The Green Party leader, Zack Polanski, will face a challenge from within his own party to become its candidate in the by-election triggered by Sir Keir Starmer's exit from Parliament. Local councillor Hamza Chowdhury has announced he will contest the Green nomination for the Holborn and St Pancras seat, arguing that the constituency needs a representative who is present year-round, not just during an election campaign.
Local councillor challenges Polanski for Green nomination
Mr Chowdhury, who represents the Holborn and Covent Garden ward on Camden Council, said the constituency does not need "another MP who arrives during an election campaign" then "disappears once the votes are counted." He stated that a "global majority" candidate would be best placed to win the seat and represent the "extraordinary diversity of the communities" in the constituency.
"We don't need another MP who arrives during an election campaign, puts out a few leaflets, makes a few promises and disappears once the votes are counted. We need an MP who is present, accessible and visibly part of the community all year round," Mr Chowdhury said. He added: "I'm not asking you to vote for a politician you'll only see on a leaflet. I'm asking you to choose someone who is already here."
Polanski's ambitions and the by-election context
Mr Polanski, a London Assembly member, announced his hope to contest the seat and win a place in Parliament to the Camden New Journal last week. "I have lived and worked in this community over many years, I know it well and I love it," he said in an interview with the north London newspaper. "It represents so many of the things that make London so special. I am so excited by the prospect of representing this place in Parliament."
The by-election, which could provide an early test of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's popularity, comes as voters in the constituency have moved away from Labour towards Green and independent candidates in recent years. Green Party members in the seat are expected to decide on their candidate on Thursday, with the result announced on Friday.
Labour's historical dominance and recent vote shifts
Labour has held the inner London constituency continuously since the seat was created in 1983, winning at least 40 per cent of the vote at every election. Only two Labour MPs have ever represented Holborn and St Pancras: former health secretary Frank Dobson, from 1983 to 2015, and then Sir Keir.
At the most recent general election in 2024, Sir Keir held the seat with 48.9 per cent of the vote, ahead of independent candidate Andrew Feinstein in second place on 18.9 per cent and the Greens in third on 10.4 per cent. The Conservatives came fourth on 7.2 per cent, Reform finished fifth on 6.1 per cent and the Liberal Democrats were sixth on 5.8 per cent.
The popularity of the independent and Green candidates at the 2024 contest may have been partly down to former Labour voters protesting against Sir Keir's refusal to take a stronger position on Israel's actions in Gaza in the war with Hamas. The Green Party also made gains in the May local elections in the London Borough of Camden, the local authority which covers the constituency. A date for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election has not yet been set.
