Overview
Green party leader announces run in Holborn and St Pancras constituency in north London following the resignation of former PM
These are from Rob Ford, a politics professor and elections specialist, on what Zack Polanski being the Green party’s candidate means for the Holborn and St Pancras byelection.
Big stakes now for both parties.
Greens have chance to turn the tide on recent decline & show Polanski is a winner.
Details
As I said a couple of days ago, Polanski candidature may change how voters in the seat see contest. No longer just Green vs Lab - it is now “would you like the national leader of the Green party or a generic Lab backbencher as your local representative?”
It is quite possible for Labour to lose despite being popular nationally and, indeed, in seat itself, because voters understand stakes: Green gain still leaves Burnham in charge with huge majority, but means a high profile progressive voice in Commons, representing Holborn & St P
If you are a young progressive voter who thinks “I like Burnham but I don’t trust him to listen to us, particularly given how the first two yrs of this govt went”, then a “vote Polanski in to keep Burnham honest” message is going to be quite attractive.
There are an awful lot of such voters in this seat - lots of students & young grad professionals (seat is v near UCL), & lots of migrant origin & ethnic minority voters too. All groups Lab has struggled with in recent yrs - what will Burnham’s message be to win back their trust?
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Originally published at www.theguardian.com.