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.
The victory, which had been expected, will buoy Burnham, installed as prime minister by lawmakers fearful 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 this year, Labour looks to have won many voters back, a result which triggered more questions about the leadership of Polanski, who had promised to make his party “an eco-populist” movement.
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 Zionism is Racism motion. 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.
After the fiercely contested vote, Polanski who did not vote, answered his critics, saying he would stay on as leader, and described the result as part of “Andy Burnham’s honeymoon”.
Labour’s 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.” (Reuters)
