Britain's Green Party Leader Zack Polanski leaves Broadcasting House on the day of his appearance on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show in London, Britain, on May 3, 2026. (Credit: Jack Taylor/Reuters)
The leader of Britain's left-wing Green Party, Zack Polanski, 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.
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 genocidal war on 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 Party leader a year ago, the party has had success in 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%.
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%.
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