Holborn and St Pancras votes to choose Starmer’s successor
Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali faces Green leader Zack Polanski and 13 other candidates as voters choose their next MP. Polling stations close at 10pm, with counting planned overnight.
Holborn and St Pancras voters began choosing Keir Starmer’s successor as their MP on Thursday 8 October, with polling stations opening at 7am in the north London constituency. Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali faces Green Party leader Zack Polanski and 13 other candidates in a seat Labour has held since its creation in 1983.
Voting continues until 10pm British Summer Time, according to Camden Council’s official notice. The council plans to count ballots overnight and publish the result on its website, but has not given an exact declaration time. The winner, turnout and vote totals are still to be established.
Labour defends a seat held since 1983
Abdi-Wali is Camden Council leader, according to PA’s report published by RTÉ. She is seeking to continue an uninterrupted run of Labour representation: Frank Dobson held the constituency for 32 years, followed by Starmer for 11. Polanski is seeking his own place in the House of Commons and an end to that Labour record.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged voters to support Abdi-Wali. “Today, hope can win. But only if you vote for it,” he said, according to PA. He added that he had no doubt she would make “a brilliant local MP for Holborn and St Pancras”.
In the same endorsement, Burnham said Abdi-Wali had arrived as a refugee in the 1990s and that Camden had given her family a home and hope. He described her candidacy as a wish to give back to the communities that had supported her.
Polanski contests seat after Green local election gains
The contest follows gains for the Greens in May’s local elections. PA reports that the party gained more than 440 councillors and control of five councils, alongside an increase in membership. Those earlier results provide context for Polanski’s campaign, but do not establish the level of Green support in this constituency.
Ahead of voting, Polanski said: “The election is looking close today.” That is the candidate’s assessment of the contest. PA’s report does not provide constituency polling figures with which to measure that claim.
Polling also follows controversy at the Green Party’s conference in Brighton, where members passed a motion asserting that “Zionism is racism”. PA reports that Polanski abstained in the vote. The report does not establish how the dispute has affected voting intentions in Holborn and St Pancras.
After the conference vote, Polanski said he would “not accept any exclusion, or refusal to engage with anyone, because of the religious or communal body they are part of”, according to PA.
Who else is standing in Holborn and St Pancras?
The 15-candidate field also includes Conservative Ewan Cameron, Reform UK’s Peter Newman, Liberal Democrat Patrick Thomas Stillman and George Galloway of the Workers Party. Camden Council’s statement of persons nominated records the candidates and their ballot descriptions.
Also standing are Barmy Brunch for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party; Tom Darwood, with no description shown; Clare Fischer for the Climate Party; Tyler Kurtis Johnson for Restore Britain; and Briony Anne Lonbay Kapoor for Rejoin EU.
The remaining candidates are Ketankumar Pipaliya, listed as UK VOICE safer and stronger UK; Jonathan Silberman of the Communist League; Helen Spiby-Vann of the Christian Peoples Alliance; and Ben Walker, listed as UKIP - NO to Illegal Immigration.
Polling hours, identification and changed venues
Camden’s election information says eligible voters must be registered constituency residents aged at least 18 on polling day and British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizens. Registration closed on 22 September. Voters already in the polling station queue at 10pm will still be allowed to vote.
A poll card is not required, but voters must show an original accepted form of photo identification. Camden says expired identification can be used if the photograph still resembles the voter. Accepted examples include passports, driving licences, Blue Badges, Freedom Passes and Oyster 60+ cards.
Three polling venues have changed. The RADA Studios station has moved to Chamber at 12 Bloomsbury Square, with entry through Pied Bull Yard. The London Irish Centre station has moved to St Paul’s Church in Camden Square, and Castlehaven Community Centre’s station has moved to Castlehaven Community Hub at 21 Castlehaven Road.
Postal ballots must arrive before 10pm. Camden says voters can hand them in at its polling stations or Camden Town Hall, completing the required form. Ballots put in council-office letterboxes will be rejected. Emergency proxy applications may be available in qualifying circumstances before 5pm; ordinary proxy and voter-certificate application deadlines have passed.
Sources and context
- Polls open in north London by-election to replace StarmerRTÉ; source credited to PA
- Holborn and St Pancras parliamentary by-election Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of PollCamden Council
- Holborn and St Pancras parliamentary by-election: Important informationCamden Council
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