Caroline Lucas has hit out at today’s boundary review proposals, which suggest rejigging all three of the city’s boundaries in a way which could spell trouble for the Green’s chances of keeping her seat.
The Brighton Pavilion seat would be renamed Brighton North and take in the traditionally Labour wards of Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, and Tory Woodingdean, and lose its stronghold wards of Regency and St Peter’s and North Laine to a new Brighton Central and Hove constituency.
Commenting specifically on proposed constituency changes in Brighton and Hove, Caroline Lucas said: “While I strongly believe in equal constituency sizes – the proposals in this review for Brighton and Hove are plainly wrongheaded, and plans to reduce the number of MPs will damage, not enhance our democracy.
“In their current state these proposals would merge the heart of Brighton with Hove, places with quite different identities. The proposals would also leave an entire Brighton constituency without a seafront at all – clearly taking away one of the defining characters of the area.
“The idea that any Brightonian’s constituency will be separated from the sea shows a real lack of understanding of our city.
“These proposals are also based on old data from 2015 – rather than reflecting the huge changes to the electoral roll that have taken place this year. In Brighton & Hove we have a particularly high population of students and young people, so to base our constituency boundaries on this old data is profoundly undemocratic.”
Meanwhile, the Brighton Kemptown constituency will extend further eastwards to the Lib Dem wards along the coast, being renamed Brighton East and Newhaven.
Political commentators are agreed that the changes make it much harder for Caroline Lucas to hang onto her seat at the next election.
Jeremy Corbyn, Caroline Lucas and George Osborne at risk in boundary review: https://t.co/JboOiYPNN3 pic.twitter.com/IMezYIwTBo
— The Staggers (@TheStaggers) September 13, 2016
I don’t know Brighton that well but looks like Caroline Lucas’ seat has gone and she’ll struggle to win replacements pic.twitter.com/5wQegp5WJq
— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) September 13, 2016
The review, published today, says: “The existing constituencies of Brighton, Pavilion, and Brighton, Kemptown, and Hove have electorates which are below the 5% limit. Therefore we propose reconfiguring these constituencies.
“We propose a Brighton Central and Hove constituency similar to the existing Hove constituency that now includes the City of Brighton and Hove wards of Regency, and St. Peter’s and North Laine, which were previously included in the Brighton, Pavilion constituency.
“The other change we propose to the Hove constituency is to transfer the ward of Hove Park to the Brighton Pavilion constituency. To further increase the electorate in the Brighton Pavilion constituency, we propose that it includes the wards of Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, and Woodingdean, which were previously included in the Brighton, Kemptown constituency.
“In light of these modifications we propose to rename the Brighton Pavilion constituency Brighton North, as we consider this better reflects the area covered by the constituency.
“Due to the small electorates of the neighbouring Brighton, Kemptown and Lewes constituencies, we propose a Brighton East and Newhaven constituency that contains seven wards from the existing Brighton, Kemptown constituency, three of which are City of Brighton and Hove wards, and four of which are District of Lewes wards.
“In addition, our proposed constituency includes a further seven wards of the District of Lewes, from the existing Lewes constituency. This means that our proposed Brighton East and Newhaven constituency follows the south coast, includes the town of Seaford and has the A259 as a spine road through the constituency.”
Goodbye greens, most of Brightons residents are sick of you anyway.
All Greens do is moan, complain and cause trouble.
I
I reckon alot of hove would vote for Caroline over KYLE .
Green/corbyns labour coalition
You are right. It would be a bold move, but I think Caroline Lucas could win Hove. There for the taking. In 2015 so much energy was given to Pavilion at Hove’s expense, but the Green support is here in expanded Hove to be fostered. And Labour MP Kyle was so foolish as to support the closing of the Carnegie Library – the hottest issue in the place! Whichever, it looks to me as if the 2020 campaigns have now started, and there is the additional factor of what the 2019 Local Elections might presage. Interesting times.
Oh Christopher!
Do you really think that the moving of Hove Library to the Hove Museum was really the “hottest” issue in the place?
It might be what you were worried about, but what about refuse collections, street cleaning, the i360, poverty, crime, the economy, BRexit – you really are living on a totally different planet to the rest of us.
And if you really think the Greens “could” take Hove – why was it that you almost lost your deposit when you stood against Peter Kyle last time?
Why don’t you offer to stand again?
Ha ha ha! The Greens and Labour are being mugged off royally. Central Brighton hippies being lumped in with genteel and OAP Hove. Kemp Town’s friends of Dorothy being lumped in with suburban Saltdean, and semi rural Seaford. Excellent !!!!!