Zack Polanski is likely to stand as the Green Party’s candidate in the upcoming Holborn and St Pancras by-election, according to reports.
This week, Keir Starmer announced he was stepping down as an MP, meaning his North London seat would be vacated and a by-election will be held later in the year.
This prompted speculation that Polanski could put himself forward for the seat, with the Green Party leader having previously signalled that he would run for a North London seat if a vacancy arose.
Now, the Standard reports that it is becoming increasingly likely that Polanski will get a tilt at running for parliament in Holborn and St Pancras as part of huge Green efforts to win the seat.
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A Green Party source told the publication: “There is something quite iconic about Keir Starmer’s seat being challenged by the insurgent leader of the Green Party.
“Zack is weighing up his options at the moment.
“But the ultimate decision is up to the local party.”
This was backed up by the Guardian’s Jessica Elgot, who said in a post on X that Polanski standing in the constituency “sounds like a done deal from the hints the party is dropping.”
The Greens are said to be fast-tracking their candidate selection process to pick a candidate for Holborn and St Pancras.
On Tuesday, Polanski was out campaigning in the Holborn area alongside Gorton and Denton Green MP Hannah Spencer.
He said the by-election would be a “referendum on ending rip-off Britain” and that “only the Greens have a real plan for real hope and change.”
A date has not yet been set for the by-election but it is likely to take place in October, with candidate selections set to be concluded by the end of this week.
The Greens will fancy their chances of putting up a strong challenge in a seat that has been held by Labour ever since it was created in 1983.
At the 2024 general election, Starmer won the seat with 49% of the vote, with the Green Party finishing in third behind an independent candidate.
But the Greens have enjoyed a surge in support in central London since Polanski became party leader, winning control of three London borough councils at May’s local elections, along with two mayoralties in Hackney and Lewisham.
The party also claimed a landmark by-election win in Gorton & Denton earlier this year, capitalising on anti-Labour sentiment to win the seat and hold off the challenge of Reform.