Zack Polanski says Holborn and St Pancras defeat would not threaten Green leadership

Zack Polanski said on 2 October that his position as Green Party of England and Wales leader does not depend on winning the Holborn and St Pancras parliamentary by-election in London. Polanski is standing in the 8 October vote for Keir Starmer’s former seat. His comments put his leadership at the centre of a contest that he himself describes as close.

Asked by the Guardian whether his position depended on victory, Polanski replied: ‘It doesn’t depend on it whatsoever.’ He said the result would have national political ramifications, but ‘not for my leadership’. The distinction matters because the party is trying to turn support for the Greens into a Westminster seat while Labour seeks to retain a constituency it won at the last general election.

What Polanski said about his chances

Polanski told the Guardian he wanted to win and believed the seat was winnable. He called the race ‘probably 50/50 right now’ and ‘really, really on a knife edge’. Those are his judgments as a candidate in the election; the quoted estimate is not a published constituency poll or a forecast of the result.

He also argued that there were ‘still advantages to being a leader outside Westminster’. Winning a Commons seat, he said, would give him another way to put pressure on the Labour government. Polanski has not previously been an MP, so the vote could change where he conducts his political work even if, as he says, it does not determine whether he remains party leader.

When Holborn and St Pancras votes

Camden Council’s official notice sets polling for Thursday 8 October, from 7am to 10pm. It names Polanski as the Green candidate and Sagal Abdi-Wali as Labour’s candidate. The notice lists 15 candidates altogether, including representatives of the Conservatives, Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats. The result remains open until voters have cast their ballots and the count is complete.

The constituency was held by Starmer for Labour at the 2024 general election. In a September analysis, The Week described it as a long-standing Labour stronghold and noted that the Green candidate had finished third in 2024. That earlier result explains why the Greens’ challenge is politically significant, but it cannot establish how voters will decide this by-election.

Why the Green conference adds pressure

The campaign overlaps with the Greens’ annual conference in Brighton. In a report published on 18 September, the Guardian said the party’s executive committee had rejected a proposal to postpone the gathering so resources could be concentrated on the by-election. Party officials told the paper the formal request came from staff concerned about resources; the Guardian reported that Polanski also wanted the change.

The Guardian said the conference was expected to draw about 3,000 people and would finish four days before the vote. Holding the event during the final stretch of the campaign poses an organisational choice for a party trying to contest a Labour seat. The executive’s decision to proceed with the conference does not, by itself, establish how many campaigners will work in Holborn and St Pancras or how voters will respond.

The Week’s September analysis discussed the contest in the context of Labour and the Greens competing for progressive voters. It also cited earlier national polling that showed weaker approval of the Greens than a year before. National party ratings and commentary published before this week are context for the race, not evidence that Polanski’s description of a 50/50 local contest is correct.

What the result could test

Polanski told the Guardian he sees the vote as high stakes for local residents and for climate policy. He linked it to debate over the Rosebank and Jackdaw North Sea oil and gas projects and criticised Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s approach. Those are Polanski’s political arguments. The Guardian reported that both projects already had licences granted under the previous Conservative government, so any Labour approval would not amount to issuing new exploration licences.

The outcome of the by-election, its effect on the Greens and any government decisions on the projects remain unknown. For now, Polanski’s position is explicit: he wants to win the seat and says he can continue to lead the party if he does not. Voters in Holborn and St Pancras will decide who represents them in Parliament on 8 October.