The fight to be MP for Holborn and St Pancras is heating up as parties choose their candidates for the coveted London parliamentary seat vacated by Sir Keir Starmer.
But on September 1, just two months after being ousted as from Number 10 by Andy Burnham, he announced he was stepping down.
A by-election is set to be held on October 8 and the contest is a crunch test in London for Andy Burnham’s bid to revive Labour fortunes in the capital.
The Green Party hope it will continue their gains in the capital from May’s local elections and have put forward Zack Polanski to contest the seat – which has been held by Labour since the constituency’s inception in 1983.
The by-election is expected to be a straight shoot-out between Labour and the Greens
Here are the candidates that have been announced so far.
Who are the candidates for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election?
Sagal Abdi-Wali is tipped to be Labour’s favourite for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election candidacy
Labour
She pipped more than 100 candidates to the post to become Labour’s frontrunner in a selection meeting earlier this week.
Cllr Abdi-Wali first came to Britain as a child refugee in the early 1990s after fleeing civil war in Somalia. Since then, she has lived in Camden.
She was elected as a Labour councillor for the Camden Square ward in 2022, after serving as the Cabinet Member for Better Homes – a role which saw her manage the borough’s housing and neighbourhood development.
Cllr Abdi-Wali has also been credited with helping to achieve Camden’s status as a “Borough of Sanctuary” in 2024.
Outside of politics, Cllr Abdi-Wali is a volunteer and a trustee for local charities. She is also the governor for two local schools, according to the Labour Party.
Labour’s candidate for Holborn and St Pancras Sagal Abdi-Wali with Andy Burnham
Labour
Her views have been largely shaped by her background as a Somalian refugee and she has prioritised housing and homelessness in her role at Camden Council. She has also been vocal about her pro-EU views.
On being selected as the Labour candidate, she said: “This place welcomed my family as refugees and gave us hope when we needed it most. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to build a life here, serving our community as a councillor, school governor and community activist.”
A victory for Cllr Abdi-Wali would see her step down from her role as leader of the north London council to assume Sir Keir’s former seat.
Cllr Abdi-Wali has already launched her campaign and was spotted in the borough alongside Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Thursday.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski will contest the Holborn and St Pancras byelection (Jonathan Brady/PA)
PA Wire
Green party leader Zack Polanski has been selected as the party’s candidate for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
Mr Polanski edged out Camden councillor Hamza Chowdhury to win the candidacy.
Speaking on his win, Mr Polanski acknowledged that the Greens “might be the underdog in this election”, but he believes the party has the “momentum” to win.
Mr Polanski’s political career started in 2015 when he stood as a Liberal Democrat candidate for the for St Pancras and Somers Town by-election in 2015.
He later joined the Green party in 2017, eventually becoming the deputy leader in 2022 after being elected as a member of the London Assembly in 2021.
Zack Polanski has been at the forefront of the Green Party’s gains in recent months
Getty
Mr Polanski has been credited with driving the Green Party’s popularity in recent months. During his tenure, the party has made significant gains and achieved its best results in history in the 2026 local elections. Hannah Spencer MP was elected in the Gorton and Denton by-election, beating Labour and Reform UK, while Zoe Garbett was elected as Mayor of Hackney in May.
The Green party leader moved to the capital in the mid-2000s after growing up in Manchester.
He has been a vocal advocate for wealth redistribution, supporting a wealth tax on the country’s super-rich. Housing and rent controls, as well as universal basic income, have also formed key pillars of his policy.
Mr Polanski’s manifesto as leader of the Green Party has included opposition to fossil fuel projects and North Sea drilling.
Reform UK, the Tories, and the Lib Dems are yet to annouce their candidates for the by-election.
