Holborn and St Pancras By-Election Explained: Why It's Happening, Who's Standing and How to Vote
- 🔑 The Holborn and St Pancras by-election is on Thursday 8 October 2026. Polls are open from 7am to 10pm, and 15 candidates are on the ballot. Sir Keir Starmer resigned as the seat’s MP on 1 September, so voters are choosing a successor in a one-seat election, not a general election.
- Starmer left the Commons by being appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern on 1 September 2026, a GOV.UK notice shows. MPs cannot simply resign, so this nominal Crown office is the standard device. He said it was time to step aside to focus on international affairs.
- Voting is in person with accepted photo ID, such as a passport, driving licence, Blue Badge or Freedom Pass. The deadlines to register, to apply for postal or ordinary proxy votes and to get a Voter Authority Certificate have passed. Emergency proxy applications stay open until 5pm on 8 October.
- Camden Council says votes will be counted overnight on 8 October and the result published on its website. As of Saturday 3 October 2026 it had not published a declaration time or count venue, so an early-hours finish on Friday 9 October is an inference, not an announcement.
- Labour has held the seat since 1983, and Starmer won 18,884 votes, 48.9%, in 2024, a majority of 11,572. Those are the declared figures from a different contest and say nothing about this one. This page carries no polls, projections or betting odds.
- Labour figures have framed the contest as a test for Prime Minister Andy Burnham and the Greens as a chance to send him a message. The campaign has also included disputes over candidate remarks, campaign videos, a hustings and policing, each reported as attributed to those involved.
The Holborn and St Pancras by-election is on Thursday 8 October 2026, with polls open from 7am to 10pm, and 15 candidates are standing to replace Sir Keir Starmer as the area’s MP. The poll has not yet happened, and this page is written as of Saturday 3 October 2026. It explains why the seat is vacant, who is on the ballot and how to vote. It carries no polls, projections or predictions.
What is the Holborn and St Pancras by-election?
It is a one-seat parliamentary election, held on Thursday 8 October 2026, to choose a new MP for the central London constituency in Camden that takes in Camden Town, King’s Cross, St Pancras and Euston. It is not a general election: voters mark one cross and the candidate with the most votes wins. The date was reported as set on 7 September 2026.
Why is there a by-election in Holborn and St Pancras?
Starmer resigned as the constituency’s MP on 1 September 2026, and a by-election is held to fill the vacancy. MPs cannot simply resign, so they take a nominal Crown office instead. A GOV.UK notice dated 1 September says the Chancellor appointed Starmer Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern. That is the standard device for leaving the Commons, not a real job.
In his statement Starmer said it was “time to step aside” and that he would focus on international affairs, including defence, security, trade and technology. He had represented the seat since 2015, led Labour from 2020 and was prime minister from 2024 to 2026. Andy Burnham has been prime minister since 20 July 2026.
Who is standing in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election?
Fifteen candidates are on the ballot, according to the Statement of Persons Nominated that Camden Council published on 15 September 2026. They are listed in ballot order, alphabetical by surname.
| Candidate | Party |
|---|---|
| Sagal Abdi-Wali | Labour |
| Barmy Brunch | Monster Raving Loony |
| Ewan Cameron | Conservative |
| Tom Darwood | Independent |
| Clare Fischer | Climate Party |
| George Galloway | Workers Party of Britain |
| Tyler Johnson | Restore Britain |
| Briony Kapoor | Rejoin EU |
| Peter Newman | Reform UK |
| Ketankumar Pipaliya | UK Voice |
| Zack Polanski | Green |
| Jonathan Silberman | Communist League |
| Helen Spiby-Vann | Christian Peoples Alliance |
| Patrick Stillman | Liberal Democrat |
| Ben Walker | UKIP |
From public reporting: Abdi-Wali leads Camden Council and was chosen on 9 September from a shortlist of three councillors. Polanski is the Green Party’s national leader, was chosen by Camden Green members (announced on 11 September), and has said he will stay on as leader whatever the result. Cameron is a former Camden councillor, Stillman is a Camden councillor for West Hampstead, Newman is a former Metropolitan Police officer, Galloway is a former MP and Johnson is a London-based lawyer. Reports describe Darwood as an independent, though one record of the nomination statement shows no party description beside his name.
Andrew Feinstein, who finished second as an independent in 2024, said he was not in a position to stand again and has endorsed Polanski. David Miliband and Count Binface have also ruled themselves out.
How do I vote in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election?
Go to your polling station between 7am and 10pm on Thursday 8 October 2026 and show accepted photo ID; anyone already in the queue at 10pm will still be allowed to vote, according to Camden Council. The deadlines to register (11.59pm on Tuesday 22 September), to apply for a postal or ordinary proxy vote, and to get a free Voter Authority Certificate (5pm on Wednesday 30 September) have all passed.
- Photo ID: Camden names a passport, driving licence, Blue Badge, Oyster 60+ card, Freedom Pass and PASS proof-of-age card. The longer GOV.UK list adds other documents. Expired ID is accepted if it still looks like you.
- Postal votes: they must reach the council or a polling station by 10pm on 8 October. Camden Town Hall, Judd Street WC1H 9JE, also takes them.
- Emergency proxy: applications stay open until 5pm on 8 October, in limited circumstances. Camden Electoral Services is on 020 7974 4444.
- Moved polling stations: RADA Studios is now Chamber, 12 Bloomsbury Square WC1A 2LP. The London Irish Centre is now St Paul’s Church, Camden Square NW1 9XG. Castlehaven Community Centre is now Castlehaven Community Hub, 21 Castlehaven Road NW1 8RU.
When will the Holborn and St Pancras result be known?
Camden Council says votes will be counted overnight on Thursday 8 October and the result published on its website, but as of Saturday 3 October 2026 it has not published a declaration time or count venue. An overnight count points to the early hours of Friday 9 October, though that is our inference, not an announced time. We will add the declared result here once it is out.
What happened here at the last general election?
Labour has won this seat at every election since it was created in 1983, and Starmer took 48.9% of the vote in 2024. These are Camden Council’s declared figures for that general election. They record a different contest and say nothing about this one.
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Starmer (Lab) | 18,884 | 48.9% |
| Feinstein (Ind) | 7,312 | 18.9% |
| Stansell (Green) | 4,030 | 10.4% |
| Malik (Con) | 2,776 | 7.2% |
| Roberts (Reform) | 2,371 | 6.1% |
| Clinton (LD) | 2,236 | 5.8% |
The majority was 11,572 and turnout was 54.1%.
What has the campaign been about?
Labour figures have framed the contest as a test for the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, against the Green challenge, and the Greens as a chance to send him a message. Several disputes have also followed the campaign. Each one below is attributed to the people involved.
- A race row: on 2 September, before Abdi-Wali was selected, Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf criticised the possible choice of her because she was born in Somalia. Politicians from several parties, including a government minister, called his remarks racist. Nadine Dorries called them nasty. Reform’s Robert Jenrick defended Yusuf, saying the remarks were not racist and that it was legitimate to question foreign-born candidates’ loyalties.
- Foreign-language videos: Polanski released campaign videos in Urdu and French. Conservative MP Katie Lam called for a ban on foreign-language campaigning, and the Greens replied that democracy does not discriminate by language. He released a Bengali video on 19 September.
- Galloway’s candidacy: he confirmed on 14 September that he would stand. Reports from 21 and 22 September place him abroad, in Moscow and then South Africa, and he says he will return once the Home Office confirms he will not be detained. Chris Williamson resigned as the Workers Party’s deputy leader in protest at his decision.
- A hustings: at a 22 September event run by the Camden Muslim Network, only Polanski and Stillman attended. Organisers said Labour’s campaign team told them Abdi-Wali had another commitment.
- Gaza and council investments: the Greens tabled a Camden Council motion on divesting its pension fund from arms companies, which ran out of time before debate. Polanski has called for the UK to stop arms sales to Israel. Abdi-Wali said Labour councillors care deeply about Gaza and accused the Greens of using it to divide communities, Camden New Journal reported on 16 September.
- Policing: on 2 October the Met’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman said that in recent weekends officers had made arrests after conflict between canvassers and protesters. He called the conduct unacceptable and said parties must be given space to canvass lawfully. No arrest figures were given.
This page is pinned to Saturday 3 October 2026 and will be updated after the count. The previous by-election, in Clacton on 13 August 2026, is covered in our Clacton by-election result piece .
How we verified this
The poll had not taken place at write time, and nothing on this page predicts it. The article is pinned to Saturday 3 October 2026. Opinion polls, constituency projections, member surveys and betting-market pieces that circulated in the days before were deliberately not used, cited or paraphrased. No betting odds, spreads, or win-probability models appear anywhere on this page.
The candidate list was cross-checked against five independent sources. Camden Council’s Statement of Persons Nominated (published 15 September 2026) could not be opened by our tools, so we compared a local newspaper’s list, a national radio broadcaster’s list, a public election-data project that transcribes nomination papers, a national news site’s list and an encyclopaedic record that cites the statement. All five give the same 15 names and parties. One list spells Clare Fischer as “Fisher”; the other four use “Fischer”, which we followed. The nomination papers carry fuller names for some candidates (for example Tyler Kurtis Johnson), and we use the names they campaign under. Tom Darwood is called an independent in most lists, while one record says the statement gives him no description, and the article says so.
Why the seat is vacant rests on a primary notice and Starmer’s own words. We read the GOV.UK notice of 1 September 2026 directly, and a radio broadcaster’s report of his statement the same day. We quote only what he said and describe no future role. That the Chiltern Hundreds office is a nominal device for leaving the Commons is standard constitutional practice.
The voting information is Camden Council’s, last read on 3 October 2026. Its page is dated 23 September and gives the hours, deadlines, relocated polling stations and contacts. It names six accepted photo IDs, while GOV.UK’s list is longer, so the article says both rather than choosing between them. The Electoral Commission’s pages could not be opened. Emergency proxy applications are limited to certain circumstances, so readers are pointed to Camden Electoral Services.
The count time is unconfirmed. Camden says only that votes will be counted overnight and the result published on its website. We found no venue or declaration time, and the early-hours remark is our own inference, labelled as one.
The 2024 figures are Camden Council’s declared result, as recorded in a public reference. The six named candidates plus six minor candidates sum exactly to the 38,602 votes recorded. They are history, not a forecast.
Campaign disputes are attributed throughout. Each comes from named politicians, parties, a local newspaper (Camden New Journal, for the Gaza exchange) or the Met’s own press statement of 2 October 2026, and the article gives each side where its account was reported. Our own voice characterises no party or candidate. Material we could not read in full, or that rested on a single source, was left out.
Still moving at write time: the count venue and declaration time; whether any candidate withdraws (names stay on the ballot paper); George Galloway’s whereabouts, last reported abroad on 21 and 22 September; and Zack Polanski’s stated position that he stays Green leader whatever the result, reported on 7 September and 2 October.
Contextual facts inherit earlier checks. Andy Burnham’s 20 July 2026 start as prime minister and the 13 August 2026 Clacton by-election come from our earlier pages on each.