Ben Walker, UKIP candidate for Holborn and St Pancras, stands with party leader Nick Tenconi - Photo: Twitter/X
We’re used to seeing our fair share of political spin, and in by-election campaigns like these, a little narrative massaging is to be expected. But UKIP (remember them?) have made a claim on Friday that doesn’t just take the biscuit, but rather scoffs the whole factory.
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Following Keir Starmer’s decision to stand down as an MP in the Holborn & St Pancras constituency, a by-election was held yesterday to determine his successor. Labour emerged victorious, holding onto the seat they won so comprehensively in 2024.
There was a spirited challenge from the Green Party, and after fielding party leader Zack Polanski as their chosen candidate, there was an expectation that the left-wing group could repeat the success of Gorton and Denton earlier in the year. Alas, there was a 12-point gap between first and second.
Sagal Abdi-Wali has now been elected to Parliament to represent the governing party. There wasn’t much else to shout about for the other parties, mind. The Tories came a distant third with 7% of the vote, and Reform finished within a percentage point of losing their deposit, chalking up 5.9% of public support.
The Liberal Democrats, Restore Britain, and George Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain did all fall below the deposit threshold. But even their paltry share of the vote seems rather cumbersome when compared to the performance of UKIP.
The far-right party have struggled for relevance over the last few years, following the rise of Reform and emergence of Restore. But that hasn’t stopped them from trying, bless them. When every vote was tallied overnight, UKIP found themselves 12th out of the 15 candidates running in this by-election.
Their vote share of 0.2% is, actually, on par with what they earned two years ago in this constituency. But with a lower turnout, this translates to fewer votes – 51, to be precise. And given that Labour won by a margin of more than 3,000, this next bit sure makes for a decent rib-tickler.
On Friday afternoon, UKIP issued a statement, essentially patting themselves on the back and taking credit for ‘stopping Zack Polanski becoming an MP’. They took a victory lap, and urged their supporters – all 51 of them – to keep up the fight against communism.
Some quick maths suggests that UKIP would’ve needed to earn 64 times their current vote share to even match the gap between Labour and the Greens. Polanski ended up with 175 times more votes than candidate Ben Walker – and that number rises to 241 when compared with Abdi-Wali.
But sure, by all means, assign yourselves the kingmakers…
