Politics · United Kingdom · 1 day ago
Polanski vows to stay as Green leader after by-election loss and party row
Green Party leader Zack Polanski lost the Holborn and St Pancras by-election in London to Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali.
Abdi-Wali won 45% of the vote, while Polanski received 33%; the Green vote share was up 22 percentage points from the 2024 general election.
The result came days after Green Party members at a conference in Brighton passed a motion defining Zionism as a form of racism and backing a single Palestinian state across historic Palestine.
Polanski was campaigning in the by-election instead of attending the debate and vote, and has said he would not have supported the motion without changes.
Vivien Lichtenstein, leader of the Jewish Greens, and former party leaders have criticised his absence, with Lichtenstein calling for him to resign.
Polanski says he will remain leader, while some party members have backed him and other senior figures have not said whether he should stay.
A Green MP said he was working to reverse the motion, and Polanski said it could be amended or overturned soon.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski faced calls to resign after losing the Holborn and St Pancras by-election to Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali.
The defeat came amid criticism of Polanski for missing a party conference vote on a motion defining Zionism as racism.
The motion, passed by party members in Brighton, backed a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine.
Polanski said he would stay on as leader, while senior Greens differed over whether he should continue.
The Jewish Greens leader, Vivien Lichtenstein, and former leaders criticised Polanski’s handling of the vote.
- Who
- Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party in England and Wales, and Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali.
- What
- Polanski lost the Holborn and St Pancras by-election and faced calls to resign amid a row over a party motion on Zionism.
- When
- Thursday, 8 October 2026, for the by-election; pressure mounted on Friday.
- Where
- Holborn and St Pancras, London; the party conference vote took place in Brighton.
- Why
- Polanski’s defeat and his decision to campaign instead of attending the conference vote drew criticism. The sources do not establish a single reason for his defeat.
Polanski’s critics
Polanski’s supporters
Leadership
Polanski’s critics
Critics said he should have attended and voted on the motion, and some called for him to resign.
Polanski’s supporters
Polanski said he could carry on as leader and that the movement was bigger than one election or one motion.
Conference motion
Polanski’s critics
Critics objected to Polanski’s absence and to the motion’s position on Zionism and a future Palestinian state.
Polanski’s supporters
Polanski said he would not have supported the motion without amendments and suggested it could be amended or overturned.
I don't know which Jewish members of the party he's been working with – it certainly hasn't been with the Jewish Greens committee.
should have been there and he should have voted
Of course I can carry on as leader of the Green Party.
Zack is still the leader who can get us there.
Zack Polanski celebrated the Greens’ by-election victory in Gorton and Denton.
Green Party members passed the conference motion on Zionism in Brighton while Polanski campaigned in Holborn and St Pancras.
Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali defeated Polanski in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
Polanski said he would stay as leader as Vivien Lichtenstein called on him to resign.
- Labour candidate
- Sagal Abdi-Wali
- Labour vote share
- 45%
- Polanski vote share
- 33%
- Winning constituency
- Holborn and St Pancras, London
- Conference motion
- Defined Zionism as an ideology supporting an ethnonationalist Jewish state
- Alternative proposed in motion
- A single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine
Sources
Polanski on the ropes: Green Party leader faces calls to quit after humiliating by-election defeat amid 'Zionism is racism' vote controversy
UK Greens leader under pressure as party’s anti-Zionism clouds his electoral defeat
Does Polanski have to go? Greens at the crossroads after Holborn and St Pancras
Polanski vows to stay as Green leader as he faces criticism after by-election defeat
A promising future now looks perilous for election loser Zack Polanski. He sowed, now he reaps | John Harris
Chris Mason: Polanski faces greatest crisis of his leadership so far
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