Green Party leader Zack Polanski to stand in by-election for Starmer’s seat

What the report says

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said he will contest the coming by-election for Holborn and St Pancras, the London parliamentary seat being vacated by former UK prime minister and ex-Labour leader Keir Starmer, according to Al Jazeera citing local media and Reuters. Starmer announced he would step down as the constituency’s MP after 11 years, following his resignation as prime minister six weeks earlier.

Polanski told the Camden New Journal that he has lived and worked in the area for years and wants to represent what he described as a community that reflects London’s diversity and character. In a post on X, he contrasted Labour with the Greens, saying his party would stand for people and local communities. Al Jazeera reported that Holborn and St Pancras is generally considered a left-leaning seat.

The article noted that Starmer won the constituency comfortably in the 2024 general election, although with a reduced share of the vote. It also pointed to a stronger challenge from the left in that contest: an independent candidate focused on opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza won close to 19 percent, while the Green candidate took more than 10 percent.

More broadly, Polanski’s candidacy comes as the Green Party has been trying to build support among Labour voters on the left. Al Jazeera said the party has recently seen gains in some local contests and in national polling, though it also reported that Polanski’s personal standing has faced scrutiny after remarks he made about a police arrest in north London earlier this year.