Green Leader Zack Polanski Enters Holborn By-Election Against Labour

Green leadership candidacy

Green Party leader Zack Polanski won selection on 10 September 2026 to contest the parliamentary by-election in Holborn and St Pancras. Polanski, who has led the Green Party of England and Wales since September 2025 and served on the London Assembly since May 2021, secured 84 percent of the vote among local members during an online ballot. He previously served as deputy leader of the Greens from 2022 to 2025. Polanski defeated Camden councillor Hamza Chowdhury, who had argued during selection hustings that the constituency did not need an MP who arrives for the campaign and leaves after the count. Polanski dismissed the criticism by stating the constituency is an area he knows very well, before formally launching his campaign in King's Cross on 11 September.

Greens might be the underdog in this election, but we have the momentum and we can win.

Contest for Starmer's former seat

The inner London seat became vacant after former Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned on 1 September 2026 to take up a role in international affairs. Starmer had represented the area since 2015 before stepping down from parliament following his replacement in Downing Street by Andy Burnham. Only two Labour MPs have ever represented Holborn and St Pancras since its creation in 1983, with Starmer succeeding former health secretary Frank Dobson. Labour selected Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali on 9 September 2026 to defend the constituency. Abdi-Wali has led the local authority since May 2026 and served as councillor for Camden Square since 2022, having arrived in the United Kingdom as a childhood refugee from Somalia.

This place welcomed my family as refugees and gave us hope when we needed it most. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to build a life here, serving our community as a councillor, school governor and community activist.

Electoral shifts and policy pressures

Labour won Holborn and St Pancras at the 2024 general election with a majority of more than 11,000 votes, though its vote share dropped significantly. An independent candidate focusing on the war in Gaza secured nearly 19 percent of the vote in 2024, but has ruled out standing in the October contest. The Green candidate received over 10 percent in that election, and the party subsequently made gains in Camden during the May 2026 local elections. The by-election campaign coincides with contentious policy debates, including the reach of Ed Miliband's import ban on Israeli settlement products. Government energy decisions also draw scrutiny, with industry expectations that the Jackdaw gasfield will receive approval in mid-September 2026, while a ruling on the Rosebank oilfield will be deferred until after polling day.

Strategic test for party leaders

The 8 October 2026 vote serves as a direct electoral confrontation between Burnham and Polanski. Polanski aims to replicate the Green victory achieved by Hannah Spencer in the Gorton and Denton by-election in February 2026. However, Green national polling numbers have dipped since Burnham took office, and Polanski faces low personal popularity ratings among the general public. Former YouGov polling analyst Peter Kellner observed that by-elections over the past 60 years show left-wing challengers often capture seats from governing Labour administrations, though betting markets currently favor a Labour hold. Burnham previously secured parliamentary and mayoral victories in Makerfield and Greater Manchester, but faces regional political pressures following his dismissal of former housing secretary Steve Reed.

A Labour victory, however narrow, would be a massive achievement for Andy Burnham and his local candidate, bad for the Greens and truly terrible for their leader.