Could a vote for ‘Rosie Duffield’ gain a head of steam in Brighton Pavilion?

(This item first appeared in the Brighton Argus on 20th March 2024)

Some people in Brighton Pavilion are considering voting for a surprise, unofficial, candidate. She will not be on the ballot paper, but people have told me that they might write her name at the bottom of the ballot. She is not seeking nomination here and almost certainly will not endorse this move. She might even publicly denounce it. What is more, she will be standing for the Labour Party in the Kent constituency she already represents.

So why are people in Brighton Pavilion considering voting for Rosie Duffield? She won’t be elected here, and any vote for her will be counted as a spoiled ballot and won’t count. ‘Vote Duffield’ was my wife’s proposal. Rosie Duffield is the Labour MP for Canterbury but she was vilified on social media and shunned by Labour’s leadership because of her gender-critical views. She, like many of us, does not believe that anyone can change their sex regardless of how they might choose to live their lives.  

Tom Gray and Siân Berry

I don’t know how many will vote for ‘Rosie Duffield’. It might be just a small handful or it could yet gain a head of steam. Much depends on what the official Labour candidate, Tom Gray, says on the protection of single-sex spaces for those born female, spaces such as hospital wards, changing rooms, toilets, refuges and rape crisis services.

Siân Berry has had a consistent take on this issue. Her view is that transgender women (those born male) should be allowed to use women-only spaces even if they have all their male bits intact (my words, not hers). The Greens have lost support amongst many women and men because they relentlessly prioritise trans rights over women’s sex-based rights, their failure to investigate a Green Party member, the paedophile David Challenor, and their unlawful discrimination against their former deputy leader, Shahrar Ali, who holds gender-critical views. 

Siân has said she will never compromise on trans rights. Tom Gray, on the other hand, seems very reluctant to say what he believes or if he believes anything at all!  He has been challenged on social media to say where he stands, and some constituents have written to him on the issue. I have been told that he has not replied. 

In my first column this year, I wrote about the potential for this to be an election issue in Brighton Pavilion: “Tom will need to say where he stands. The trans rights lobby, including those in his own party, is very vociferous, especially on social media, but they are not significant electorally.” I pointed out that Labour has shifted from its previous support for self-identification which would have allowed people to legally change gender without a medical diagnosis and has, instead, recommitted itself to ensuring that some single-sex services and places should be accessed by biological women only. 

I have written to Tom asking for his views on this matter but was referred to the regional press office. I wrote to the named press officer, several times over a few weeks, but have had no response. Are they still captured by the trans-rights activists? Why are they unwilling to repeat the party’s new policy? So I wrote again to Tom, as have others who have contacted me. Tom has not replied to them either. If I was still a Labour member in Brighton Pavilion (I resigned my party membership back in 1994) I would be thoroughly disappointed and disillusioned by Tom’s non-campaign.

Why can’t Tom say that he supports the policy of his Party (even if his leader, Sir Keir Starmer can’t quite bring himself to say “sex-based rights”, preferring to refer to “safe spaces”)? Perhaps he feels that he cannot go against those vociferous activists who hold a different view to the party’s policy, as does the MP for Brighton Kemptown, Lloyd Russell-Moyle. If Tom is running scared of his own Party members, what will he be like when faced with more formidable opponents and vested interests when he is an MP?

A recent opinion poll put Siân Berry at almost 50% with Tom Gray at 37%. He needs something to ignite his rather odd and lacklustre campaign. If he could harness the ‘gender critical’ vote, then the result could be closer than it is currently likely to be. But for now, imagine the scene at the election count as Siân narrowly wins the seat, aided by outraged ‘Duffield’ votes that could otherwise have gone to Labour. It would be too late for regrets.

Eddie Izzard’s Political Obituary

Congratulations to Tom Gray on his selection as the Labour candidate for Brighton Pavilion. The contest between him and Siân Berry will be fascinating, and I will write about this in more detail at a later date. For now I wish to focus on the political obituary of Eddie Izzard.

Eddie Izzard (photo credit Brighton Argus / Andrew Gardner)

There are a number of points worth  noting, the first being the ludicrous decision of the Labour Party to shortlist him. As I have said before, like Siân Berry, Izzard is not local which, if selected, would have denied Labour a critical advantage over the greens. And given he will be spending the first part of 2024 in New York, he would not have had time to establish himself locally as Siân Berry has done. 

But his performance in the selection campaign has been woeful, as is his grasp of policy issues. Rachel Cashman, one of those who attended the hustings meeting this afternoon, said on : “… history revisionism and ‘trans candidate’ aside, I was struck by just how poor, unfocused, incoherent, lacking in policy or position, local knowledge & unable to answer questions Izzard was.”

Over the last few weeks Izzard raised a number of issues that he said he wished to prioritise. Amongst these, he said he would “fight to keep our schools open”, increase “good, green jobs of the future here in Brighton”, “enhance Brighton’s cultural offering”, “bring global investment to the city”, “work with the police to bring community policing onto the streets of Brighton Pavilion”, “champion the arts and ensure creativity is always celebrated”, and “… make Brighton Pavilion a model for sustainable urban living”. 

All the above would be great but an MP has little practical influence over any of the above. Perhaps he should have put himself forward as a candidate for the by-election in South Portslade given that the arts, economic development, community policing in a locality are influenced more by local councillors than by a Member of Parliament. How could Eddie Izzard be so lacking in understanding about Parliament and local councils? Why was he not vetted properly by the Labour Party before allowing him to make an utter fool of himself?

He said that because of his profile as a comedian, he was “excited to elevate Brighton Pavilion’s profile”. Forgive me for being a cynic but I suspect that the profile of this city is far greater than that of a has been comedian.

But most of all, there was something about Eddie Izzard that many, many people in Brighton and Hove would find unacceptable. I’m not judgemental and not prejudicial, but some things are just not acceptable to any reasonably-minded Brightonian. Eddie Izzard is a Crystal Palace supporter.

I suspect that this is it for Eddie Izzard’s aspirations to become a Member of Parliament. Given that he has said that “fighting for Brighton in Parliament would be the culmination of a lifelong journey” and that “every step I’ve taken has led me here”, how can he possibly assert a commitment to any other town or city foolish enough to consider him as a candidate.

My response to the Autumn Statement: utterly disappointing, duplicitous and devious

Jeremy Hunt presenting his Autumn Statement

What an utter disappointment. The autumn statement was supposed to offer hope for millions of people and to revive the election fortunes of the Conservative Party.  But when you look beyond the smoke and mirrors of the statement itself, the situation for many people will just get worse. And so will the prospects of Conservative candidates up and down the country.

When it comes to housing, the headline grabbing measure was returning local housing allowance (LHA) to the 30th centile (the amount people can claim towards their housing costs). It will make some homes marginally more affordable, but this is almost completely undermined by the hidden announcement that LHA will then once again be frozen for the next four years. This will take us back to where we are currently with housing becoming even more unaffordable and will mean that the housing crisis will continue to get worse.

And as for the government’s pledge to end rough sleeping by the end of the 2025, the government is going to miss this commitment by miles given the absence in this statement (and absent in every budget and autumn statement for 13 years) of proper investment in social housing for rent.

The 2% reduction in national insurance contributions won’t help people on the lowest pay or people out of work. And ordinary people (dare I say ‘hard working families’) will be paying more in tax even after this 2% reduction in NI. Why? Because the threshold for paying tax continues to be frozen meaning that ordinary people will be paying more in tax than ever before. Duplicitous and devious if you ask me.  

One thing that will help people on the lowest income is the increase in the national minimum wage. But this is paid by employers and not the government.

I like what Kevin Maguire, from The Mirror said: “If the Tories really think what the Hunt has announced today will somehow save them at the polls, the men in white coats should come along and take them away…”.

Why choosing Eddie Izzard as its candidate in Brighton Pavilion would be a disaster for the Labour Party

When the Green Party selected Sian Berry to be its candidate to defend the Brighton Pavilion seat at the next general election, I wrote that “Sian has no know links to the city while being heavily committed to London. She will be seen as a carpetbagger and an opportunist who is being parachuted in from afar.” A bit harsh, perhaps, but a positive factor for Labour.

I also warned that Labour “has been slow off the mark in selecting its candidate, surprising really as Brighton Pavilion is one of its key targets…” I said that the party “needs to select a sensible, local candidate. Choose badly and it might let the Greens back in.”

Eddie Izzard (photo credit Brighton Argus / Andrew Gardner)

So today’s news today that Eddie Izzard wants to be Labour’s candidate must be music to the ears of Sian Berry and the Greens. Like Berry, Izzard has no know links to the city while being heavily committed elsewhere, will be seen as a carpetbagger and an opportunist who is parachuting in from afar.” Choosing Izzard would neutralise an advantage that Labour might otherwise have.

One must also question whether Izzard is best suited to be a candidate in one of the most demanding of parliamentary seats. It is one thing for a celebrity to make a brief entrance to help with campaigning on a particular day, to be photographed and adored, before heading off to their next stop on the celebrity campaign trail.

It is another thing to slog their way around the constituency, night after night. There won’t be cameras and adoring crowds on a cold, wet Tuesday evening in Brentwood Road. (For Sian and Eddie’s benefit, Brentwood Road is in Hollingdean, a housing estate off Ditching Road accessed by the No 50 bus).

Choosing Sian Berry was not the best choice by the Greens. Choosing Eddie Izzard over a local candidate would be a mistake for Labour.

(See here for why I believe that the Greens will lose Brighton Pavilion at the next general election)