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.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer as an MP, after he was ousted by his party and replaced as prime minister by Andy Burnham.
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 “truly historic” by election.
“The people of Holborn and St Pancras want better for this place, and I will fight for you, because Greens might be the underdog in this election, but we have the momentum, and we can win,” he said.
He was declared the winner of a local party members’ vote after online hustings on Thursday night, after coming up against local councillor Hamza Chowdhury for the Green nomination.
Green Party MP Hannah Spencer said local party members “overwhelmingly” chose London Assembly member Mr Polanski over Mr Chowdhury for the nomination, after the councillor stated that the constituency does not need “another MP who arrives during an election campaign” and then “disappears once the votes are counted”.
The by-election will pose 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.
Only two Labour MPs have ever represented Holborn and St Pancras: former health secretary Frank Dobson, from 1983 to 2015, then Sir Keir.
But Green Party made gains in the May local elections in the London Borough of Camden, the local authority that covers the constituency.
The contest also poses a challenge for the Green Party leader himself as he takes on Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali, who has led Camden Council since May this year and been a councillor for Camden Square since 2022, at the October 8 contest.
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.
“It’s clear, everyone knows it’s the Green Party against Labour,” Mr Polanski said on Friday. “And before May, we had one councillor here, and now we have 10.”
He added: “In 27 days, voters in Holborn and St Pancras will go to the polls. Between now and then, I’ll be on the doorsteps, day in, day out, listening to people about the issues that matter to them, because a Green voice like mine will not waver.”
Labour’s candidate, who is a former child refugee, has faced what has been described as “straightforward racism” from Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf in recent days, after he wrote on X: “The front runner being foisted on the people of Holborn by Labour to replace the former Prime Minister Keir Starmer in our Parliament was born in Somalia.
“Do you understand what’s happening?”
Mr Polanski called the comments “despicable” and said he would show “unconditional solidarity” with Labour’s candidate.
But he added: “I will stand with any candidate who is facing abusive attacks, and at the same time put forward Green Party policies that are going to make life easier for everyone in this country and in this constituency.”
Mr Polanski, a London Assembly member, has previously said he was “excited” by the prospect of winning the seat and entering the Commons.
He dismissed suggestions from rival Mr Chowdhury that the constituency did not need “another MP who arrives during an election campaign” then “disappears once the votes are counted”.
“I think the local party already knows that doesn’t describe me at all. It’s a place that I know very, very well,” Mr Polanski said on Wednesday.