The Green Party considers delaying conference for Holborn and St Pancras by-election
The Green Party is weighing the possibility of postponing its annual conference to allocate resources toward securing a parliamentary seat for leader Zack Polanski, officials have confirmed, reports BritPanorama.
Polanski is contesting the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, prompted by the resignation of former Labour prime minister Sir Keir Starmer in early September. A victory would increase the Green Party’s representation to six MPs, following a successful by-election in Gorton and Denton earlier this year.
The vote, scheduled for October 8, is shaping up to be a direct contest between Polanski and Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali, the leader of Camden Council.
Party officials indicated that delaying the conference is merely “one possible option” under consideration. A Green Party spokesperson stated, “The party was exploring different ways of allocating our resources effectively while fighting the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.”
Another spokesperson emphasized, “After discussion, we remain committed to running an incredibly ambitious Holborn and St Pancras by-election campaign and holding what will be our biggest ever party conference.”
The two-day conference is set to take place from October 2 to October 4 in Brighton, where the party expects record attendance. This surge follows increased performance and an uptick in membership over the past year, coinciding with Polanski’s tenure as leader.
The upcoming by-election also bears significance for Labour, as it serves as a gauge for Andy Burnham to assess the timing of a potential early general election, according to Labour sources. With Polanski now in contention, Labour strategists around Burnham view this as a critical test of whether recent leadership changes have mitigated the competitive threat from the Green Party.
The memory of the Greens’ Hannah Spencer surpassing Labour into third place—trailing only Reform—in the solidly Labour Gorton and Denton seat earlier in the year lingers for the party. A Labour source noted, “Because Keir’s seat was a target and Polanski is running in it, this gives the PM a perfect opportunity to see if the Green threat has gone with a change of leader. We are seeing people come back [from the Greens] to Labour. Under Keir, there was no doubt that we were losing lots of supporters and party members to the Greens.”
In this politically charged atmosphere, the dynamics between the Green Party and Labour will evolve as the by-election approaches, reflecting broader challenges within UK politics.
