Zack Polanski has confirmed that he will seek the Green Party nomination in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, setting up a possible headline contest with Labour in Sir Keir Starmer’s former seat.
The Green leader had spent several days considering a run following Starmer’s decision to leave Parliament. He has now put himself forward, telling the Camden New Journal that he was excited by the prospect of representing the central London constituency.
Polanski said he would “stand up for people struggling to pay their bills” and argued that voters had an opportunity to “make history” by electing London’s first Green MP.
There is still one important step to clear. Polanski has not yet been formally selected as the Green candidate, and local members will have the final say.
However, The Guardian reports that local members are supportive of his bid and that no clear challenger with significant backing has emerged.
If he wins the nomination, the by-election will become an early test of whether the Greens’ improved national profile can be converted into a Westminster breakthrough in London.
Labour’s majority is large, but it is not the whole story
Holborn and St Pancras has been held by Labour since the constituency was created in 1983. Only two MPs have represented it: Frank Dobson and Starmer.
Starmer still won comfortably at the 2024 general election, receiving 18,884 votes and finishing 11,572 ahead of his nearest challenger.
But his vote share fell by 17.3 percentage points to 48.9 per cent, while two candidates to Labour’s left secured almost 30 per cent between them.
Independent candidate Andrew Feinstein finished second with 7,312 votes, or 18.9 per cent. Green candidate David Stansell came third with 4,030 votes, or 10.4 per cent.
The full result is available from the UK Parliament election record.
The Conservatives received 2,776 votes, Reform UK took 2,371 and the Liberal Democrats finished with 2,236.
Those figures leave Labour as the clear favourite. Even the combined Feinstein and Green vote was more than 7,500 short of Starmer’s total.
By-elections, though, have a habit of ignoring the usual arithmetic. Turnout falls, governing parties attract protest votes and a contest that would barely register during a general election can suddenly receive weeks of national coverage.
Putting the Green leader on the ballot would ensure that this one receives plenty.
Polanski says he already has local roots
One obvious line of attack will be that Polanski is using Starmer’s departure to find himself a route into Westminster.
He has already moved to head that criticism off, stressing that he has lived and worked in the area and has known the community for years.
Polanski has represented the whole of London on the London Assembly since 2021. He became leader of the Green Party of England and Wales in 2025 and has since tried to present the party as a serious national challenger rather than a home for occasional protest votes.
Housing is likely to sit at the centre of his campaign. Holborn and St Pancras contains some of the country’s most expensive property alongside large social housing estates, while renters across Camden face some of the highest costs in Britain.
Polanski is also expected to campaign on household bills, inequality and the influence of wealthy donors on politics.
A victory would make him the sixth Green MP and give the party its first Westminster seat in London. It would also place its national leader directly opposite Burnham’s government in the Commons.
As The Daily Britain has previously reported, Polanski has spent much of his leadership arguing that the Greens can compete with larger parties for national attention.
Holborn and St Pancras will now test that claim in unusually favourable circumstances.
Andrew Feinstein remains the big unanswered question
Polanski may not be the only candidate hoping to attract voters who believe Labour has moved too far from the left.
Andrew Feinstein, a former South African MP and anti-corruption campaigner, has not yet confirmed whether he will stand again.
His 2024 campaign focused heavily on Gaza, the NHS and housing. Despite being run on a much smaller budget than Labour’s operation, it secured almost one vote in five and pushed the Green candidate into third place.
If Feinstein and Polanski both stand, they could end up competing for many of the same voters. If only one enters the contest, Labour would face a more concentrated challenge.
That does not mean every Feinstein voter would automatically back the Greens. Nor does it mean the 2024 result can simply be transferred to a by-election being fought in very different political circumstances.
It does mean Feinstein’s decision could change the shape of the race considerably.
Count Binface has also hinted at another appearance. Responding to the news of the by-election, the novelty candidate wrote:
“Can’t get a moment’s peace on this bloody planet.”
He previously stood against Starmer in Holborn and St Pancras in 2019 before challenging Sadiq Khan in successive London mayoral elections.
Labour must choose its candidate
Labour’s selection is also under way.
Applications are due to close at noon on September 4, with interviews and party checks taking place before local members choose a candidate at a meeting on September 9, according to the London Standard.
Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali has been widely mentioned as a possible candidate, although the party has yet to confirm its shortlist.
Whoever Labour selects will inherit both the advantages and difficulties that come with defending a former prime minister’s seat.
They will have an established local organisation and a substantial majority behind them. They will also face questions about Starmer’s record, Burnham’s first months in Downing Street and whether Labour still speaks for progressive voters in inner London.
The Conservatives responded to Starmer’s departure by accusing him of another reversal, saying:
“It is fitting that his final act as a Member of Parliament is yet another U-turn, having pledged to stay on.”
The attack is unlikely to make the Conservatives central to the contest. Their 7.2 per cent vote share in 2024 left them in fourth place.
An awkward early test for Burnham
This was not a by-election Labour was expecting to fight so soon after Burnham became prime minister.
The seat remains highly winnable, but anything short of a comfortable victory will be picked apart for evidence about the government’s standing.
A narrow Labour win would allow the Greens to claim momentum. A sharp fall in Labour’s vote would raise questions about whether former supporters are drifting left. An outright defeat would be one of the largest by-election shocks in recent political history.
Polanski has therefore found an opportunity with relatively little downside. If he loses but substantially increases the Green vote, he can present the result as evidence that the party is advancing. If he wins, he enters Parliament after taking the former prime minister’s own constituency.
Local Green members must first decide whether to put him on the ballot.
That now looks likely – and what appeared to be a routine Labour defence has suddenly become one of the most interesting elections of the year.
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