When is the Holborn and St Pancras by-election?
Who are the candidates to win Sir Keir Starmer's old seat as Zack Polanski says he will run for the Green Party
Green Party leader Zack Polanski will stand in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election after Sir Keir Starmer resigned as MP.
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The Green Party has never won a seat in London but has shown strongly in recent polling, and Mr Polanski will now seek to enter Parliament for the first time.
Labour is yet to choose a candidate, with former frontbencher David Miliband having reportedly declined the chance to stand.
Sir Keir, who was elected as PM in 2024, left Downing Street last month after the election of Andy Burnham as the new Labour Party leader.
The former prime minister will leave the House of Commons after a new MP has been elected to replace him.
He told the Camden New Journal on Tuesday: “It has been a huge honour and privilege to represent the best constituency in the country and to have taken over from Frank Dobson, who was such a great constituency MP and a member of the last Labour government."
He added that the "time is right" to "pass the baton" to a new MP and there will now be a vote to find them.
Sir Keir said he will now “focus on other things," including "international affairs, defence, security, trade and technology".
He had been the MP for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015 when he took it over from Mr Dobson.
When will the by-election be to replace Sir Keir Starmer?
There is not yet a date or a list of candidates for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, but it is set to be held in 2026.
Last time, Sir Keir won 49% of the vote from the independent Andrew Feinstein, with the Green Party in third - and Zack Polanski's party might target the seat.
Holborn and St Pancras, in central north London, has only ever been held by Labour after the seat was created in 1983 and is considered to be a safe seat for the party.
Who are the candidates for the by-election?
Those who have declared so far are:
- Zack Polanski - Green Party
- Hussain Shafei - Workers Party of Britain