By-Election

BBC News and Sky News reported that Labour's Sagad Abdiwali won the by-election in Holborn and St Pancras, the seat previously held by former Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Sky News said the contest was triggered after Starmer's departure. Abdiwali received 45% of the vote, while Green Party leader Zack Polanski received 33%. Sky News reported the specific vote numbers as 12,292 for Abdiwali and 8,928 for Polanski, a Labour majority of 3,364, and a 13% swing from Labour to the Greens. Sky News also reported that the Conservatives finished third, Reform fourth and the Liberal Democrats fifth. Both channels described the contest as a two-horse race between Labour and the Greens. BBC News reported that the Green Party had been involved in a row over its policy towards Israel after its annual conference adopted a motion stating that Zionism is racist. Polanski was questioned about the motion and said the displacement of Palestinian people and what he described as a genocide were racist, and that criticism of Israel should not be conflated with antisemitism. He said he would continue as Green Party leader and that the Greens had over tripled their vote share. He highlighted rent controls, tackling the climate crisis and nationalising Thames Water. Abdiwali, described by BBC News as a local council head, said her campaign offered hope and practical experience, and cited eradicating homelessness, public ownership of Thames Water and opportunities for young people. BBC News's elections expert Sir John Curtice said the result mirrored national opinion polls, that Labour were about seven points above where they were when Andy Burnham was elected Labour leader but still seven to eight points down on the 2024 general election, and he attributed the win to Andy Burnham. Sky News described the by-election as Andy Burnham's first major test under his premiership and said Polanski had staked his reputation on being a Green candidate able to beat Labour. Sky News also reported that Polanski said standing was not a mistake and that he would continue as leader.

Key Claims by Channel

Claim
Reported by a few · 2 channels
Labour candidate Sagad Abdiwali won the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
The seat was previously held by former Prime Minister Keir Starmer.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
Sagad Abdiwali received 45% of the vote and 12,292 votes.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
Zack Polanski received 33% of the vote and 8,928 votes.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
The result was a two-horse race between Labour and the Green Party.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
The Green Party conference passed a motion declaring that Zionism is racism.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
Zack Polanski stated he would remain as leader of the Green Party.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
Zack Polanski said the Green Party more than tripled its vote share in Holborn and St Pancras.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
Zack Polanski highlighted rent controls, tackling the climate crisis, and nationalising Thames Water.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
Only on one channel
The by-election was triggered after Keir Starmer's departure.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
Labour's majority was 3,364.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
There was a 13% swing from Labour to the Greens.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
The Conservatives finished third, Reform fourth, and the Liberal Democrats fifth.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
The Green Party faced a row over its policy towards Israel following the conference.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by Sky News
Zack Polanski said the displacement of Palestinian people and genocide were racist, and that criticism of Israel should not be conflated with antisemitism.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by Sky News
Sagad Abdiwali cited eradicating homelessness, bringing Thames Water into public ownership, and more opportunities for young people.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by Sky News
BBC News described Sagad Abdiwali as a local council head.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by Sky News
Sir John Curtice attributed Labour's win mainly to Andy Burnham.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by Sky News
Sir John Curtice said Labour were about seven points above their position when Andy Burnham became leader but still seven to eight points down on the 2024 general election.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by Sky News
Zack Polanski said his decision to stand in the by-election was not a mistake.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
The Green Party said the close result in a traditionally safe Labour seat showed it was making inroads.	Not reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by Sky News
Sky News framed a by-election as the first major test of Andy Burnham's premiership.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News
Sky News reported that Zack Polanski had tied his reputation to the Greens' ability to beat Labour.	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by Sky News

This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.