Voters are casting their ballots before polls shut at 10pm on Thursday in the by-election to elect a new MP in Keir Starmer’s old seat, Holborn and St Pancras in London
Voters are today casting their ballots in the race to elect a new MP in Keir Starmer’s old seat.
Labour‘s candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali, a former child refugee from Somalia, is battling it out with Green Leader Zack Polanski in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election in London. Polls will close at 10pm on Thursday, with ballots to be counted overnight.
It could be a defining moment for Mr Polanski’s leadership of the party, which has seen a surge in membership and record-breaking results in the May 2026 local elections, gaining more than 440 councillors and gaining control of five councils.
But the Greens’ popularity has started to dip after Andy Burnham regained some Labour voters who lent them their vote.
Mr Polanski has also faced a troubling week after the Green Party passed a controversial motion at its conference in Brighton asserting that “Zionism is racism”.
The Green Party leader, who abstained on the vote, later said that he will “not accept any exclusion, or refusal to engage with anyone, because of the religious or communal body they are part of”.
Ahead of polls opening on Thursday, he admitted the by-election race is “looking close”. Labour sources are understood to be confident, but not complacent, with insiders aware that Mr Polanski’s profile could sway the race.
Andy Burnham said: “I have no doubt that Sagal Abdi-Wali will make a brilliant local MP for Holborn and St Pancras. This area gave Sagal a home when she arrived here as a refugee in the 1990s. Camden gave Sagal and her family hope.
“Now she wants to give that back to the communities that have always been there for her. It’s hard to think of someone more committed to their local area and the care of people than Sagal.”
There are 13 other candidates in the by-election, including the Conservatives’ Ewan Cameron, Reform UK’s Peter Newman and the Liberal Democrats ’ Patrick Thomas Stillman.
Also running is George Galloway of the Workers Party of Britain, despite living overseas in what he describes as “self-exile”.
Mr Starmer won the Holborn and St Pancras seat in 2024 with 48.9% of the vote (18,884 votes), with independent Andrew Feinstein as runner-up on 18.9% (7,312 votes) and the Greens in third with 10.4% of the vote (4,030 votes).
The seat has been a Labour stronghold since its formation in 1983, held by Frank Dobson for 32 years and Mr Starmer for 11.
Mr Starmer last month announced he is to stand down as an MP to focus on international affairs.
The former Prime Minister said he was ready to “pass the baton to a successor” after leaving No10 earlier this summer. He previously said he planned to remain in Parliament until the next general election, which is expected to be in 2029.