Labour fends off the Green party in closely watched UK by-election

Sagal Abdi-Wali won by 3,300 votes in the London seat of Holborn and St Pancras.

Al JazeeraAl Jazeera Staff2026-10-09 10:56查看原文 ↗

Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali smiles in front of the elections sign.

Sagal Abdi-Wali, who arrived in the UK as child refugee from Somalia, won 3,300 more votes than Zack Polanski, leader of the Greens.

UK by-election: Labour holds Starmer’s former seat

The Labour Party has won an election for a parliamentary seat vacated by former leader Keir Starmer, fending off a challenge from the left-wing Green Party in a boost for the British prime minister.

Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali , the leader of the local council, won the seat in the central London constituency of Holborn and St Pancras with 12,292 votes, compared with 8,928 for Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader who came second.

list 1 of 4 Yes, Zionism is racism

list 2 of 4 UK Greens are wrong – Zionism is not racism

list 3 of 4 Before UK Greens, who else has equated Zionism with racism?

list 4 of 4 Pro-Palestine Greens challenge Labour’s grip on Starmer’s former seat

The victory, which had been expected, will buoy Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who was recently installed by lawmakers fearful that Starmer’s unpopularity was opening the way for a challenge by the populist Reform UK party at the next national election.

After losing left-wing support to the Greens earlier this year, Labour looks to have won many voters back, a result that triggered more questions about Polanski’s leadership.

There are now five Green MPs, compared with one in 2023.

But Polanski, 43, recently came under fire after party members passed a motion declaring that Zionism is racism at their annual conference.

The move, which called for “the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine” was criticised by Jewish groups, other parties and most Green Party lawmakers. Polanski did not vote on the motion.

Labour has held Holborn since the seat was created in 1983.

Labour’s Abdi-Wali, who arrived in the United Kingdom as a child refugee from Somalia, said her victory was a defeat for “those who seek to divide us”.

“We have a responsibility to defend what we’ve built and pass it on,” she said.

After conceding defeat, Polanski, who is not an MP, answered his critics, saying he would stay on as leader, and described the result as part of “Andy Burnham’s honeymoon”.

Polanski congratulated Abdi-Wali, but said, “One in three voters backed us here, and we know that many more considered it.”

Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego, reporting from London, said, “The constituency has been going through what some people have been calling ‘ the Burnham bounce ‘ … so far there is a deep sigh of relief (among Labour) that they’ve managed to hold on.”

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has changed voter habits during the past three years. The Greens, far more critical of Israel’s conduct than any other party, got a boost in the 2024 general election.

Back then, Starmer won the seat with 49 percent. Andrew Feinstein, a pro-Palestine independent candidate, came second, with 19 percent.

Polanski has raised the “progressive vote” while “reducing the Labour vote”, Feinstein said.

来自索马里的儿童难民萨加尔·阿卜迪-瓦利（Sagal Abdi-Wali）在英国获得的选票比绿党领袖扎克·波兰斯基（Zack Polanski）多出 3300 张。

英国补选：工党保住斯塔默的前席位

工党赢得了前党魁基尔·斯塔默空出的议会席位，击败了左翼绿党的挑战，这对英国首相来说无疑是一剂强心针。

工党候选人、地方议会领袖萨加尔·阿卜迪-瓦利在伦敦市中心霍尔本和圣潘克拉斯选区以 12,292 票赢得席位，而绿党领袖扎克·波兰斯基获得 8,928 票位居第二。

列表 1/4：是的，犹太复国主义就是种族主义

英国绿党犯错的四个理由之二——犹太复国主义不是种族主义

列表 3/4：在英国绿党之前，还有谁将犹太复国主义与种族主义划上等号？

名单4/4：亲巴勒斯坦绿党挑战工党对斯塔默前席位的掌控

这场胜利在意料之中，将提振首相安迪·伯纳姆的信心。伯纳姆最近是由一些议员推举上台的，他们担心斯塔默不受欢迎，会给民粹主义的英国改革党在下次全国大选中挑战斯塔默铺平道路。

今年早些时候，工党失去了左翼选民的支持，转而支持绿党，但现在看来，工党已经赢回了许多选民，这一结果引发了更多关于波兰斯基领导能力的质疑。