Green leader Zack Polanski to run for Keir Starmer's former seat
Green party leader Zack Polanski has announced he will stand in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, triggered after Keir Starmer said he would step down as an MP. Polanski says he believes the Greens can win the traditionally Labour-held seat.
Zack Polanski, leader of the Green party in England and Wales, announced on Thursday that he will contest the byelection in Holborn and St Pancras. The seat became vacant after Keir Starmer said he would stand down as an MP.
Speaking to the Camden New Journal, Polanski said that if elected he would stand up for people struggling to pay their bills. To counter suggestions he would be parachuting into an unfamiliar area, he stressed that he has lived and worked in the community for many years and knows it well.
Polanski already represents the area as a London-wide member of the London Assembly, and under his leadership the Greens have achieved record results both in Camden and nationally. He said the constituency has great potential but has long been held back by governments that failed to improve residents' lives.
Confidence in a traditional Labour stronghold
Although Holborn and St Pancras has traditionally been seen as a safe Labour seat, the Greens have been gaining support there over the past year. Polanski expressed confidence that his party could win, promising to represent voters without fear of big donors or the party whip, and criticised Labour for favouring corporations and big money.
He described the byelection as an opportunity for the community to 'make history' by electing London's first Green MP, framing the race as effectively a two-way contest between Labour and the Greens. Polanski said the vote was a chance to send a clear message against growing hardship while wealth becomes increasingly concentrated at the top.
