Zack Polanski has removed the prospect of an immediate leadership vacancy, telling voters he will remain leader of the Green party even if he does not win the Holborn and St Pancras byelection. That commitment frames a campaign he says could unseat Labour in a seat left open by Keir Starmer.
Polanski spent the weekend knocking on doors in King’s Cross, saying the Greens are underdogs but that he is confident they can beat Labour. He pointed to the party’s activism on the ground, saying volunteers have already contacted thousands of households, even as national polling for the Greens has dipped since their high point around the Gorton and Denton result earlier this year.
The constituency was vacated after Keir Starmer announced last Tuesday that he was leaving parliament, having resigned as prime minister in June. Local members are expected to select Polanski as the Green candidate, although that formal endorsement has yet to take place. The contest will be a direct test of the Greens’ electoral reach and a first electoral challenge for Andy Burnham’s Labour since he became prime minister six weeks ago.
Polanski, who has visited the seat several times in the past week, said he would not move into the constituency if elected, adding he could cycle from his flat in Hackney and still run regular surgeries and represent residents. On the doorstep he encountered warm responses, a stream of supporters who recognised him from social media, and an elderly voter who told him from her buzzer that she was a fan because she cannot come downstairs. “This is a great response. Thank you. I love you too,” he called back into the buzzer.
Critics have warned the seat is hard to win, noting Labour’s strong performance in 2024, when Starmer carried the constituency with an 11,572 majority. In that general election the anti-apartheid activist Andrew Feinstein finished second with 7,312 votes and the Greens came third with 4,030. Even with Feinstein’s endorsement of Polanski and his decision not to stand, the campaign faces an uphill arithmetic challenge, with commentators noting the party would still be well short of Labour’s past totals.
Polanski rejected the idea that his candidacy is merely high risk, saying some observers inflate the stakes for drama and pointing to long political careers that required multiple attempts. He acknowledged internal party frustrations about his social media presence but said accessibility helps him connect with voters. The immediate next step is local selection of the Green candidate and a byelection campaign that will clarify whether grassroots momentum can translate into a serious challenge to Labour in central London.
