Green co-leader Polanski to contest Starmer's old seat

Zack Polanski, co-leader of the Green Party, will stand in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election triggered by Keir Starmer's resignation from the Commons. The Guardian reports Green party members have backed his candidacy. The seat has been Labour since its creation.

Starmer held the north London constituency from his first election to Parliament until his departure following his resignation as Prime Minister. The by-election date has not yet been announced. Polanski is currently a London Assembly member.

The contest arrives as Andy Burnham settles into Downing Street. The Mirror reports the new Prime Minister is blaming rising debt costs on the Conservatives, while the Daily Express characterises the by-election as a blow to Burnham's early momentum. A Green gain in a Labour stronghold would be read as an early test of the Government's standing - though the seat's history suggests otherwise.

The result will be the first electoral verdict on Burnham's premiership. Labour has held the seat for over forty years; a contest this early hands the opposition parties a platform they would not otherwise have had until the general election.