Brighton Pavilion is a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

since

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Siân Berry Siân Rebecca Berry (; born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion since July 2024, succeeding Caroline Lucas. She was a co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongsid ...

of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

. At 11.9% of the population, Brighton Pavilion has the highest proportion of LGBTQ+ people in the country.

Boundaries

Historic

1950–1955: The County Borough of Brighton wards of Hollingbury, Montpelier, Patcham, Pavilion, Preston, Preston Park, Regency, St Nicholas, St Peters, and West. 1955–1983: The County Borough of Brighton wards of Hollingbury, Montpelier, Patcham, Preston, Preston Park, Regency, Stanmer, St Nicholas, and St Peter's. 1983–1997: The Borough of Brighton wards of Hollingbury, Patcham, Preston, Regency, St Peter's, Seven Dials, Stanmer, and Westdene. 1997–2010: The Borough of Brighton wards of Hanover, Hollingbury, Patcham, Preston, Regency, St Peter's, Seven Dials, Stanmer, and Westdene. 2010–2024: The City of Brighton and Hove wards of Hanover and Elm Grove, Hollingdean and Stanmer (called Hollingbury and Stanmer before 2011), Patcham, Preston Park, Regency, St Peter's and North Laine, and Withdean.

Current

Further to the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

which came into effect for the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, the composition of the renamed constituency (based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020) was reduced slightly by transferring to Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven part of the Hanover and Elm Grove ward – namely polling district PHEA, and that part of polling district PHEF to the east of Queen's Park Road. Following a local government boundary review in Brighton and Hove which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election: * Coldean & Stanmer (majority); Hanover & Elm Grove (most – see above); Hollingdean & Fiveways; Moulsecoomb & Bevendean (small part); Patcham & Hollingbury; Preston Park; Regency (nearly all); Round Hill; West Hill & North Laine; Westdene & Hove Park (part)''.''

Constituency history and profile

The constituency was created in 1950 from the former two-member constituency of

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

(one of the last remaining multi-member constituencies), for which Brighton Pavilion's first Member of Parliament,

Sir William Teeling Sir Luke William Burke Teeling (5 February 1903 – 26 October 1975) was an Irish writer, traveller and a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom. He was known for his enthusiasm for a Channel Tunnel. Background Born on 5 February 190 ...

, had previously been the joint representative. The present name is derived from the

Royal Pavilion The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...

. On current boundaries, the pavilion itself is right on the South-Eastern border of the seat; the opposite side of the road is Brighton Kemptown, which includes the Gay Village of St James Street, Brighton Pier, and the beach eastward. Brighton Pavilion encompasses the heart of the city, including the Georgian and

Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

alleyway properties of

The Lanes The Lanes are a collection of narrow lanes in the city of Brighton and Hove, famous for their small shops (including several antique shops) and narrow alleyways. The Lanes are commonly taken to be bounded by North Street to the north, Ship St ...

and the Bohemian

North Laine North Laine is a central residential and shopping district of Brighton, East Sussex, on the English south coast, north of the Lanes. it is Brighton's bohemian and cultural quarter, with many pubs, cafés, restaurants, independent shops, plus ...

shopping area. The developed centre of the promenade above the central pebbled beach has major entertainment venues and the city's largest hotels, including the Grand Hotel and

Hilton Brighton Metropole The DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole is a 4-star hotel and conference centre located on the seafront in Brighton, East Sussex. The architect was Alfred Waterhouse, who also was architect of University College London and the Natural His ...

. It is a relatively affluent constituency since average income is higher than the UK average (based upon 2001 statistics) and the unemployment rate is lower than average. From 1950 to 1997, the seat elected

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MPs. In 1997,

David Lepper David Lepper (born 15 September 1945) is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Pavilion from 1997 to 2010. Non-political life Lepper was educated at the University of Kent where he too ...

of the Labour Party, aided by somewhat notionally favourable minor boundary changes before the 1997 general election, began service as MP for thirteen years by winning the two subsequent elections. The Conservatives' share of the vote has declined at every election there since 1979. In July 2007, the

selected

Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...

to contest the seat, at which point she was a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

for the South East England constituency. In November 2009, Charlotte Vere was selected as the Conservative Party candidate at an open primary attended by local Conservative Party members and residents. In January 2010, the Liberal Democrats also selected a female candidate, Bernadette Millam. Labour had selected Nancy Platts, a local campaigner and former union worker, as their candidate in June 2007. This meant that, distinctively, all of the four leading parties in the constituency had female candidates. In 2010, Labour's share of the vote fell by 6.5%, and Lucas, then leading the Green Party, won the seat. In contrast to national results, the Conservative and

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

share of the vote fell. Lucas retained the seat for the Green Party at the 2015 general election with an increased majority. Purna Sen, who held senior roles at the Commonwealth, LSE, and Amnesty International, was selected to contest the seat for Labour. Clarence Mitchell, a former

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

reporter and spokesman for the family of

Madeleine McCann Madeleine Beth McCann (born 12 May 2003) is a British missing person, who at the age of 3 disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Lagos, Portugal, Lagos, Portugal, on the evening of 3 May 2007. ''The Daily Telegraph'' ...

, was selected as the Conservative Party candidate. For the 2017 general election and the 2019 general election, the local Liberal Democrat party chose not to field a candidate in the seat, endorsing Lucas instead due to their shared pro-EU stance. Lucas retained Brighton Pavilion for the Green Party, which was returned with the biggest numerical majority for any candidate in the seat since

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

. In the 2019 election, the seat had the largest winning margin and the highest winning vote share of any seat not held by the Conservatives or Labour. Lucas announced on 8 June 2023, that she would not be standing in the subsequent UK general election. On 19 July 2023, the Green Party picked

to replace her. Berry was elected as the MP for Brighton Pavilion at the 2024 election with a slightly reduced majority of 27%.

Members of Parliament

prior to 1950''

Election results

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Notes

References

Sources

Election result, 2005
(BBC)
Election results, 1997 – 2001
(BBC)

(Election Demon)

(Election Demon)

(Guardian)

(Keele University)

(Geocities) *

F. W. S. Craig Frederick Walter Scott Craig (10 December 1929 – 23 March 1989) was a Scottish psephologist and compiler of the standard reference books covering United Kingdom Parliamentary election results. He originally worked in public relations, compilin ...

. ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1950–1973''. ()

External links

nomis Constituency Profile for Brighton, Pavilion
– presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.

(boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries from June 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{Coord, 50.84, -0.14, region:GB_scale:50000, display=title Politics of Brighton and Hove Parliamentary constituencies in East Sussex Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1950