Izzard Loses Bid for Brighton Labour

News Desk

London: Eddie Izzard, the 61-year-old comedian and activist, faced disappointment in her recent attempt to secure Labour’s candidacy as an MP for the upcoming general election.

Despite announcing her bid in August to represent Labour in Brighton Pavilion, she was edged out for the candidacy by Tom Gray, a renowned musician from the band Gomez and an activist in his own right.

Expressing gratitude on X (formerly Twitter) after being chosen by the local Labour branch, Mercury Prize winner Tom Gray acknowledged Izzard and other candidates for their display of “solidarity and integrity” during the campaign.

Izzard had outlined her plans to advocate for a creative education system fueled by passion, work towards increasing the availability of affordable housing, allocate more funds to the NHS, and become a champion for mental health issues had she been selected.

This setback marks the second time the comedian missed the opportunity, having previously vied for the Labour candidacy in Sheffield Central last year.

Labour aims to secure Brighton Pavilion for the first time since 2005 following Green MP Caroline Lucas’s decision to step down. Lucas, the initial and thus far only Green MP in the House of Commons, secured a substantial majority of nearly 20,000 votes in 2019.

Sian Berry, who placed third in the 2021 London mayoral election, has been chosen as Lucas’s successor in the constituency.

In a separate contest last year, Izzard also faced defeat in her attempt to become the candidate in the safe Labour seat of Sheffield Central, losing to a local councillor.

The report has been published on Sky News website on December 18, 2023.