| Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for theHouse of Commons | |
![]() Boundaries since 2024 | |
Boundary of Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven in South East England | |
| County | East Sussex |
| Population | 91,567 (2011 census)[1] |
| Electorate | 69,865 (2023)[2] |
| Major settlements | Falmer,Moulsecoomb,Rottingdean,Kemp Town,Peacehaven,Telscombe,Saltdean,Brighton Marina,Woodingdean,Queen's Park, Brighton,Bevendean andWhitehawk |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1950 (as Brighton Kemptown) |
| Member of Parliament | Chris Ward (Labour) |
| Created from | Brighton |
Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven is aconstituency[n 1] represented in theHouse of Commons of theUK Parliament since the2024 general election byChris Ward of theLabour Party.[3]
Before the2024 general election[4] the constituency was calledBrighton Kemptown, though local political parties referred to it by its current name.[5][6]
The Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven constituency is located inEast Sussex on England's south coast. It contains the eastern suburbs of the city ofBrighton (Kemptown,Whitehawk andBevendean), the small town ofPeacehaven, and the villages that lie between them (Woodingdean,Ovingdean,Rottingdean andSaltdean). Kemptown is the centre of Brighton'sLGBT community and has the highest proportion of LGBT residents of any location in the country at 20%.[7] Whitehawk and Bevendean have a large amount ofsocial housing and high levels of deprivation, whilst the villages between Brighton and Peacehaven are generally affluent.[8] Parts of theUniversity of Brighton lie within the constituency.
Residents' income, education and professional employment levels are similar to national averages, although deprivation is higher. The constituency's ethnic makeup is similar to the country as a whole, withWhite people forming 87% of the population.[9] At the local council level, almost all seats within the constituency are represented byLabour Party councillors, although the area around Saltdean electedindependents. Voters in the constituency marginally supported remaining in theEuropean Union in the2016 referendum, with an estimated 52% voting againstBrexit compared to 48% nationally.[9]
1950–1955: The County Borough of Brighton wards of Elm Grove, Hanover, King's Cliff, Lewes Road, Moulsecoomb, Pier, Queen's Park, Rottingdean, and St John's.[10]
1955–1983: The County Borough of Brighton wards of Elm Grove, Falmer, Hanover, King's Cliff, Lewes Road, Moulsecoomb, Pier, Queen's Park, Rottingdean, and Warren.[11]
1983–1997: The Borough of Brighton wards of Hanover, King's Cliff, Marine, Moulsecoomb, Queen's Park, Rottingdean, Tenantry, and Woodingdean.
1997–2010: The Borough of Brighton wards of King's Cliff, Marine, Moulsecoomb, Queen's Park, Rottingdean, Tenantry, and Woodingdean, and the District of Lewes wards of East Saltdean, Peacehaven East, Peacehaven North, Peacehaven West, and Telscombe Cliffs.
2010–2024: The City of Brighton and Hove wards of East Brighton, Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, Queen's Park, Rottingdean Coastal, and Woodingdean, and the District of Lewes wards of East Saltdean and Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven East, Peacehaven North, and Peacehaven West.
Further to the2023 review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the2024 general election, the composition of the renamed constituency (based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020) was expanded slightly in order to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring fromBrighton Pavilion 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.[12]
Following a local government boundary review in Brighton and Hove which came into effect in May 2023,[13][14] the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:
This constituency was created in1950 whenthe two-member constituency ofBrighton was split into three single-member seats.
Boundary changes for the1997 general election moved Peacehaven, a semi-rural area, into the constituency. This added a ward where the Conservatives had been favoured, but Labour gained the seat at its landslide victory.Des Turner held it until 2010, whenSimon Kirby of the Conservative Party won it.
For a total of 48 years since the seat's creation, it has beenConservative-controlled (1950–1964; 1970–1997; 2010–2017). The only other party to hold the seat since its creation has been theLabour Party.
Labour first won Kemptown in 1964, with a narrow majority of just seven votes.[n 2]Dennis Hobden, the first Labour MP to ever be elected inSussex, increased his majority in1966, but lost the seat in1970, and another Labour MP was not returned until 1997. The seat was a nationalbellwether constituency from 1979 to 2015, but in2017 elected a Labour MP when the country as a whole returned a hung parliament with the Conservatives being the largest party by a margin of 56 MPs.
Liberal Democrats and their two predecessor parties following national trends formed the third-largest party in the constituency, 1950–2010 inclusive. The2010 general election result for the party can be seen as 0.6% behind "its" highest, at 18.6%, if including its SDP forerunner. The Liberal Democrat vote share collapsed to 3% in 2015 (behindUKIP and Green Party candidates) and remained at the 3% level in 2017 despite the absence of UKIP and Green candidates for the seat at that election.
TheGreen Party candidate finished in fourth place at the 2005, 2010 and 2015 elections, retaining their deposit each time, with vote shares ranging from 5.5% to 7.0%. The Greens did not field a candidate in 2017[16] and endorsed Labour, who subsequently gained the seat with a majority of just under 10,000 votes.
The2015 general election result had made the seat the tenth-most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.[17]
On 29 May 2024, Russell-Moyle announced that he had received a letter that he had been suspended from membership of the Labour Party, because of what he believed was a vexatious complaint, which made him ineligible to be their candidate at the2024 general election.[18]Chris Ward was selected in his place and was subsequently elected as the Labour MP.
Brighton prior to 1950
†: Lloyd Russell-Moyle was suspended from the Labour Party after Parliament hadprorogued on 24 May 2024[21] and a day before thedissolution of Parliament on 30 May 2024.[22]

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Chris Ward | 17,839 | 44.0 | −7.2 | |
| Conservative | Khobi Vallis | 8,230 | 20.2 | −14.2 | |
| Green | Elaine Hills | 7,997 | 19.7 | +14.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Stewart Stone | 3,949 | 9.7 | +3.7 | |
| Independent | Emma Wall | 1,833 | 4.5 | N/A | |
| SDP | Valerie Gray | 784 | 1.9 | N/A | |
| Majority | 9,609 | 23.8 | |||
| Turnout | 40,632 | 59.1 | |||
| Registered electors | 68,784 | ||||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| 2019notional result[24] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Labour | 25,299 | 51.2 | |
| Conservative | 17,019 | 34.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2,964 | 6.0 | |
| Green | 2,813 | 5.7 | |
| Brexit Party | 1,335 | 2.7 | |
| Turnout | 49,430 | 70.8 | |
| Electorate | 69,865 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Co-op | Lloyd Russell-Moyle | 25,033 | 51.6 | −6.7 | |
| Conservative | Joe Miller | 16,972 | 35.0 | −3.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ben Thomas | 2,964 | 6.1 | +3.1 | |
| Green | Alex Phillips | 2,237 | 4.6 | N/A | |
| Brexit Party | Graham Cushway | 1,327 | 2.7 | N/A | |
| Majority | 8,061 | 16.6 | −3.4 | ||
| Turnout | 48,533 | 69.5 | −3.0 | ||
| Labour Co-ophold | Swing | -1.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Co-op | Lloyd Russell-Moyle | 28,703 | 58.3 | +19.1 | |
| Conservative | Simon Kirby[26] | 18,835 | 38.3 | −2.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Emily Tester[27] | 1,457 | 3.0 | ±0.0 | |
| Independent | Doktor Haze[28] | 212 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Majority | 9,868 | 20.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 49,207 | 72.5 | +5.7 | ||
| Labour Co-opgain fromConservative | Swing | +10.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Simon Kirby[31] | 18,428 | 40.7 | +2.7 | |
| Labour | Nancy Platts[31] | 17,738 | 39.2 | +4.3 | |
| UKIP | Ian Buchanan[32] | 4,446 | 9.8 | +6.6 | |
| Green | Davy Jones[31] | 3,187 | 7.0 | +1.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Chandler[33] | 1,365 | 3.0 | −15.0 | |
| Socialist (GB) | Jacqueline Shodeke[34] | 73 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Independent | Matthew Taylor[35] | 69 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 690 | 1.5 | −1.6 | ||
| Turnout | 45,306 | 66.8 | +2.1 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | -0.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Simon Kirby | 16,217 | 38.0 | +5.0 | |
| Labour Co-op | Simon Burgess | 14,889 | 34.9 | −5.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Juliet Williams | 7,691 | 18.0 | +1.5 | |
| Green | Ben Duncan | 2,330 | 5.5 | −1.5 | |
| UKIP | James Chamberlain-Webber | 1,384 | 3.2 | +1.3 | |
| TUSC | Dave Hill | 194 | 0.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 1,328 | 3.1 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 42,705 | 64.7 | +4.5 | ||
| Conservativegain fromLabour | Swing | +5.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Des Turner | 15,858 | 39.9 | −7.9 | |
| Conservative | Judith Symes | 13,121 | 33.0 | −2.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Marina Pepper | 6,560 | 16.5 | +6.1 | |
| Green | Simon Williams | 2,800 | 7.0 | +3.7 | |
| UKIP | James Chamberlain-Webber | 758 | 1.9 | +0.5 | |
| Peace | Caroline O'Reilly | 172 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Socialist Labour | John McLeod | 163 | 0.4 | −0.5 | |
| Independent | Elaine Cooke | 127 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Socialist | Phil Clarke | 113 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Independent | Gene Dobbs | 47 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 2,737 | 6.9 | −5.6 | ||
| Turnout | 39,719 | 60.2 | +2.6 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | −2.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Des Turner | 18,745 | 47.8 | +1.2 | |
| Conservative | Geoffrey Theobald | 13,823 | 35.3 | −3.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Janet Marshall | 4,064 | 10.4 | +0.7 | |
| Green | Barney Miller | 1,290 | 3.3 | N/A | |
| UKIP | James Chamberlain-Webber | 543 | 1.4 | N/A | |
| Socialist Labour | John McLeod | 364 | 0.9 | +0.2 | |
| Free Party | Dave Dobbs | 227 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| ProLife Alliance | Elaine Cooke | 147 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Majority | 4,922 | 12.5 | +4.8 | ||
| Turnout | 39,203 | 57.6 | −13.0 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Des Turner | 21,479 | 46.6 | +14.0 | |
| Conservative | Andrew Bowden | 17,945 | 38.9 | −13.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Clive Gray | 4,478 | 9.7 | −4.2 | |
| Referendum | David Inman | 1,526 | 3.3 | N/A | |
| Socialist Labour | Hannah Williams | 316 | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Natural Law | Jeremy Bowler | 172 | 0.4 | −0.1 | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Lorrie Newman | 123 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Rainbow Dream Ticket | Richard Darlow | 93 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,534 | 7.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 46,132 | 70.6 | −5.5 | ||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing | +14.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrew Bowden | 21,129 | 48.1 | −5.4 | |
| Labour | Gill O. Haynes | 18,073 | 41.2 | +8.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul D. Scott | 4,461 | 10.2 | −3.4 | |
| Natural Law | Elizabeth J. Overall | 230 | 0.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,056 | 6.9 | −13.7 | ||
| Turnout | 43,893 | 76.1 | +1.6 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | −6.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrew Bowden | 24,031 | 53.5 | +2.4 | |
| Labour | Steve Bassam | 14,771 | 32.9 | +3.3 | |
| Liberal | Chris Berry | 6,080 | 13.6 | −5.0 | |
| Majority | 9,260 | 20.6 | −0.5 | ||
| Turnout | 44,882 | 74.5 | +3.0 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrew Bowden | 22,265 | 51.1 | ||
| Labour | Roderick Fitch | 12,887 | 29.6 | ||
| SDP | David Burke | 8,098 | 18.6 | N/A | |
| National Front | Ted Budden | 290 | 0.7 | ||
| Majority | 9,378 | 21.5 | |||
| Turnout | 43,540 | 71.5 | |||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrew Bowden | 25,512 | 53.6 | +7.7 | |
| Labour | Quintin Barry | 17,504 | 36.8 | −3.5 | |
| Liberal | S. Osbourne | 8,098 | 8.8 | −4.3 | |
| National Front | Valerie Tyndall | 404 | 0.8 | N/A | |
| Majority | 8,008 | 16.8 | +11.2 | ||
| Turnout | 47,599 | 74.2 | +1.9 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrew Bowden | 21,725 | 45.9 | −0.1 | |
| Labour | Dennis Hobden | 19,060 | 40.3 | +2.2 | |
| Liberal | S. Osbourne | 6,214 | 13.1 | −2.5 | |
| English National | Harvey Holford | 155 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Marxist-Leninist (England) | J. Buckle | 125 | 0.3 | ±0.0 | |
| Independent | Brian Ralfe | 47 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 2,665 | 5.6 | −2.3 | ||
| Turnout | 47,326 | 72.3 | −6.5 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrew Bowden | 23,504 | 46.0 | −3.3 | |
| Labour | Dennis Hobden | 19,484 | 38.1 | −4.8 | |
| Liberal | D. Hall | 7,954 | 15.6 | +7.8 | |
| Marxist-Leninist (England) | J. Buckle | 170 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 4,020 | 7.9 | +1.5 | ||
| Turnout | 51,112 | 78.8 | +3.8 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrew Bowden | 24,208 | 49.3 | +0.1 | |
| Labour | Dennis Hobden | 21,105 | 42.9 | −7.9 | |
| Liberal | Oliver Moxon | 3,833 | 7.8 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,103 | 6.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 49,146 | 75.0 | −5.1 | ||
| Conservativegain fromLabour | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Dennis Hobden | 24,936 | 50.8 | +0.8 | |
| Conservative | Andrew Bowden | 24,105 | 49.2 | −0.8 | |
| Majority | 831 | 1.6 | +1.6 | ||
| Turnout | 49,041 | 80.1 | +7.9 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Dennis Hobden | 22,308 | 50.0 | +6.4 | |
| Conservative | David James | 22,301 | 50.0 | −6.4 | |
| Majority | 7 | 0.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 44,609 | 72.2 | −1.6 | ||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | David James | 25,411 | 56.4 | ±0.0 | |
| Labour | Lewis Cohen | 19,665 | 43.6 | ±0.0 | |
| Majority | 5,746 | 12.8 | ±0.0 | ||
| Turnout | 45,076 | 73.8 | +3.8 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Howard Johnson | 23,142 | 56.4 | −1.2 | |
| Labour | Lewis Cohen | 17,885 | 43.6 | −0.8 | |
| Majority | 5,257 | 12.8 | +1.6 | ||
| Turnout | 41,027 | 70.0 | −7.1 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Howard Johnson | 25,923 | 55.6 | +6.8 | |
| Labour | Lewis Cohen | 20,726 | 44.4 | +2.1 | |
| Majority | 5,197 | 11.2 | +4.7 | ||
| Turnout | 46,649 | 77.1 | −0.9 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Howard Johnson | 22,431 | 48.8 | ||
| Labour | Joseph Huddart | 19,430 | 42.3 | ||
| Liberal | Robert Michael Buckley | 4,073 | 8.9 | ||
| Majority | 3,001 | 6.5 | |||
| Turnout | 45,934 | 78.0 | |||
| Conservativewin (new seat) | |||||