The full field of 15 candidates standing in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election has been confirmed, setting up a closely watched contest for the Westminster seat vacated by former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Camden Council, the returning authority for the constituency, published its official Statement of Persons Nominated on 15 September. Voters in the north London seat will go to the polls on Thursday 8 October, with polling stations open between 7am and 10pm.
The key contenders in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election
Labour’s candidate is Sagal Abdi-Wali, the leader of Camden Council, chosen to defend a seat the party has held continuously since the constituency was created in 1983. According to Reuters, she was selected as Labour’s candidate earlier this month.
Her main challenger is expected to be Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who was confirmed as his party’s candidate on 11 September. Reuters reported that Polanski told Green Party supporters he would remain as party leader regardless of the by-election outcome. He is currently a member of the London Assembly.
The Conservatives have selected Ewan Cameron, a former Camden councillor and local political campaigner, while the Liberal Democrats are fielding Patrick Thomas Stillman, a councillor for West Hampstead and outgoing chairman of Camden Liberal Democrats, according to The Gazette.
Reform UK is standing Peter Newman, and the Workers Party is fielding its leader George Galloway, according to the official nominations list.
The remaining candidates, as listed in Camden Council’s official statement, are Barmy Brunch for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, Tom Darwood standing with no party description, Clare Fischer for the Climate Party, Briony Anne Lonbay Kapoor for Rejoin EU, Ketankumar Pipaliya for UK VOICE, Jonathan Silberman for the Communist League, Helen Spiby-Vann for the Christian Peoples Alliance, Ben Walker for UKIP and Tyler Johnson for Restore Britain.
Why the by-election is being held
The contest was triggered when Sir Keir Starmer announced he would stand down as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras, informing the Camden New Journal of his decision on 1 September before being formally appointed Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, the procedural mechanism by which MPs leave the Commons.
The Times reported that Starmer, who lost the Labour leadership and the premiership earlier this year, said it was time to “pass the baton” and focus on “other things” after leaving Downing Street.
In a statement posted to X on 1 September, reproduced by the Hillingdon Times, he said: “It’s been an honour and privilege to represent the best constituency in the country since taking over from the great Frank Dobson 11 years ago.”
He added that he would focus on international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology, and continue his work tackling violence against women and girls.
What the Holborn and St Pancras by-election could decide
The by-election is widely seen as an early electoral test for Labour under its new leadership. At the 2024 general election Starmer won the seat with 48.9 per cent of the vote and a majority of 11,572, sharply down from the 27,763 majority he secured in 2019, The Times reported.
The Greens finished third in 2024 with 10.4 per cent, behind independent candidate Andrew Feinstein, who took around 18.9 per cent campaigning chiefly on opposition to the Gaza conflict. Feinstein is standing aside this time and has endorsed Polanski, according to the election tracker PollCheck.
PollCheck’s by-election model puts Labour on 41.7 per cent to the Greens’ 37.8 per cent, a margin of 3.9 points, with Labour winning 70 per cent of its 10,000 simulated runs. In the May 2026 Camden local elections, across the seat’s wards, Labour took 38.8 per cent to the Greens’ 28.8 per cent.
Campaigning is already under way. The Times reported that Polanski has released a campaign video in Urdu aimed at voters in the constituency, ahead of the 8 October poll. The move drew criticism from business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who told Times Radio: “It does make me uncomfortable. I mean, clearly, let’s also recognise there are parts of the UK where they’re bilingual.”
With the candidate field now settled, the three-week campaign will determine whether Labour can hold a seat it has never lost — or whether the Greens can pull off the biggest upset of the new parliament.
Reporting based on Camden Council’s official Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll, with additional reporting from Reuters, The Gazette, The Times, PollCheck and the Hillingdon Times.
