London by-election: who is standing in Holborn and St Pancras?

The Conservatives have picked former Camden councillor Ewan Cameron to stand in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election on 8 October.

The seat became vacant when Sir Keir Starmer stood down as an MP to take a role in international affairs, the BBC said. BBC

Cameron sat on Camden Council before. He represented Belsize ward from 1998 to 2002. He was on the development control committee, which decides planning applications.

In May's borough elections he stood in West Hampstead. He finished 10th of 14 candidates with 376 votes.

Labour's candidate is Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali. The Greens are fielding their leader, Zack Polanski.

Nominations close at 16:00 BST on Tuesday. That is the cut-off for entering the race. The vote is on 8 October.

The broader context here is a contest fought on local ground. A by-election is a one-off vote to replace an MP who has left. All three names so far have links to the borough or to national party leadership. That gives whips and organisers a clear map. Voters will choose between a council leader, a party leader and a former borough councillor.

In terms of running the campaigns, time is short. With the papers deadline on Tuesday, there is little room for late changes. After that it is a ground operation. Canvass returns, postal vote handling and polling-day knock-up will decide how well each party turns its core vote into votes. That means doorstep notes, postal votes and getting supporters out. The Conservative choice points to a campaign ready to talk about planning and local services.

In my view, the interest is in how parties use resources. A by-election of this kind draws attention at Westminster. It also tests message discipline. Labour will want to defend its council record while presenting a parliamentary candidate. The Conservatives will want to find openings where their candidate starts with a limited recent footprint. The Greens, standing their national leader, will want to maximise visibility. None of that decides votes. It sets the questions for the next weeks. Who leads on the doorstep. Who sets the news. Who gets supporters to the polling station. Turnout, volunteers and data will be watched closely by operatives on all sides.