Burnham’s Labour holds off Greens in London election test

Labour won the parliamentary by-election in the central London constituency of Holborn and St Pancras on Friday, defeating a strong challenge from the left-wing Green Party in a boost for Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali, the local council leader, secured 12,292 votes, beating Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who received 8,928. The seat became vacant after former Labour leader Keir Starmer stepped down as a lawmaker.

The expected victory will strengthen Burnham’s position after lawmakers installed him as prime minister amid concerns that Starmer’s unpopularity was leaving Labour vulnerable to a challenge from the populist Reform UK party at the next general election.

After losing left-wing support to the Greens earlier this year, Labour appears to have won back many voters, raising further questions about Polanski’s leadership. He had promised to make his party an “eco-populist” movement.

Polanski vows to stay on as Green Party leader

The 43-year-old former actor and hypnotherapist, who had some success in drawing voters away from Labour before Burnham came to power, has come under fire after party members passed a motion titled “Zionism Is Racism.”

The motion called for “the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine” and was criticized by Jewish groups, other parties and most Green Party lawmakers.

After the fiercely contested vote, Polanski, who did not vote on the motion, responded to his critics by saying he would stay on as leader. He described the by-election result as part of “Andy Burnham’s honeymoon.”

However, he did not receive a full endorsement from the party’s former leader, Caroline Lucas, who struggled to contain her anger over what she described as his lack of leadership on the Zionism motion at last week’s annual conference.

Asked whether Polanski should remain leader, Lucas told the BBC: “I think just let’s see what happens in the coming days and weeks.”

“I want him to speak now about what has happened, I want him to show the leadership that was frankly missing on Sunday.”

Abdi-Wali, who arrived in Britain 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. “Throughout our campaign, we chose hope, and the people of Holborn and St Pancras chose it with us. And now it’s time to deliver.”

Polanski faces down critics

The by-election was an early test for Burnham, whose predecessor, Starmer, stepped down as a lawmaker in September after being ousted as prime minister in July.

Under Starmer, Labour had also ceded ground to the Green Party, which made record gains in London in May’s local elections as its appeal grew among younger, left-leaning voters in the capital and other urban areas.

The Greens have since fallen back in opinion polls after Burnham made policy proposals that strengthened Labour’s standing among left-leaning voters, including a tougher line on Israel and a more ambitious approach to relations with the European Union.

Polanski, who is Jewish, was repeatedly questioned after the by-election about the conference vote on Zionism. The Green Party leader again appeared to distance himself from the motion, saying only that he believed the displacement of Palestinians and what he called an “ongoing genocide” were racist.

For now, he said, the Green Party should direct its challenge at Burnham’s Labour Party and focus on whether the governing party’s budget on Oct. 28 delivers on its promises.

“So many people told me on the doorstep that they want to give Andy Burnham a chance,” Polanski told broadcasters. “Well, he’s got a chance now. Let’s see what he does with it.”

DAILYSABAH