Greens losing Brighton Pavilion would be 'catastrophic,' electoral reform group says

Labour’s selection of Tom Gray in Brighton Pavilion represents a ‘ramping up of progressive infighting’ between Labour and the Greens and demonstrates the clear case for electoral reform, cross-party campaigners have claimed.

Brighton and Hove Compass, a cross-party campaign group focussed on campaigning for electoral reform and progressive cross-party working, said it would be a ‘catastrophe’ for the Greens to lose Brighton Pavilion, the party’s only seat in the country.

The group urged all candidates for the seat to back electoral reform to ensure seats match votes and the Green Party isn’t short-changed by our voting system in future.

Brighton Pavilion is currently the only Westminster seat held by the Green Party, and sitting MP Caroline Lucas won a majority of nearly 20,000 last time it was contested.

But with Lucas set to step down at the next election and Labour buoyed by a successful set of local elections in Brighton earlier this year, the parties look set to clash over the seat when it is next up for grabs.

This Sunday (December 17th), Labour announced Tom Gray had been selected to contest the seat at the next general election, expected some time next year.

The Green Party has already announced that former party leader Sian Berry will contest the seat on its behalf.

Brighton and Hove Compass responded to the selection news by warning against progressive infighting and encouraging all candidates contesting the seat to back electoral reform.

James Joughin, spokesperson for Brighton and Hove Compass, said:

“Labour’s selection of Tom Gray to be the party’s candidate for Brighton Pavilion represents a serious challenge to the Green Party’s only Westminster seat, and signals we are likely to see a ramping up of progressive infighting across the constituency ahead of the next general election.

“This comes just as we need greater cooperation between progressive parties to tackle rising inequality, combat the climate crisis, and rebuild our crumbling public services.

“This friction between Labour and the Greens is thanks to our winner-takes-all voting system, First Past the Post (FPTP), which turns the delicate dance of politics into a zero-sum game. There can only be one winner; Voting for Labour in Brighton Pavilion also means voting against the Green Party’s only MP.

“At the last election, the Green Party received 835,000 votes, but thanks to the twisted logic of FPTP, it won just one MP. If the Greens were to lose any representation at the national level, it would be a catastrophe - both for pluralistic progressive politics generally and for the hundreds of thousands of Green Party voters whom our electoral system has deprived of a voice.

“But things needn’t be this way. With a different voting system, we could ensure that seats match votes and people could vote for whichever party they want without fear of depriving another progressive of the representation they deserve.

“That’s why Compass is asking all candidates in Brighton Pavilion to back proportional representation, so that whoever wins will fight for democratic justice and help ensure the majority in Westminster reflects the progressive majority in the country.”