GREEN PARTY CHALLENGER CONTESTS POLANSKI'S BID FOR HOLBORN BY-ELECTION

Green Party leader Zack Polanski faces an internal challenge to secure his party's nomination for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, triggered by Sir Keir Starmer leaving Parliament. Local councillor Hamza Chowdhury has launched a competing bid for the Green nomination. Green Party members in the seat are expected to choose their candidate on Thursday, with the result announced on Friday. The winner will contest a by-election in a constituency Labour has held since its creation in 1983.

Mr Chowdhury, who represents the Holborn and Covent Garden ward, argued that a candidate with a permanent presence in the community would better serve the constituency. He stated that voters need "an MP who is present, accessible and visibly part of the community all year round" rather than one who "arrives during an election campaign" and "disappears once the votes are counted." Mr Chowdhury also contended that a "global majority" candidate would be best positioned to represent "the extraordinary diversity of the communities" in the seat. Mr Polanski, a London Assembly member, has described himself as "excited" by the prospect of winning the seat and taking a place in Parliament, citing his long residence and work in the area.

The by-election may test public support for Labour in the constituency, as voters have increasingly favoured Green and independent candidates in recent years. Labour has won at least 40 per cent of the vote in every election held in Holborn and St Pancras since 1983, with only two Labour MPs ever representing the seat. The Greens are likely to pose the greatest electoral threat to Labour in the by-election contest.