Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
· collected 2026-09-04
The article discusses the potential candidacy of Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, in the upcoming by-election for the Holborn and St Pancras seat in parliament. The Greens finished third in the last election with 10.4% of the vote, but have been gaining momentum under Polanski's leadership, with some polls showing them at 20% nationally. Political scientists say that a Green win would be a surprise, as the seat has historically voted Labour, and that for it to happen, the Labour leader Andy Burnham would need to experience a rapid decline in popularity. The timing of the by-election is seen as crucial, with experts suggesting that if it takes place after Burnham's party conference in Liverpool but before his budget on October 28, it could be a more competitive contest for the Greens.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
When Britain’s former Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood down as the member of parliament for Holborn and St Pancras this week, he ended more than a decade representing a seat that has never elected anyone but a Labour MP since it was established in 1983.
asserted
it → stand → 1983
The by-election it triggered which is expected later this year would ordinarily be a formality, but instead, it has become the most closely watched contest of the parliamentary term.
asserted
it → trigger → term
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uncertain
Yiannopoulos → warn → UK
That is because Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader, the self-styled “eco-populist”, who has taken his party from the margins to double-digit polling in a year, announced on Thursday that he will seek nomination for the seat.
asserted
he → style → seat
He now needs to be chosen by local party members as the Green candidate for the seat.
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He → need → seat
Voting records offer him both encouragement and a warning.
asserted
records → offer → encouragement
Starmer won 48.9 per cent of the vote in 2024; the Greens finished third on 10.4 per cent, behind a pro-Palestinian independent, Andrew Feinstein.
asserted
Greens → win → independent
But in the Camden council elections in May, the borough the constituency is in, the Greens won 28.8 percent across its wards to Labour’s 38.8, taking seats in Starmer’s own patch for the first time.
uncertain
Greens → win → time
Al Jazeera spoke to political scientists and election analysts about whether Polanski has a realistic path to Westminster.
asserted
Polanski → speak → Westminster
Since Polanski became Green Party leader a year ago, it has achieved some success in taking support from Labour’s left.
asserted
it → become → left
That includes a surprise by-election victory in Greater Manchester, while the party is currently polling as high as 20 percent nationally.
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party → include → Manchester
Despite the Green Party’s recent results in Camden, experts say that Holborn and St Pancras is a strong Labour seat.
asserted
Holborn → say → Camden
“A Green win would be a surprise,” Jonathan Tonge, professor of politics at the University of Liverpool, told Al Jazeera.
asserted
Tonge → tell → Jazeera
For that to change, he said, the current prime minister and Labour leader, Andy Burnham, would have to see his “honeymoon period” end quickly.
asserted
period → change → ?
A “disastrous budget” on October 28 could do just that, he added.
uncertain
he → do → that
He also said the timing of the by-election is key.
asserted
timing → say → election
“If Burnham has a good party conference in Liverpool (in late September), the honeymoon should continue until that budget at least; the later the by-election, the trickier for Labour.
asserted
honeymoon → have → Labour
They will want a quick contest.”
asserted
They → want → contest
Burnham came to power after nine years as mayor of Greater Manchester and arrived untainted by scandals.
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Burnham → come → scandals
To many Britons, it felt refreshing, after Starmer’s appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington – despite his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
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it → feel → Epstein
In an August YouGov survey, 46 percent of Britons had a favourable opinion of Burnham.
asserted
percent → have → Burnham
In contrast to Starmer’s lawyerly caution, Burnham brings a more down-to-earth, outsider style that seeks to cut through Westminster politics, an approach that Polanski has echoed.
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Polanski → bring → that
Polanski’s history at play
Polanski’s critics have said he would look parachuted in, while he says he has lived and worked in the area for years.
Polanski told Camden New Journal, “I have lived and worked in this community over many years.
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I → say → years
I know it well, and I love it”.
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I → know → it
“It represents so many of the things that make London so special.
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London → represent → things
I am so excited by the prospect of representing this place in Parliament,” he is quoted as saying.
asserted
he → excite → Parliament
But Tonge said Polanski is seen “as too left-wing by some voters who prefer the safer Labour option”.
asserted
who → say → option
The so-called “Burnham bounce” Labour is revelling in may also hamper Polanski’s chances, he said.
uncertain
he → call → chances
The Green leader’s political history may also stand in his way, John McTernan, political secretary to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, told Al Jazeera, pointing out that Polanski first stood in the constituency in 2015 as a Liberal Democrat, winning 96 votes in a Camden council by-election.
He also had to apologise earlier this year over a council tax issue on his houseboat, with a Green Party spokesperson saying: “Zack apologises sincerely for the unintentional mistake”.
uncertain
Zack → stand → mistake
He later admitted he had not voted in May’s local election, saying he had been moving and “fell short of time” to register at his new address.
uncertain
he → admit → address
Greens may have ‘peaked’: Expert
uncertain
Greens → peak → ?
From 2010 to 2024, they had just one MP.
asserted
they → have → MP
That changed in February when the Greens won the Gorton and Denton by-election.
asserted
Greens → change → election
Hannah Spencer, a local plumber and Green councillor, won 40.7 per cent of the vote in an area Labour had represented since 1931.
asserted
Labour → win → 1931
It marked the Greens’ first-ever parliamentary by-election win, their highest by-election vote share by a margin of 30 points.
asserted
It → mark → points
The win ushered in their first MP in the north of England.
asserted
win → usher → England
In May, across London, they went from 18 council seats to 279, taking six boroughs and winning their first directly elected mayors in Hackney and Lewisham, while Labour recorded its worst London local result since 1968.
uncertain
Labour → go → 1968
Nationally, the party won 587 seats, its highest ever.
asserted
party → win → seats
The Greens have momentum on their side but may have “peaked”, said Tonge.
uncertain
Tonge → have → side
McTernan said Polanski should be wary of conflating this year’s successes with evidence of his own popularity.
asserted
Polanski → say → popularity
…and 5 more, not listed.
