Who is standing in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election?

Green Party leader Zack Polanski is among more than a dozen candidates who are days away from a crucial by-election in Sir Keir Starmer’s former seat of Holborn and St Pancras.

The contest in the north London constituency is a major test for both Mr Polanski and new Labour leader Andy Burnham, as voters issue what is seen to be their verdict on the prime minister’s first weeks in office.

Candidates from all major parties are fighting for votes, but Mr Polanski and Labour council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali are expected to be the main contenders.

Mr Polanski’s party has made great strides on the national and local stage in recent months, following the success of their candidate Hannah Spencer in the Gorton and Denton by-election in February.

But the party has struggled in recent national polls, falling from a high of 21 per cent earlier this year to just 11 per cent in recent surveys.

As constituents prepare to head to the polls on Thursday, here are the candidates up for election:

Sagal Abdi-Wali, the leader of Camden Council, will attempt to defend the Holborn and St Pancras constituency for the party.

Ms Abdi-Wali has represented Camden Square as a councillor since 2022, and assumed leadership of the council in May.

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 per cent of the vote, ahead of independent candidate Andrew Feinstein in second place on 18.9 per cent and the Greens in third on 10.4 per cent. The Conservatives came fourth on 7.2 per cent, Reform finished fifth on 6.1 per cent and the Liberal Democrats were sixth on 5.8 per cent.

Ms Abdi-Wali arrived in the UK as a child refugee from Somalia aged six and has lived in the area since she was a child, only leaving for a brief stint to study at university.

She has volunteered in the local community since she was a teenager, and has sought to make housing a key issue in her campaign.

Zack Polanski has been selected as the Green Party’s candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election as he prepares to fight the crucial contest in the historically Labour seat.

Speaking as he was confirmed as the party’s candidate in the contest, which will take place next month, the Green Party leader said “everyone knows it's the Green Party against Labour” in what he described as a “truly historic” by-election.

The by-election will pose an early test for Mr Burnham’s popularity with the public, with the Greens likely to pose the greatest threat to Labour in the contest.

Labour has held the Holborn and St Pancras seat continuously since it was created in 1983, but voters there have moved towards Green and independent candidates in recent years.

In May’s local elections, the Greens also saw major success, with Zoe Garbett becoming the UK’s first directly-elected Green mayor in Hackney – ending decades of Labour power in the position. Hours later, the party won another mayoralty in Lewisham.

Labour lost three councils to the Greens, including Hackney, Waltham Forest and Norwich, and also became the largest party in Lambeth. They also swept up Hastings council which was previously under no overall control.

In her own Camden Square ward, Ms Abdi-Walli won by only a small margin of 60 votes to the Green Party candidate.

But support for the Greens surged in his first year as leader, but the party’s national polling has dipped since Mr Burnham replaced Sir Keir in Downing Street.

Mr Polanski, speaking at the party’s conference in Brighton, appeared to temper hopes of a Green win on Friday, saying his position as leader “doesn’t depend on it [winning the by-election] whatsoever.”

Reform UK has chosen a former Metropolitan Police detective to stand in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.

Former counter-terrorism commander Pete Newman, who responded to the aftermath of the July 7 bombings, will contest the seat for Nigel Farage’s party.

The party said he had led the Met in Westminster to return the borough back to normality and helping businesses to build resilience to future acts of terrorism.

After retiring from the Met, he has worked as a professional security and investigative consultant, according to Reform UK.

Mr Newman said: “I am humbled and honoured to be Reform UK’s parliamentary candidate for Holborn and St Pancras. As a former police detective, it depresses me to see the state of crime and policing in our capital.”

Patrick Stillman, a Liberal Democrat councillor for West Hampstead and outgoing chairman of Camden Lib Dems, will be the party’s candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.

The party faces a tough prospect in the seat, having come sixth in 2024, but has told voters they “deserve better” than Labour or the Greens “using this seat to prop up its leader’s ambitions”.

Speaking as he announced his candidacy Lib Dem candidate Mr Stillman said: “I’m proud to have been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Holborn and St Pancras.

“Voters here deserve better than a Labour government in chaos, or a Green Party using this seat to prop up its leader’s ambitions.

“We have a distinct, confident liberal message – on housing, on safety, on giving young Londoners like me a fair shot at building a life here – and I’m going to make that case on every doorstep between now and October 8.”

Ewan Cameron, a former Camden councillor and local political campaigner, will be the Conservative representative in the by-election.

The party came fourth in 2024, and is unlikely to secure a victory this week.

Tory candidate Mr Cameron said he had been “honoured” to be selected as his party’s candidate.

“This is the community where I have lived, raised my family and call home,” he said.

“From Georgian terraces, squares and the Regent’s Canal to the Knowledge Quarter’s research, AI and science organisations today, Holborn and St Pancras has enormous potential that with the right political leadership can become an even better place to live, work and belong.

“We need a member of Parliament focused on safer streets, more family homes and cutting the cost of living.

“While families are leaving Holborn and St Pancras, the Green leader wants to talk about Gaza. Holborn and St Pancras has recently endured a ‘Never Here’ MP. We do not want another one.”

Leader of the Workers Party of Britain, George Galloway, is also running in the by-election this week.

Mr Galloway has been leader of the Workers Party since he formed it in 2019, and has served as a Member of Parliament seven times for five different constituencies.

Most recently, won the Rochdale by-election in a February 2024, overturning a Labour majority of 9,668, running primarily on a ticket based on his support for Gaza.

However, he lost the seat just four months later in the 2024 general election.

The controversial politician has criticised British and US foreign policies during his career, including their support for Ukraine.

Rupert Lowe’s party Restore Britain has selected lawyer Tyler Johnson to fight the by-election.

The party has publicly admitted they cannot win the contest, blaming “mass migration”.

Announcing his party’s candidate, Mr Lowe said: We are being honest with the voters about this election. Entirely because of mass immigration, this is not a seat a party promising deportations of any kind can win.

“That’s just the electoral reality. For now, at least.

“So for the remaining patriots in Holborn & St Pancras, this is a free hit. An opportunity to send a message, the most powerful message, that you want your capital city back.”

Briony Kapoor is running as Rejoin EU’s candidate in the contest.

The party says it is standing to “give voters an alternative to the uninspiring and short-sighted policies on Europe offered by other parties”.

Announcing her candidacy Ms Kapoor said: “I’m standing in the Holborn & St Pancras by-election on behalf of the Rejoin EU Party to give voice to the majority in favour of our membership of the EU and to protest that the main parties aren’t giving the issue the importance it merits.

“As a long-term resident of the area, I’m aware of local issues and, if elected, would look forward to working on those matters with our local council.

“Our constituency is arguably the most exciting one in the country, inclusive, creative, enterprising, hard working and great fun.

“We’re well positioned to lead in London, in the UK and significantly at the heart of the EU.”