There was a dramatic local by-election result in Brighton last night, where Labour won a seat off the Greens in the Hanover and Elm Grove Ward, one of the safest in Caroline Lucas’s constituency. The party’s Emma Daniel took the seat by just 38 votes (1,396 to 1,358) but this represented a huge swing of 11.7% since 2011.
It would be a mistake to read much into the result, a reflection of local discontent with the Green council, which Lucas herself has protested against in response to pay cuts. But it is a reminder that there is no guarantee she will keep her seat in 2015. Lucas currently has a majority of 1,252 (2.4%), with Labour, which held the constituency between 1997 and 2010, in second place.
Brighton Pavilion is one of Labour’s 106 target seats (the 19th most marginal on the list) and with a hung parliament looking increasingly likely, the party has no intention of giving her a free run.
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