Green Leader Polanski Campaigns in By-Election Amid Zionism Controversy

General12 sourcesOct 8, 2026

SplitFactual rigor 46/100Analysis

The Story

Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader, is campaigning in the Holborn & St Pancras by-election today, October 8, 2026, appealing for activist help as residents cast ballots.

Polanski stated on social media overnight that he can win, claiming there might be just a few hundred votes in it. Poll Check projects Labour at 40.4% and the Greens at 35.6%. Polanski cut short his participation in the Greens' annual conference last weekend in Brighton, missing a vote to pass a "Zionism is Racism" policy.

The motion passed on Sunday, October 4, with 1,022 votes to 813. It defines Zionism as an ethnonationalist political project, rejects equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, and backs a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine. Israel's foreign ministry called the resolution a clear antisemitic text and barred Polanski, who is Jewish, from entering Israel. The Green Party has seen a surge in membership since Polanski became leader in September 2025, moving the party leftwards and making it pro-Palestinian. This by-election is an early test of Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham's popularity.

What they agree on

Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader, is contesting the Holborn & St Pancras by-election.
The Green Party passed a motion defining Zionism as racism at its annual conference last weekend.
The by-election is for Sir Keir Starmer's former seat in Holborn & St Pancras.
Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali is the bookies' favorite in the by-election.
Poll Check projections indicate Labour at 40.4% and the Greens at 35.6% in the by-election.

Where they split

Some sources focus on the by-election campaign and Polanski's chances, while others emphasize the controversy surrounding the Green Party's Zionism motion.
Some articles detail the specific wording and implications of the "Zionism is Racism" motion, including its support for a single democratic Palestinian state, while others provide a more general overview of the controversy.
One article names Hannah Spencer as a Green MP who responded to the motion with a love-heart emoji, a detail not present in other coverage.
One article attributes the "Zionism is racism" motion to a member who is a "close friend" of an al-Qaeda terrorist, a detail not mentioned in other reports.