Labour has won Hove from the Conservatives, with a slim majority of 1,234.
Labour’s Peter Kyle won the seat with 22,082 votes, and his Conservative opponent Graham Cox came second with 20,846 votes.
Green candidate Christopher Hawtree came third with 3,569 votes, while Kevin Smith for UKIP finished fourth with 3,265 votes.
Peter Kyle said: “It’s been great to see so many people voting today.
“My agent says the election officers have acted with professionalism, empathy and warmth and I’m grateful for that.
“I’d also like to pay tribute to all of my fellow candidates. And the biggest thanks to the people of Hove and Portslade.
“This is a huge honour and I promise to work every day to repay the trust you’ve placed in me.
“I’ve been standing on the shoulders of volunteers day in and day out over the last few years.
“I believe change is possible because I’m an optimist and I believe we can have a better future.
“I will be your MP whether you voted for me, someone else or not at all. Housing, protecting public services and doing better for our young people will be my priorities.”
The other votes cast were Jenny Barnard-Langston, Independent, 322, Dame Dixon, Official Monster Raving Loony, 125, Dave Hill, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, 144 and Peter Lambell, Liberal Democrat, 1,861.
There were 234 spoilt ballot papers. The turnout was 71.36 per cent.
Well, it was an election night that suprised all, locally and nationally.
Nationally, we have a divided country. Progressive Wales and Scotland and a negative popular vote in England mostly for inward looking self interest. Brighton Pavillion shines out once more as a special place, a beacon for progress, decency, common sense and tolerance.
What a mess the Labour leadership made by committing so much resource to knock out the Greens. Pavillion was their no.1 target, they have done everything in the book to get Lucas out and have run a 5 year negative campaign. Why on earth did they not concentrate their efforts on getting the Tories out? Why have they let us down once more?
Labour will no doubt take the council, this was on the cards from the day the Greens gained so many seats in 2011, if nothing more than the demographic of a general election, but also because they took over running the council at the most difficult time for local government since the second world war (and constant support from the Argus and city establishment). However, the green vote in the city went up 36% in the GE and in the local elections of 2019 we will be facing declining Labour and Conservative Parties, with few activists to get the vote out and both being encumbered with power and merrily cutting services.
Nancy Platts and Purna Senn are decent people, both far too progressive for Labour. I ask them and all the decent Labour members in the city to now to look at your values and be honest with yourselves. You know the Green Party more represents your views and that it is a democratic party in which your voice can be heard. Cast aside tribalism, lets rip up those Labour Party member cards and join the Greens to build something special in this city. Just imagine the support Nancy and Purna would muster as Green candidates in 2020!
Next time you visit Planet Earth do drop in why don’t you…? The reason why many people don’t like the Greens is that they are selfish, totally self-obsessed and scrupulously middle class (“Emma Bridgewater mugs in every designer kitchen”). You don’t really care about ordinary people, you just pay lip service to your ‘Green’ tag and image.
The worst thing the Greens ever did was become an election contesting party. You can’t do it. You’re not good enough. Running cities into the ground is not the way to make friends and convince them about climate change. You should disband the party and become an ‘agit-prop’ organisation that affiliates to every political party in Britain. Yes, that includes UKIP and win the arguments with science, not by winding every body up when the bins don’t get collected.
Radical? If you could tear yourself away from the coffee bars of the North Laines and go and visit the places where ordinary people live, you’ll find crumbling, dirty, neglected estates. Your indifference to these places over the past 5 years is disgraceful. You in the Greens think you are the solution. Mate, because of you we’ve got a Tory government. You’re part of the problem.
“Disorder! Fear! Chaos!” Jason Kitcat, your work here is done…” Unlike St. Caroline of Balcombe of course, who won’t actually achieve anything. The Tories are in power, the fracking will begin. The NHS will be sold off to the Americans. How many times will you get arrested before the law of diminishing returns kicks in? You never did explain how being in police custody helps the constituents of Pavilion? What’s that? Oh, it gets you on the front pages of the Dailies…I see…
Well done comrade could’nt have said it better!
Well done Peter!
Whatever has happened nationally I think we have ended up with a great new MP for Hove. I voted for you as I believe you will bring a different point view to westminister.
Best of Luck!
Sara