Zack Polanski has declared that the Green Party can win the Holborn and St Pancras by-election after Andrew Feinstein withdrew from the contest and endorsed him.
The Green leader spent the weekend canvassing in King’s Cross as he stepped up his campaign to succeed Sir Keir Starmer in the north London constituency.
Polanski has not yet been formally selected, with local Green members retaining the final say. However, he is widely expected to secure the nomination and has already visited the constituency four times in a week.
“We know we can win here,” Polanski told The Guardian.
Labour remains the favourite, but Feinstein’s decision removes one of the biggest obstacles facing the Greens: the prospect of two prominent challengers competing for voters to Labour’s left.
Feinstein endorsement changes the contest
Feinstein finished second to Starmer at the 2024 general election after running as an independent on a platform focused on Gaza, housing and public services.
He received 7,312 votes, while Green candidate David Stansell finished third with 4,030.
Feinstein has now confirmed that he will not contest the by-election and has endorsed Polanski, describing him as an “excellent candidate”. He has also argued that progressive voters need to unite behind a single challenger to Labour, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
The decision gives Polanski a clearer route to consolidating the constituency’s substantial left-wing vote.
According to the official parliamentary result, Starmer won 18,884 votes in 2024, equivalent to 48.9 per cent. His majority over Feinstein was 11,572.
The combined Feinstein and Green vote was 11,342, leaving it 7,542 behind Labour.
Those figures underline the size of Polanski’s challenge. Voters who backed an independent candidate cannot be assumed to transfer automatically to the Greens, while Labour retains a well-established local organisation.
However, Feinstein’s endorsement means the Greens can now campaign without a repeat of the division that shaped the 2024 result.
Polanski insists defeat would not end his leadership
Polanski acknowledged that the Greens begin the contest as underdogs, but rejected suggestions that standing in such a difficult seat represents a dangerous gamble with his leadership.
“It’s nonsense,” he said when asked about the risk.
He pointed to Nigel Farage’s repeated attempts to enter Parliament before winning in Clacton and insisted he would remain Green leader if he failed to take Holborn and St Pancras.
The campaign will test whether Polanski’s national profile and substantial social media following can be converted into votes on the ground.
Green activists say they have already knocked on thousands of doors. During Polanski’s latest visit, several residents reportedly stopped him in the street, including younger voters who recognised him from TikTok.
The party hopes to recreate the intensive campaigning operation which helped it overturn a large Labour majority in the Gorton and Denton by-election earlier in 2026.
Holborn and St Pancras presents a different challenge. Labour has represented the area for decades, while the seat contains communities with sharply contrasting incomes, housing conditions and political priorities.
Housing and the NHS emerge on the doorstep
Housing, the NHS and crime were among the issues raised as Polanski spoke to residents.
The constituency includes some of London’s most expensive property alongside significant deprivation, overcrowding and pressure on council services.
Polanski argued that debates about the north-south divide can obscure poverty within the capital. His campaign is expected to focus heavily on rents, public housing and the cost of living.
He has also sought to persuade Labour supporters that electing a Green MP would place pressure on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to pursue more progressive policies.
That argument allows Polanski to target voters who may prefer Burnham to Starmer but do not believe Labour needs another MP in a Parliament where it already holds a large majority.
The by-election will be Labour’s first electoral test since Burnham entered Downing Street. A comfortable Labour victory would strengthen his authority, while a close result would provide the Greens with evidence that they are becoming a serious challenger in urban constituencies.
Polanski defends his local credentials
Polanski lives in neighbouring Hackney and has confirmed that he would not move into Holborn and St Pancras if elected.
He said he could cycle quickly into the constituency and promised: “I’d regularly be here, doing surgeries and representing people.”
The Green leader has pointed to previous connections with the area, including having worked at the Scala nightclub and standing unsuccessfully as a Liberal Democrat council candidate in Camden in 2015.
His barber is also based in the constituency, and Polanski says he visits the area every week.
Opponents are likely to challenge whether those connections are sufficient for someone seeking to represent the seat. The Greens will instead present him as a London politician whose work on the London Assembly has already covered issues affecting Camden residents.
Labour candidate still to be chosen
Labour is expected to select its candidate at a local hustings on Wednesday.
Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali is among those tipped for the nomination, although the result of the selection process has not been announced.
Polanski must also complete the Green Party’s local selection process before becoming its official candidate.
The date of the by-election has yet to be confirmed.
Labour begins with a significant numerical advantage, but the absence of Feinstein means the previous election result cannot simply be repeated. Polanski will now have the opportunity to test whether Labour’s left-wing critics can be assembled behind one nationally recognised candidate.
The Greens do not need to win comfortably for the result to carry consequences. Even a narrow Labour victory would intensify questions about whether the party is losing progressive voters in London.
For Polanski, however, the message is more ambitious. He is not presenting the campaign as a symbolic exercise or an opportunity to reduce Labour’s majority.
He is telling voters that the Greens believe Starmer’s former seat is genuinely within reach.
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