Green Party leader Zack Polanski has confirmed he wants to stand in the by-election brought about by Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation as an MP. Polanski, who is currently a London Assembly member but not a member of Parliament, said he was “so excited by the prospect” of being the first Green MP for Holborn and St Pancras. The Greens are targeting the seat, until now a Labour stronghold, after coming second to Labour in the area in local elections earlier this year. Sir Keir announced on Tuesday that he was quitting as MP for the London constituency, two months after he stood down as prime minister, setting up a challenging by-election for his successor Andy Burnham.
In comments to the Camden New Journal, external on Thursday morning, Polanski said: “I have lived and worked in this community over many years, I know it well and I love it.” “It’s a clear fight between Labour and the Green Party,” he added. Polanski has already been out campaigning in the constituency despite there being no decision on who the Green candidate will be until next week. In an interview with the BBC, he said: “We had a huge surge here in [local elections] in May. This is somewhere we can win.” He said he wanted to be the Greens’ sixth MP so he could “challenge Burnham constructively”.
In order to officially be the Green candidate for the seat, Polanski needs to be selected by local party members – something his comments suggest will happen. But there have been reports in recent days of splits among local Green activists, some of whom are said to favour a Palestinian candidate or a pro-Gaza independent. Andrew Feinstein, the independent runner-up to Sir Keir in the constituency at the 2024 general election, has appeared to back Polanski’s candidacy as he ruled out running himself. Writing on X, Feinstein said: “Unfortunately I am not in a position to stand this time round.” He said the Camden People’s Alliance will meet next week to formally decide its position, adding: “This is a crucial time for progressives in Camden and across the country to be united.” A date has not yet been set for the by-election.
The stakes were already high for Labour at this by-election, because it offers an early test of Burnham’s ability to stave off the Green threat in inner-city constituencies. With Polanski’s candidacy, the stakes are even higher for the Greens, to see whether they make good on their leader’s oft-stated ambition to replace Labour. Polanski said a Green victory would be a “clear message that we won’t sit by as we get poorer and extreme wealth is concentrated at the very top”. The London Assembly, on which Polanski currently sits, is an elected body of 25 representatives who scrutinise the policies of the mayor of London.
Keir Starmer announces he is standing down as MP Sir Keir had been MP for the area since 2015, but said he was quitting to focus on a role in international affairs. The former prime minister had previously said he would stay on as an MP until the next UK general election, which is not due until 2029. But he said it was the “right time” for him to “pass the baton to a successor”. Sir Keir became prime minister after winning a landslide majority at the 2024 election, but quit No 10 after pressure from Labour MPs to stand aside.
Labour has not decided its candidate to potentially take on Polanski, with applications closing on Friday.
