Eddie Izzard launches bid to become Labour MP in Brighton
Comedian will seek election as Labour candidate for Brighton Pavilion
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Your support makes all the difference.Comedian Eddie Izzard has launched a bid to become a Labour MP in Brighton at the next general election.
The 61-year-old announced she was joining the race to become the Brighton Pavillion candidate, saying she wants to help the city continue to be at the āforefront of changeā.
Caroline Lucas, the UKās only Green Party MP, has held the seat since 2010, but announced in June she would be standing down at the next election.
It comes after Ms Izzard tried unsuccessfully to become Labour's candidate in Sheffield Central last year.
Making the announcement via her website, Ms Izzard said she was standing to āsupport this brilliant city and its diverse and vibrant community.ā
She said: āBrighton is a city at the forefront of change and I want to help it to continue to make that change.
āWhilst the Tories stoke fear and encourage culture wars, Brighton has shown the country another way; Open-minded and welcoming to all, with a thriving arts, creative and cultural scene. Imaginative, energetic and full of entrepreneurial spirit.
āFor 13 years the Tories have tried to drag us down. Police numbers, cut. Fewer dentists, doctors and nurses. A rail network grinding to a halt, and sewage dumping into the sea. Hiking the cost of everything and holding Brighton back. And we all saw what happened under the Green Council ā house building stalled whilst rubbish piled high in the streets.ā
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Ms Izzard pledged to take āpractical actionā rather than āprotestā to āfix whatās brokenā, committing to fight for a āfairer-greener-cleaner planet.ā
āReaching out and lifting people up, is at the heart of my politics. I believe in making connections ā not breaking connections. So please join me ā get in touch, get involved and letās make Brighton Pavillion Labour againā, she added.
At the last general election in 2019, Ms Lucas achieved a 57.2 per cent vote share, equating to 33,151. Meanwhile, Labour candidate Adam Imampour received 22.8 per cent, representing 13,211 votes respectively.
Following Ms Lucasā announcement that she would be standing down at the next election, the Green Party selected former co-leader Sian Berry to stand after she won 71 per cent of first preference votes.
Ms Berry was co-leader of the party alongside Jonathan Bartley between 2018 and 2021, labelling her task to seek re-election in Brighton Pavilion an āenormous responsibility.ā
āBrighton Pavilion needs a Green MP in Parliament representing all the people across this wonderful constituency, and I can promise every voter in Brighton Pavilion that I will work every moment between now and the general election to win their trust and supportā, she said after her candidacy was announced last month.
Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats said that it would begin the selection process for its candidate in September, whilst the Conservative Party has yet to announce any details of its selection process for the seat.
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