UK Green leader to seek parliament seat vacated by Starmer

The leader of Britain's left-wing ​Green Party intends to ‌stand in ​an election for a seat in parliament vacated by former Labour prime minister Keir Starmer, a local newspaper ‌reported on Thursday.

Zack Polanski told the Camden New Journal he would be the Green candidate for Holborn and St Pancras, a left-leaning constituency which Starmer held comfortably ‌in 2024 though with a much-reduced vote share. "Labour stands up for corporations ‌and big money," Polanski posted on X. "I'll stand up for people and our communities."

In an election two years ago, an independent candidate who campaigned primarily on opposition to Israel's war in ⁠Gaza ​took nearly 19% of ⁠the vote while the Green candidate received over 10%, giving the party hope of taking the ⁠seat this time. Since Polanski became Green leader a year ago the party has had ​successin taking support from Labour's left, winning a surprise by-election victory in ⁠Greater Manchester – where current Prime Minister Andy Burnham was a long-serving mayor – and nationally polling as high ⁠as ​20%.

But Polanski's personal popularity took a hit after he criticised police officers for the way they arrested a man who allegedly stabbed two Jewish ⁠people in north London in April, according to pollsters YouGov. A national YouGov poll on ⁠Wednesday put ⁠Labour tied with the right-wing populist Reform UK party of anti-Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage on 23% with the opposition Conservatives on ‌20% and the ‌Greens on 13%.