Zack Polanski says he will stand in by-election to replace Keir StarmerFormer prime minister Sir Keir announced he would quit as an MP on Tuesday as Parliament returned from its summer recess.Green Party leader Zack Polanski speaking during a press conference at Church House in central London. (Jonathan Brady/PA)PA WireDavid Lynch4 minutes ago
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said he intends to stand as a candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, triggered by Sir Keir Starmer’s exit from Parliament.
Mr Polanski announced his plan to contest the seat, and win a place in Parliament, to the Camden New Journal.
“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.”
Former prime minister Sir Keir announced he would quit as an MP on Tuesday, as Parliament returned from its summer recess, despite having previously insisted he would stay on as a backbencher until the next general election.
He was soon after appointed to the position of “steward and bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern”, as part of an archaic formal process which allows an MP to resign.
Mr Polanski also told the Camden New Journal that the constituency had “been held back by governments who have failed to make the changes to improve people’s lives”.
He added: “We know that the Greens can win here, and by electing me, voters will have someone who will always fight their corner – never scared of big donors or the party whip.
“Too often Labour has stood up for corporations and big money. I will stand up for people struggling to pay their bills.”
Former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer had held the seat since 2015 (PA)PA Wire
The Greens are likely to pose the greatest threat in the by-election to Labour, which has held the inner London constituency continuously since the seat was created in 1983, winning at least 40% of the vote at every election.
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Only two Labour MPs have ever represented Holborn and St Pancras: former health secretary Frank Dobson, from 1983 to 2015, then Sir Keir.
At the most recent general election in 2024, Sir Keir held the seat with 48.9% of the vote, ahead of independent candidate Andrew Feinstein in second place on 18.9% and the Greens in third on 10.4%.
The Conservatives came fourth on 7.2%, Reform finished fifth on 6.1% and the Liberal Democrats were sixth on 5.8%.
The popularity of the independent and Green candidates at the 2024 contest, finishing second and third respectively, 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.
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