UK Greens surge in bid for ex-PM’s seat amid Zionism controversy

The ruling Labour Party has held the seat for decades, but the special election tests whether new Prime Minister Andy Burnham's party can win back left-wing voters.MANCHESTER, England (CN) — Voters went to the polls Thursday in a special election to replace former Prime Minister Keir Starmer as member of Parliament for a north London constituency, with Labour facing a strong challenge from the Green Party.Fifteen candidates are on the ballot in Holborn and St. Pancras, but the race has centered on Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali and Green Party leader Zack Polanski, whose party adopted a controversial motion equating Zionism to racism at its conference over the weekend.Labour has represented the area continuously since 1979. Starmer won the seat in the 2024 general election with 48.9% of the vote and a majority of 11,572. The Greens were third with 10.4%.Projections by PollCheck, an independent political data platform, put Labour at 40.4%, the Greens at 35.6% and Reform UK at 7.8%.The result will be the first major electoral test for Andy Burnham, who became prime minister in July after Starmer resigned following months of internal pressure and heavy losses in May’s local elections. Burnham had returned to Parliament shortly before Starmer stepped down.Labour’s support in national polls has climbed since Burnham took over, with a YouGov poll this week putting Labour at 27% and Reform UK — the far-right party that had been leading in the polls for a year — at 22%.The shift has prompted talk of a “Burnham bounce” — the idea that a more left-wing Labour government is drawing back voters who had moved to the Greens.Abdi-Wali is seeking to keep the momentum and the seat for Labour. She came to Britain from Somalia as a child refugee and built a local political career as a councilor.Labour has focused her campaign on housing, water services and local public services.“This place welcomed my family as refugees and gave us hope when we needed it most,” Abdi-Wali said when launching her campaign.Burnham has made her local roots central to Labour’s appeal, calling her deeply committed to the constituency and saying she would make a brilliant local member of Parliament.‘Zionism is racism’ motionPolanski, a London Assembly member who became Green Party leader last year, has built his political brand around what he calls “eco-populism,” combining environmental policy with left-wing economic and social policies.Under his leadership, Green Party membership rose from 68,000 in September 2025 to around 230,000 by May.“Greens are underdogs here but we have the momentum — and I know we can achieve a historic victory in one of Labour’s safest seats,” Polanski said after being chosen as the candidate.He has framed a Green vote as a way to “keep Labour in check” on issues including housing, rents and climate policy.But the party enters polling day after a polarizing conference over the weekend.At its annual conference in Brighton, Green members voted for a motion that classifies Zionism as a form of racism and calls for Israel to be replaced by “a single democratic state throughout historic Palestine.”The motion, which was voted on by just under 2,000 of its members, drew criticism from Jewish organizations and several Green lawmakers.Polanski, who is Jewish, did not take part in the vote. He left the conference after his speech to campaign.Galloway campaigns from abroadGeorge Galloway, a veteran left-winger and leader of the socially conservative, economically socialist Workers Party of Britain, is also standing.He has been elected to Parliament seven times, representing three parties including Labour.Galloway is a longtime opponent of NATO, the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Israeli policy toward Palestinians.His campaign is unusual because he is in “self-exile,” having spent time in Moscow and later in South Africa, linking his absence to his opposition to Britain’s support for Ukraine.He has not returned to Britain since September 2025, when counterterrorism police stopped and questioned him and his wife at the airport. They faced no legal action.Galloway has made Russia and Ukraine a central issue of his campaign, saying “I am with Russia” while Polanski is “with NATO” and is risking World War III.Polls close late Thursday night, with the result expected to be announced early Friday.Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads