Oct. 9 Vote: Labour Keeps Starmer's Old London Seat From Greens

Sagal Abdi-Wali won the special election for the central London seat once held by Keir Starmer, with Labour holding off a challenge from the Green Party, according to The New York Times, which called the Oct. 9, 2026 result an early test of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's standing.

Who won the vote in Starmer's old seat?

Abdi-Wali's victory, reported by The New York Times, kept the seat — identified in the paper's coverage as Holborn and St Pancras in central London — in Labour's hands. The contest was a special election, the British term for which is a byelection, called to fill the vacancy left by Starmer, who represented the constituency before becoming prime minister. The Times did not publish a full vote tally or turnout figure alongside its initial report, so those numbers are not included here; HTT News will update this article if official figures are released by the UK's Electoral Commission or the returning officer for the constituency.

Why was this contest treated as a test for Andy Burnham?

The Times framed the race as an early measure of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's position, a common dynamic in British politics when a sitting government defends a seat tied to its own political lineage. Byelections in seats vacated by a former prime minister draw outsized national attention precisely because they offer a readable signal of a governing party's standing between general elections, even though a single seat does not change the balance of power in Parliament. Labour's hold on the seat means Burnham avoids the kind of defeat that opposition parties and commentators would have cited as evidence of eroding support in the capital.

What role did the Green Party play in the result?

The Green Party was the runner-up, according to the Times' framing that Labour "held off" the challenge — language indicating a competitive race rather than a comfortable Labour cruise. Green candidates have made steady inroads in parts of London and university-adjacent constituencies in recent election cycles, often drawing support from younger voters and those dissatisfied with Labour on climate and housing policy. Without a published vote margin, it is not possible to say from the available reporting how close the Green challenge actually came, only that the party was positioned as Labour's principal rival in this contest.

Why does a single London byelection matter nationally?

Holborn and St Pancras carries symbolic weight beyond its boundaries because of its association with Starmer, whose political trajectory from backbench MP to Downing Street makes the seat a touchstone for Labour's recent history. A loss there would have been read, fairly or not, as a rebuke of the party's direction under its current leadership. Abdi-Wali's win instead allows Labour to describe the seat as stable ground, at least for now, even as the party navigates governing from Downing Street under Burnham.

The Times' report does not detail what prompted the vacancy beyond Starmer's departure from the seat, nor does it specify the date he left Parliament. Those details were not included in the available dispatch, and HTT News is not asserting them.

What to watch

• Official turnout and vote-share figures from the Holborn and St Pancras count, once published by UK electoral authorities, which will clarify how close the Green Party actually came.
• Whether national Labour figures or Prime Minister Burnham's office issue public statements interpreting the result as a mandate or a warning sign.
• Any comparison analysts draw between this result and Labour's performance in the 2024 general election, when Starmer last won the seat.
• Green Party statements on whether the party views the result as building momentum in London ahead of future contests.
• Follow-on coverage from The New York Times and UK outlets with full ballot breakdowns, which HTT News will incorporate as it becomes available.

This article will be updated as additional vote-count data and official statements become available. Read the original report from The New York Times.