Green Party leader Zack Polanski to stand in by-election for Starmer’s seat

By Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters. Published On 3 Sep 20263 Sep 2026.

Key points

• Starmer remarked on Tuesday that it was the "right time" to resign as the MP for the Holborn and St Pancras seat in London after 11 years.
• The announcement comes days after former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer remarked he would stand down as a member of parliament, triggering a by-election.
• The announcement comes six weeks after his resignation as the UK's prime minister, having lost the backing of governing Labour Party MPs.
• It represents so plenty of of the things that produce London so special.
• "Labour stands up for corporations and big money, " Polanski wrote on X.

In practice, the leader of the United Kingdom's Green Party intends to stand in an election for a seat in parliament vacated by former Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, local media documented.

Zack Polanski informed the Camden New Journal he would be the Green candidate for Holborn and St Pancras, a left-leaning constituency which Starmer held comfortably in 2024 though with a much-reduced vote share.

"I have lived and worked in this community over plenty of years. I know it well, and I love it, " the left-wing party leader remarked.

"It represents so plenty of of the things that produce London so special. I am so excited by the prospect of representing this place in Parliament."

For context, the announcement comes days after former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer remarked he would stand down as a member of parliament, triggering a by-election. 'Labour stands up for corporations'.

In practice, the announcement comes six weeks after his resignation as the UK's prime minister, having lost the backing of governing Labour Party MPs.

While a Green candidate received more than 10 percent, in the UK's general election two years ago, an independent candidate who campaigned primarily on opposition to Israel's genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza took almost 19 percent of the vote in the Holborn and St Pancras constituency.

"Labour stands up for corporations and big money, " Polanski wrote on X. "I'll stand up for people and our communities."

Since Polanski became Green leader a year ago, the party has achieved some success in taking backing from Labour's left, winning a surprise by-election victory in Greater Manchester – where current Prime Minister Andy Burnham was a long-serving mayor – and nationally polling as high as 20 percent.

Nevertheless, Polanski's personal popularity took a hit after he criticised police officers for the way they arrested a man who allegedly stabbed two Jewish residents in north London in April, according to pollsters YouGov.

In short, green Party leader Zack Polanski to stand in by is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.