thing that drove me into politics," Abdi-Wali says, before moving on to describe how she'll seek to tackle issues including the ownership of Thames Water and opportunities for young people in Camden.

Abdi-Wali thanks her predecessor Keir Starmer for his support, as well as her campaigning team, and ends by saying: "People voted for hope and now we're going to be able to deliver for them".

Image source, Getty Images

Labour Party members are this morning celebrating their success in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.

The moment is being marked in a victory speech by victorious candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali, who is accompanied by Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell.

To cheers and applause, Powell says she's excited to see Abdi-Wali to deliver "progressive change", and lists taking on Thames Water and working with Andy Burnham to end rough sleeping as some of her objectives.

Labour's new MP Sagal Abdi-Wali is speaking at an event in north London following her victory in Holborn and St Pancras.

You can follow along by clicking watch live at the top of this page.

Image source, Reuters

Labour Party leader Andy Burnham is the latest to congratulate Sagal Abdi-Wali on her victory in Holborn and St Pancras.

"Yesterday, Holborn and St Pancras voted for hope," he writes on social media.

"Congratulations [Sagal Abdi-Wali] and the whole team on a fantastic campaign. Looking forward to working together!"

We're expecting to hear a victory speech from Abdi-Wali shortly - we'll bring you the key lines here.

After taking first and second spot in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, here's how Labour and the Green Party have been reacting on a busy morning media round:

• Green Party leader Zack Polanski tells BBC Breakfast he's "incredibly proud" of the Greens' campaign that saw them gain 22 points on the 2024 election - despite the fact they fell short of Labour's total by over 3,000 votes
• Polanski put the loss down to voters wanting to "give Andy Burnham a chance" as prime minister
• Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson, meanwhile, calls Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali's win a "real endorsement of Labour's message of hope"
• She says Polanski and the Greens should "distance themselves" from a controversial party motion that declared Zionism is a form of racism
• Polanski had been criticised by former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas over the motion, which she described as "divisive", but he tells the Today programme: "People can disagree"
• He tells Radio 4's Today programme the Greens are investigating the party member behind the motion, and says that he would not have voted for it without amendments being passed, which had been rejected by Green members

Image source, Getty Images

Former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who vacated his Holborn and St Pancras seat shortly after stepping down as leader, has praised his successor's victory on social media this morning.

"Brilliant result," he writes. "Congratulations to my friend [Sagal Abdi-Wali] I know you are a brilliant champion for our communities and will be a fantastic MP."

Image source, Getty Images

Labour's new MP in Holborn and St Pancras is Sagal Abdi-Wali, who became a councillor in Camden in 2022 before going on to become council leader.

Abdi-Wali, 42, who came to the UK from Somalia as a child refugee with her family in the 1990s, grew up in Camden.

She was elected as leader of the local authority in May, and was chosen by Labour members to contest the north London seat vacated by Keir Starmer.

Speaking after her victory, Abdi-Wali said homelessness was the issue that drove her into politics and she wants to work with the government to "tackle rough sleeping while addressing the wider housing crisis".

She has worked as a volunteer and trustee for local charities in the borough, as well as the governor of two schools, according to Labour.

Gem O'Reilly
Reporting from Kentish Town

It doesn't take long when you walk out of Kentish Town tube station to realise that homelessness and the cost of living is an issue here.

Those are focuses for St Pancras and Holborn's new MP Sagal Abdi-Wali. She's even said she's already in talks with Andy Burnham about her plans to tackle homelessness.

But a lot of people I've approached this morning say they feel disconnected from local politics and like action is never taken.

Ricardo, 23, works at a coffee stand next to the station, says: "Renting and pricing is just too high. Most young people can’t afford a stable home."

Anushka, 24, echoes this view and said more opportunities need to be created for young people.

"I think rent is really inaccessible at the moment, so ideally lower rent for renters and less private landlord housing," she tells me.

I ask both if they feel London is accessible for young people at the moment, to feel like they have a future here, and both answer no.

Polanski is asked about Lubna Speitan, one of the Green Party members behind the "Zionism is Racism" motion.

Since the motion passed, it has emerged that she is listed in court documents as a "close friend" of a man later jailed for supporting al-Qaeda.

• In a post on Instagram, before the Green Party had confirmed its investigation to the BBC, Speitan said: "I reject all defamatory and nonsense claims made about me."

"I wasn't aware of that, I'm obviously aware of that now," Polanski says, adding that the the party had launched an investigation.

He argues that it's important for there to be "a distinction between the leadership office and the disciplinary process".

Pushed on if he should have looked into her background sooner, Polanski says there were 121 motions put forward for party conference.

When asked if he will lead a fight to change the policy, Polanksi says he wants a motion at a future conference that sees the party "go back to a process where Israelis and Palestinians decide the future of their region".

Polanski is asked to address criticism of his leadership from Caroline Lucas - the former Green Party leader who served as its lone Westminister MP for 14 years.

Lucas told BBC Newsnight on Thursday that Polanski had failed to show leadership over the motion, which she described as "dangerous", "divisive" and "flawed from top to bottom".

He first stresses that he and Lucas "agree on a lot of things", such as the climate crisis and ending arms sales to Israel.

"We have 220,000 members, Caroline is a member of this party, as am I. People can disagree," he says.

Polanski says that he didn't stay in Brighton to vote on the Zionism motion because he was "running in a very prominent by-election" and that he'd tried to get the conference postponed until after yesterday's vote.

Asked to reflect on what's gone wrong for the Greens, Polanski responds that if tripling their vote share and having their second best by-election result ever means things are going wrong for the Green Party, "then I'll take that".

"What was a safe Labour seat since 1983 is now a marginal Labour seat, that's clearly growth and next time we can get it over the line," he explains.

When pushed on the fact his own popularity has declined in the polls, Polanski says his mission has been to ensure Labour is "more scared" of the Greens than they are of Reform.

In fact, Polanski says, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been using "a lot of the language and rhetoric" that he has been using over the past year.