Green Party leader Zack Polanski has released a campaign video appealing to French-speaking voters ahead of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, days after facing criticism for campaigning in Urdu. The French-language clip, in which he apologises for his pronunciation, appears to be a pointed response to Conservative critics who accused him of pandering to "group-based grievances" with his earlier Urdu video, despite the seat having relatively few Urdu speakers. Polanski is standing to succeed Sir Keir Starmer in the north London constituency, which has been held by Labour since its creation 43 years ago.

Census figures show French is the main language of 2,488 people in the seat, compared with just 156 Urdu speakers, undermining Tory claims that his original Urdu appeal was cynical minority-courting rather than genuine outreach. Shadow ministers Katie Lam and Helen Whately criticised the Urdu video, arguing UK political campaigning should be conducted in English, while a Green Party spokesman defended the approach, saying democracy "doesn't discriminate by languages spoken" and that the party was proud to reach voters in as many languages as possible. The by-election is due to be held on 8 October.