Holborn and St Pancras by-election result live: Polanski hoping to win Starmer’s old seat as polls close

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Polls have closed in the St Holborn and St Pancras by-election, with Andy Burnham facing a first test for his re-energised Labour Party.

The north London seat has been a Labour stronghold since its formation in 1983, held by Frank Dobson for 32 years and Sir Keir for 11.

However, Green Party leader Zack Polanski is hoping to break Labour’s grip and secure his own seat in the House of Commons.

It could prove a defining moment for Mr Polanski’s leadership, after the party enjoyed record-breaking results in the May 2026 local elections, adding more than 440 councillors and gaining control of five councils.

However, the bookies’ favourite is Labour’s candidate, Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali, who Mr Burnham has said would make “a brilliant local MP”.

The election offers the prime minister a chance to show he is restoring voters’ faith in the Labour Party, after its poll ratings nosedived during Sir Keir’s time in No 10.

There are 13 other candidates in the by-election , including Tory candidate Ewan Cameron, Reform UK ’s Peter Newman and the Liberal Democrats ’ Patrick Thomas Stillman.

In a statement issued as the polls close, Green Party leader Zack Polanski said his party had shown how far it had come to be “the main challenger” for Sir Keir Starmer’s former seat.

A Green Party spokesperson said: “Whatever the result later, we've run a positive campaign full of energy in what is one of Labour's safest seats.

“To be the main challenger shows how far the Greens have come. We know that many want to give the new prime minister a chance and for the Greens to keep them on a progressive track, on issues like rent controls, water nationalisation and the climate crisis.

“Whether we win or lose, this evening, keeping the pressure on the Labour government to deliver on these priorities will be our focus."

The votes will now be counted, and results could be announced in the early hours of Friday morning.

The by-election has fallen on a difficult week for Zack Polanski, after the Green Party passed a controversial motion at its conference in Brighton asserting that “Zionism is racism”.