Labour has held the Holborn and St Pancras seat in a parliamentary by-election, defeating Green Party leader Zack Polanski in the first major electoral test of Andy Burnham’s premiership. The contest, held on 8 October 2026, followed the resignation of former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, who had represented the north London constituency since 2015. Starmer stepped down as an MP on 1 September after leaving Downing Street earlier in the year; he was replaced as Labour lead

The Restore Britain’s new Holborn and St Pancras candidate works as in-house counsel for a Chinese state-owned oil company and has been involved with a diversity-focused legal charity. That combination has prompted sharp questions about candidate vetting from commentator Raheem Kassam on the same day Rupert Lowe announced the selection. On 15 September 2026, Lowe's party posted that Tyler Johnson would stand for the party in the 8 October by-election triggered by Keir Starmer