Burnham wins Holborn and St Pancras byelection

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 9 Oct, 18:44 · Archive

Prime Minister Andy Burnham's Labour party has won the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, with candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali defeating Green party leader Zack Polanski.

Labour has retained the Holborn and St Pancras seat following Friday's byelection, with candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali defeating Green party leader Zack Polanski.

The result defies historical precedent. Over the past half-century, Labour has struggled to defend its own seats at byelection when facing challenges from parties to its left or centre-left, such as the Greens and Liberal Democrats. Electoral analyst Peter Kellner noted that the average swing against Labour in such contests has been 24 per cent. By those figures, Polanski should have won comfortably.

The victory comes shortly after Burnham's success in the Makerfield byelection in June. Together, the two wins support the argument Burnham made when replacing Keir Starmer as Labour leader: that he is uniquely able to defeat challenges from both left and right. The Prime Minister thus passes his first electoral test since taking office.

How it is being reported

• Andy Burnham is lucky – Polanski, Farage and Badenoch all seem determined to help him | Jonathan Freedland | Jonathan FreedlandEverywhere the PM turns, he finds generous adversaries. They have made his early days in No 10 so much easier I don’t know where Andy Burnham found his magic lamp, but I hope he’s taking good care of it. In the early hours of Friday morning, the genie that’s looked so kindly on him these past few months granted him yet another wish, with a byelection win in Holborn and St Pancras. It was just the latest gift for a prime minister for whom things keep going right – and who is especially blessed in his choice of opponents. Let’s start with that win in London, where Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali…The Guardian · 9 Oct, 18:05
• Polanski's gamble fails - as the Burnham honeymoon rolls onAndy Burnham decisively passed the first electoral test of his premiership last night.Sky News · 9 Oct, 04:45

In this story: Andy Burnham · Sagal Abdi-Wali · Zack Polanski · Labour · Green Party · Holborn and St Pancras · Makerfield

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