2026 Holborn and St Pancras by-election
UK parliamentary by-election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Holborn and St Pancras in London will be held in 2026 following the resignation from the House of Commons of former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer on 1 September 2026.[1][2]
2026
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Holborn and St Pancras constituency | |||
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Boundary of the Holborn and St Pancras constituency in Greater London | |||
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Background
Keir Starmer was first elected to the seat in the 2015 general election. He became Leader of the Labour Party in 2020, and led the party to a landslide victory at the 2024 general election. Starmer resigned as prime minister in 2026 and was replaced by incoming MP and former mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.
On 1 September 2026, Starmer announced to the Camden New Journal his intention to stand down as a member of parliament, saying it was a "huge honour and privilege" to represent the constituency.[2]
There is a precedent of prime ministers, after resigning, to also resign their seats mid-parliament. The latest was Boris Johnson (2019–2022) who resigned his seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in 2023 after being investigated by the Privileges Committee, prompting a by-election. Other examples include David Cameron (2010–2016) in Witney, and Tony Blair (1997–2007) in Sedgefield. This example was not followed by other recent Prime Ministers, such as Theresa May or Liz Truss, who served in the Commons for the remainder of the Parliamentary term following their mid-Parliament resignations from Number 10 (and with both seeking reelection in the subsequent General Election).
The Guardian reported that the seat was likely to be targeted by the Green Party, who finished third there at the 2024 general election with 10.4 per cent of the vote, behind Andrew Feinstein in second place, who stood as an independent.[3] The party's leader, Zack Polanski, previously stated that he was 'tempted' to challenge the seat, albeit in order to challenge Starmer specifically.[4] Andrew Feinstein, Starmer's closest opponent in 2024 in the seat, said in an interview with Novara Media that he "didn't want it to be [him]" replacing Starmer, but said whoever did replace Starmer had to be "the complete opposite" of him[5].
Candidates
Green Party
The i Paper, on 1 September, reported that Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, had not ruled out standing in a by-election. They reported that a Green Party spokesperson stated "Zack has always made it clear he would like to be a London MP. London has been his home for over 20 years."[6]
Count Binface
Count Binface hinted at standing in the by-election.[7]
Previous result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Keir Starmer | 18,884 | 48.9 | −17.4 | |
| Independent | Andrew Feinstein | 7,312 | 18.9 | N/A | |
| Green | David Stansell | 4,030 | 10.4 | +6.4 | |
| Conservative | Mehreen Malik | 2,776 | 7.2 | −8.0 | |
| Reform | David Roberts | 2,371 | 6.1 | +4.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Charlie Clinton | 2,236 | 5.8 | −6.5 | |
| Independent | Wais Islam | 636 | 1.6 | N/A | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Nick the Incredible Flying Brick | 162 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| UKIP | John Poynton | 75 | 0.2 | −0.1 | |
| Socialist Equality | Tom Scripps | 61 | 0.2 | +0.1 | |
| Independent | Senthil Kumar | 40 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| No description | Bobby Smith | 19 | 0.0 | N/A | |
| Majority | 11,572 | 30.0 | −21.1 | ||
| Turnout | 38,602 | 54.1 | −5.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 71,300 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
