Greens challenge Labour in Starmer's old seat as Holborn and St Pancras votes Thursday

Voters in Holborn and St Pancras elect a new MP on Thursday in the by-election triggered by Keir Starmer’s resignation from Parliament last month, with Green Party leader Zack Polanski mounting a serious challenge to Labour’s hold on a seat it has kept since 1983.

Fifteen candidates are on the ballot. Labour has selected Sagal Abdi-Wali, the leader of Camden Council, while the Greens are fielding Polanski himself. The Workers Party’s George Galloway, Reform UK’s Pete Newman, Liberal Democrat Patrick Stillman and Conservative Ewan Cameron are also standing. Andrew Feinstein, the pro-Palestine independent who took 19 per cent in 2024, is standing aside and has endorsed Polanski.

Polling points to a close contest. The PollCheck by-election model puts Labour on 41.7 per cent and the Greens on 37.8 per cent, giving Labour a 70 per cent chance of holding the seat across 10,000 simulations. In 2024 Starmer won with 49 per cent and a majority of 11,572.

Gaza has dominated the campaign. Polanski told a Camden hustings that Labour’s position was “deeply cynical” while it continues arms sales to Israel, and backs a full boycott. Abdi-Wali, who as a councillor declined to back divesting Camden’s pension fund from firms linked to Israel’s actions in the occupied territories, says the party “feels strongly” on the issue.

The contest is the first electoral test for Andy Burnham since he succeeded Starmer as prime minister.

Sources: Al Jazeera (6 Oct 2026); Reuters via ThePrint (11 Sep 2026); PollCheck Holborn and St Pancras by-election model; Paddy Power News (28 Sep 2026).