Holborn and St Pancras heads to the ballot box today with a high-stakes by-election that will decide who succeeds Keir Starmer as the north London constituency’s MP.
Labour has dominated the seat since it was created in 1983, first represented by Frank Dobson for 32 years and then by Mr Starmer for the past 11.
This time, however, Green Party leader Zack Polanski is trying to puncture Labour’s long-running hold on the constituency and claim a place in the House of Commons.
The contest is widely seen as a key test of Mr Polanski’s leadership after a period of momentum for the Greens, marked by rising membership and their strongest-ever showing in the May 2026 local elections, when the party won more than 440 councillors and took control of five councils.
Yet the campaign has also been overshadowed by a turbulent week for Mr Polanski following the Green Party’s conference in Brighton, where members approved a contentious motion stating that “Zionism is racism”.
Mr Polanski abstained in the vote and later said he would “not accept any exclusion, or refusal to engage with anyone, because of the religious or communal body they are part of”.
As polling stations opened this morning, the Green Party leader signalled a tight race, saying: “The election is looking close today.”
Labour is defending the seat with Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali, who bookmakers have installed as the favourite.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged voters to back her, saying: “Today, hope can win. But only if you vote for it. I have no doubt that Sagal Abdi-Wali will make a brilliant local MP for Holborn and St Pancras.
“This area gave Sagal a home when she arrived here as a refugee in the 1990s. Camden gave Sagal and her family hope. Now she wants to give that back to the communities that have always been there for her.”
The ballot paper features 13 other candidates, among them Conservative contender Ewan Cameron, Reform UK’s Peter Newman and Liberal Democrat Patrick Thomas Stillman.
Also standing is George Galloway of the Workers Party of Britain, despite living overseas in what he describes as “self-exile”.
