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

Polls will soon close in the St Holborn and St Pancras by-election, with Andy Burnham facing a first test of his re-energised Labour Party.

Local council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali is hoping to hold the seat for Labour after the former prime minister announced he was resigning as an MP last month.

But she will still have to fend off a challenge from the Green Party, who will be fielding party leader Zack Polanski as their candidate.

It has been a difficult week for Mr Polanski, however, after the Greens passed a controversial motion at their conference in Brighton asserting that “Zionism is racism”.

The election will offer Mr Burnham 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.

What time is the Holborn and St Pancras by-election announced and is there an exit poll?

The seat has been a Labour stronghold for 32 years, but dozens of candidates are standing for election, with the Green Party in particular hoping to break the decades-long streak as Zack Polanski eyes a seat in the House of Commons.

It could be a defining moment for Mr Polanski’s leadership of the party, which has seen a surge in membership and record-breaking results in the May 2026 local elections, gaining more than 440 councillors and gaining control of five councils.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain8 October 2026 19:30

Who is Labour's candidate today?

Ms Abdi-Wali has represented Camden Square as a councillor since 2022, and assumed leadership of the council in May.

Only two Labour MPs have ever represented Holborn and St Pancras: former health secretary Frank Dobson, from 1983 to 2015, then Sir Keir.

At the most recent general election in 2024, Sir Keir held the seat with 48.9 per cent of the vote, ahead of independent candidate Andrew Feinstein in second place on 18.9 per cent and the Greens in third on 10.4 per cent. The Conservatives came fourth on 7.2 per cent, Reform finished fifth on 6.1 per cent and the Liberal Democrats were sixth on 5.8 per cent.

Ms Abdi-Wali arrived in the UK as a child refugee from Somalia aged six and has lived in the area since she was a child, only leaving for a brief stint to study at university.

She has volunteered in the local community since she was a teenager, and has sought to make housing a key issue in her campaign.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain8 October 2026 18:30

Who is Restore Britain's candidate for the by-election?

Rupert Lowe’s party Restore Britain has selected lawyer Tyler Johnson to fight the by-election.

The party has publicly admitted they cannot win the contest, blaming “mass migration”.

Announcing his party’s candidate, Mr Lowe said: We are being honest with the voters about this election. Entirely because of mass immigration, this is not a seat a party promising deportations of any kind can win.

“That’s just the electoral reality. For now, at least.

“So for the remaining patriots in Holborn & St Pancras, this is a free hit. An opportunity to send a message, the most powerful message, that you want your capital city back.”

Maryam Zakir-Hussain8 October 2026 17:30

More photos from polling stations

Maryam Zakir-Hussain8 October 2026 16:30

Labour vs Greens

Labour has held the Holborn and St Pancras seat continuously since it was created in 1983, but voters there have moved towards Green and independent candidates in recent years.

In May’s local elections, the Greens also saw major success, with Zoe Garbett becoming the UK’s first directly-elected Green mayor in Hackney – ending decades of Labour power in the position. Hours later, the party won another mayoralty in Lewisham.

Labour lost three councils to the Greens, including Hackney, Waltham Forest and Norwich, and also became the largest party in Lambeth. They also swept up Hastings council which was previously under no overall control.

In her own Camden Square ward, Sagal Abdi-Walli won by only a small margin of 60 votes to the Green Party candidate.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain8 October 2026 15:45

Who is the Tory candidate running today?

Ewan Cameron, a former Camden councillor and local political campaigner, will be the Conservative representative in the by-election.

The party came fourth in 2024, and is unlikely to secure a victory this week.

Tory candidate Mr Cameron said he had been “honoured” to be selected as his party’s candidate.

“This is the community where I have lived, raised my family and call home,” he said.

“From Georgian terraces, squares and the Regent’s Canal to the Knowledge Quarter’s research, AI and science organisations today, Holborn and St Pancras has enormous potential that with the right political leadership can become an even better place to live, work and belong.

“We need a member of Parliament focused on safer streets, more family homes and cutting the cost of living.

“While families are leaving Holborn and St Pancras, the Green leader wants to talk about Gaza. Holborn and St Pancras has recently endured a ‘Never Here’ MP. We do not want another one.”

Maryam Zakir-Hussain8 October 2026 15:00

List of by-election candidates

Here is a list of by-election candidates in full:

• Communist League: Jonathan Silberman
• Conservatives: Ewan Cameron
• Christian Peoples Alliance: Helen Spiby-Vann
• Climate Party: Clare Fisher
• Green Party: Zack Polanski
• Official Monster Raving Loony Party: Barmy Brunch
• Independent: Tom Darwood
• Labour: Sagal Abdi-Wali
• Liberal Democrats: Patrick Stillman
• Reform UK: Pete Newman
• Rejoin EU Party: Briony Kapoor
• Restore Britain: Tyler Johnson
• UK VOICE: Ketankumar Pipaliya
• UKIP: Ben Walker
• Workers Party: George Galloway

Maryam Zakir-Hussain8 October 2026 14:30

Who is the Liberal Democrats candidate standing in the by-election?

Patrick Stillman, a Liberal Democrat councillor for West Hampstead and outgoing chairman of Camden Lib Dems, will be the party’s candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.

The party faces a tough prospect in the seat, having come sixth in 2024, but has told voters they “deserve better” than Labour or the Greens “using this seat to prop up its leader’s ambitions”.

Speaking as he announced his candidacy Lib Dem candidate Mr Stillman said: “I’m proud to have been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Holborn and St Pancras.

“Voters here deserve better than a Labour government in chaos, or a Green Party using this seat to prop up its leader’s ambitions.

“We have a distinct, confident liberal message – on housing, on safety, on giving young Londoners like me a fair shot at building a life here – and I’m going to make that case on every doorstep between now and October 8.”

Maryam Zakir-Hussain8 October 2026 14:00

Photos from polling station

Maryam Zakir-Hussain8 October 2026 13:30

In pictures: Here come the dogs

A by-election is not complete without photos of dogs at a polling station.