Can Andy Burnham restore faith as Green Party challenges him?

London voters are heading to the polls for a special by-election in Holborn and St Pancras. This vote asks one big question: can Andy Burnham bring faith back into Labour? The Green Party is stepping up as a serious threat to Prime Minister Burnham's team. Zack Polanski, who leads Britain's left-wing Greens, was among those running Thursday to win the seat. He took over from Keir Starmer, the former Prime Minister who recently resigned.

Labour has held this spot since 1983 without interruption. Thousands of activists from both sides have been knocking on doors for weeks. This race is basically a two-horse fight between Labour and the Greens. The result will show if Burnham can fix things after support among left-wing voters crashed over the war in Gaza. It also gives him a chance to stop the Greens' rise under Polanski, the 43-year-old self-styled "eco-populist" who became leader last September.

Green gains in London helped cause Labour's bad local election results in May. That slump set off a chain of events ending with Starmer stepping down on July 20 and Burnham taking his place. Since then, Burnham has taken a harder line on Israel. He wants to blunt the Greens' momentum by offering a more left-wing vision for the UK.

Polanski runs against Sagal Abdi-Wali for Labour. She is a local council leader who came to Britain as a child refugee from Somalia in the 1990s. Most people expect her to win. Polls close at 10pm local time, which is 21:00 GMT. Results should come out early Friday morning.

The rest of the field includes Barmy Brunch for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. Ewan Cameron runs for the Conservative Party. Independent Tom Darwood is also on the ballot. Clare Fischer represents the Climate Party. George Galloway stands for the Workers Party. Tyler Johnson wants to Restore Britain. Briony Anne Lonbay Kapoor campaigns for Rejoin EU. Peter Newman speaks for Reform UK. Ketankumar Pipaliya runs UK VOICE. Jonathan Silberman heads the Communist League. Helen Spiby-Vann is with the Christian Peoples Alliance. Patrick Thomas Stillman represents the Liberal Democrats. Ben Walker stands for UKIP.