A day after Keir Starmer quit as Holborn and St Pancras MP, one local voter was in no doubt which party will win the forthcoming by-election in this traditionally ruby-red north London seat.
“Labour will get in. They could put a pig in. They could put anyone in,” he told The i Paper.
But Starmer’s resignation, and unwanted parting gift to his No 10 deposer Andy Burnham, represents an unexpected headache for the new Prime Minister.
How energy bills may rise in January – what it means for your money
The Iran war has driven gas prices in the UK and Europe to their highest level since the start of the Ukraine war, prompting concern that a further price rise for consumers is locked in for the new year.
Forecasters are predicting that the energy price cap could rise in January to £1,970 – a rise of about £250 on the limit in place from October.
Everything you need to know
- The global supply of natural gas has been pegged back by the virtual elimination of Qatar, one of the world’s biggest exporters, from the market by the war in the Persian Gulf.
- Consequently, wholesale prices have shot up as European buyers compete with Asia for the reduced number of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes.
- British consumers are unusually exposed to these fluctuations because gas costs are used as the benchmark for energy bills. The UK is still heavily reliant on gas for heating and electricity generation.
Is increased government help for bill payers coming?
Andy Burnham has made tangible help with the cost of living one of the keystones of his premiership. But the chaos on global energy markets is reducing his ability to come to consumers’ aid.
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has made it known that she is seeking new financial support for households in October’s budget to try to soften the blow of a January price hike. Whether the Treasury will be able to find the funds to do so remains to be seen.
Charlie Kirk murder suspect faces death penalty
A US judge has ruled that a 23-year-old Utah man charged with the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk can face the death penalty if convicted at trial.
Everything you need to know
- Kirk, 31, had built a reputation as a rising star of the American right with his debating events advocating conservative positions, held at campuses across the US.
- The activist and father of two was shot by a rooftop sniper on 10 September, 2025, suffering a fatal neck wound.
- Prosecutors claim they have unassailable evidence that Tyler Robinson is the killer, including DNA allegedly tying him to the murder weapon and confessions he is claimed to have made to loved ones.
How defence lawyers sought to have death penalty taken off the table
Robinson is facing a charge of , a capital offence in Utah which can carry the death penalty. Prosecutors argue that factors including allegedly firing into a crowd containing children warrant a capital trial.
But defence lawyers have attempted to sow doubt about the prosecution case, saying no bullets struck anyone other than Kirk and raising questions about the credentials of testifying experts. Robinson pleaded not guilty.
Four charged with murder after baby fatally stabbed
Two men and two women have been charged with murder after a baby girl was found stabbed to death at a house in Sheffield.
What you need to know
- Police were called to the home in the Wincobank area of Sheffield on Sunday morning after reports of concern for the safety of newborn girl.
- After a search of the property, officers found the body of the infant. A post-mortem examination found the baby had died as a result of stab wounds.
- Andrea Skopova, 20, Peter Horvath, 19, Peter Horvath, 38, and Nina Horvathova, 37, were each charged with three offences, including murder, on Tuesday. They are due to appear in court.
Teenager accused of related offence
The Crown Prosecution Service said a 15-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had also been charged with an allegation of perverting the course of justice in connection with the incident.
South Yorkshire Police said it was dealing with an “intricate investigation”. Commenting on the charges, Detective Chief Inspector Tom Woodward said: “This is a significant step in our investigation into the tragic circumstances that resulted in the death of this baby girl.”
How the triple lock could be replaced
The state pension triple lock, which pegs payments to the highest of three economic measures, “has to stop” and should be replaced by a link to average earnings, a leading economist has warned.
What you need to know
- First introduced in 2015, the triple lock increases the state pension annually by whichever is the highest of inflation, wage increases or 2.5 per cent and will cost £15.5bn per annum by 2030.
- Paul Johnson, the former head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank, warns that the policy will “take up the whole economy” if left unreformed.
- Johnson is suggesting the state pension be set as a fraction of average full-time earnings, with 33 per cent considered to be “about right”.
How would an average earnings link work
The new state pension currently sits at about 30 per cent of median full-time earnings (£39,039). A target figure for the pension as a fraction of wages – say 33 per cent – could become the benchmark for all future payments.
The system, known as a “smoothed earnings link”, would allow the pension to go up in line with inflation when it rises faster than earnings. But in other years it would remain pegged to wages, saving £650m in 2029-30.
Iran attacks US bases in the Middle East
The Iranian regime launched attacks on US military assets in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq overnight fuelling concerns about a wider resumption of hostilities.
Everything you need to know
Iranian counter-strikes
A US Marines training camp in Jordan was targeted. No deaths or injuries were reported.
Tehran claimed it had struck US warehouses in Iraqi Kurdistan. In Kuwait, the military said it had responded to Iranian missile attacks.
US resumes attacks
The Iranian assault follows American strikes in the Strait of Hormuz after a calm in hostilities.
Alleged attack on wedding
Tehran said it was responding to US strikes on its territory on Tuesday. The Iranian Red Crescent said five people, including a child, had been killed when shrapnel from an American missile hit a wedding celebration.
3 min read
Pentagon denies targeting civilians
The latest exchange of fire between the US and Iran represents a distinct escalation in a conflict which had gone into a lull for several weeks. American strikes early on Monday have led to a series of attacks.
The US military said it was aware of reports that five people were killed and more than 50 injured in a missile strike in Sirik, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian sources said the victims were attending a wedding celebration. But the Pentagon said it “never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC”.
Trump’s military is at breaking point – he’ll pay for it at the ballot box
The attack by US drones on Iran’s Larak Island reveals that Donald Trump’s mission control, like Houston and Apollo 13, has a major problem.
The test that can spot nine in 10 bladder cancers
An at-home urine test being trialled by the NHS can detect 92 per cent of bladder cancer cases, potentially reducing the need for patients to face more urgent and invasive procedures.
A study of 1,000 patients led by the University of Birmingham found a in the simple test meant there was a more than 99 per cent chance that a patient did not have bladder cancer.
Everything you need to know
- Around 11,000 cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year. It is more common in men and 60 per cent of cases are in those aged 75 and over.
- The new test looks for genetic material – caused by more than 450 DNA mutations – shed into the urine by bladder cancer.
- A wider trial will establish whether the test is sufficient to rule out further procedures for negative results – and can help identify patients at greater risk of disease.
More convenience for patients
Researchers hope the test, developed with funding from Cancer Research UK, could reduce the number of patients needing cystoscopies – an invasive procedure which involves inserting a small camera into the bladder via the urethra.
Some 300,000 cystoscopies are carried out each year but there are lengthy waiting lists in some areas. By potentially ruling out cancer in tens of thousands of cases, it is hoped the new test could help doctors prioritise those in urgent need.
In the 2024 general election, Starmer’s majority was slashed by around 16,000 as his vote was squeezed by pro-Gaza candidates. Independent candidate Andrew Feinstein came second with 7,312 (18 per cent) to Labour’s 18,884 (48 per cent).
The Green Party of England and Wales won just over 4,000 votes, around 10 per cent, and party leader Zack Polanski has indicated he will stand when the seat is contested again in the coming weeks.
On Wednesday, there was a solid body of support for Labour among many Kentish Town residents The i Paper spoke to, but anger, too, over the Starmer government’s stance on Israeli actions in Gaza, his U-turns on policies like the winter fuel allowance as well as Labour’s performance on immigration.
And while some voters indicated they would switch to the Greens, doubts were raised by others about Polanski’s leadership.
Cherry Cookson, 77, said she was “very sad” Starmer was leaving and will be voting Labour in the by-election.
“I think he was a great MP. He was very disappointing as a prime minister. I think he couldn’t get out of the mindset of being a barrister,” she said.
Cherry added Starmer had been “very helpful” to her when she contacted him over a parking issue which went to court, and had emailed her to check how the case had gone.
She added: “I think he saved the Labour Party by stepping down.”
A retired teacher, 79, who wished to remain anonymous, also plans to vote Labour and used to say hello to Starmer when he saw him in the area, but said he is “is not a politician”.
“He’s out of his depth. A decent bloke. Obviously, just better on the international stage than the domestic,” he said.
“The U-turns on the domestic front are disappointing.”
He added he had no intention of voting Green, describing Polanski as “way too performative” and “superficial”.
“The local greens do play a very active role in this area. But that’s local politics,” he said.
In May’s local elections in Camden, Labour won 38 per cent to the Greens’ 29 per cent, with the Conservatives on 10 per cent, one point ahead of Reform.
Starmer’s decision to resign as an MP after indicating he would stay on in the seat has been criticised by some, but his departure from frontline politics comes a year after the home he lived in before entering No 10 was firebombed.
Pipa Monjardino, 58, described Starmer as “too reactionary” and had felt “he was not a socialist candidate”, leading her to campaign for Feinstein in the 2024 election.
“He’s [Starmer] a human rights lawyer, and showed that when he got into Downing Street that was quite irrelevant to him,” she said.
“Palestine is the obvious one. His failures to take any kind of action against Israel.”
She added she hopes Feinstein stands again in the forthcoming by-election.
Stephanie, 58, has been a member of the Labour Party since she was 16, and described it as “disappointing” Starmer had stepped down.
She plans to vote Labour again in the by-election, and said she was “not convinced” about Polanski, who she described as having a “questionable” background.
Daniel Purchase, 32, who lives just across the constituency border in Tulip Siddiq’s Hampstead and Highgate seat, felt while Starmer had performed well on Iran and Ukraine, he had “struggled to escape the shadow of the Peter Mandelson situation”.
But he said of the forthcoming by-election: “If I was living one or two roads this way, I would definitely still continue to vote for Labour.”
Katherine Barrett, 68, who voted Green in the May local elections, said she was still undecided which way she would sway in the by-election.
“He [Strarmer] was too privileged. He didn’t have his feet on the ground with real people. He was quite happy going to international meetings rather than dealing with anything in England,” she said.
“I don’t know whether Andy Burnham will influence people to vote Labour.”
Barry, 52, whose son was in the same school class as Starmer’s son, said he had an argument with Starmer over Covid rules in a pub during the pandemic.
“He came in with all his mates, and they weren’t wearing a mask. Seven to a table instead of six, to watch an Arsenal game,” he said.
He added he always votes Conservative, but feels it’s a “waste of a vote” in the area, a Labour heartland for decades.
Marie, 50, admired Starmer’s “sense of duty”, but while she would consider voting Green she would not cast her ballot for Polanski who she branded a “phony”.
“He likes the limelight. He hasn’t got the values that the Green Party should and certainly not the values that Starmer has,” she said.