Constituency profile

Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven

South East · Borough constituency

Chris Ward MP
Sitting MP

Chris Ward

Labour

First elected July 2024

Current PollCheck projection

Region & type
South East
Borough constituency
Last 5 GE winners
CCLLL
Labour 3/5, Conservative 2/5
EU referendum 2016
34.8% Leave
UK average 51.9%; -17.1pp below mean
Current outlook
Green +1.3pp
Vulnerability score 7/10 (Labour projected to lose)
SouthernStrong Remain area

About the Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven constituency

Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven is a borough constituency in the South East, spanning parts of Brighton and Hove, Lewes and neighbouring councils. The sitting MP is Chris Ward (Labour), first elected in July 2024.

At the 2024 general election, Labour won Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven with 44.0% of the vote, ahead of the Conservatives on 20.2%, a majority of 9,663 votes. Turnout was 59.2%.

If a general election were held today, PollCheck's projection at the current seven-poll average has the Greens on 25.9% and Labour on 24.6% in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, a margin of 1.3 points, a projected change from Labour since 2024. The projection updates automatically as new polls are added.

Demographically, Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven is a strongly Remain-voting area (an estimated 34.8% voted Leave in 2016). About 34.6% of residents hold a degree, 52.0% of homes are owner-occupied, and the seat has a median age of about 40 (2021 Census).

Across the last 5 general elections on record, the seat has been won by Labour 3 times, the Conservatives 2 times (earlier years may be on predecessor boundaries).

Who lives in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven? Constituency demographics

From the 2021 Census and 2016 EU referendum estimates. Constituency-level data on 2024 boundaries.

Leave vote 2016
34.8%
UK average ~52%
Degree or above
34.6%
UK average ~34%
No qualifications
17.5%
UK average ~18%
Owner-occupied
52.0%
UK average ~63%
Renting (social + private)
46.8%
UK average ~36%
Median age
40.5
UK median ~40
Age 65+
20.9%
UK average ~19%
Age 18-34
33.7%
UK average ~28%

How did Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven vote in 2024 and how would it vote now?

2024 vote shares from the HoC Library. Current projection is at the 7-poll average.

2024 general election

Lab hold · majority 9,663 votes (23.8pp) · turnout 59.2%

Current projection

If a general election were held today, at current poll average

Map of Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven

Switch between ward-level 2024 election winners and a demographic view. Ward winners are Britain Elects' / New Statesman modelled estimates with an average ~4pp margin of error per ward. The demographic view splits the seat into small neighbourhoods (around 1,500 residents each, from the 2021 Census). Hover any area for detail.

Council layer (not Westminster)

Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven within Brighton and Hove and Lewes

Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven crosses multiple council boundaries: Brighton and Hove (75%), Lewes (25%). None of the constituent district councils were in the 2026 election cycle, but the East Sussex County Council election was held on Thursday 7 May 2026; the county-division results covering this seat are shown below. The most recent district ward results are shown after them.

Council overlap

CouncilShare of seat
Brighton and Hove
43 LSOAs
75%
Lewes
14 LSOAs
25%

East Sussex County Council election, Thursday 7 May 2026

The county council is a separate tier of local government from the district council and from Westminster. These are the results for the county divisions covering this seat; vote shares are computed from the declared per-candidate ballots.

DivisionWinnerTop 3 vote sharesTurnout
PeacehavenRefRef 35% Lab 24% Con 19%41.4%
TelscombeRefRef 33% Lab 28% Con 16%45.1%

Recent council by-elections

Council ward by-elections held inside this seat, most recent first. The result column shows which party won; the share column shows the top three parties’ vote shares on the day.

DateWardResultTop 3 vote shares
19 Sep 2025Queen's Park
Brighton and Hove
Grn GAIN from Lab
9 May 2024Kemptown
Brighton and Hove
Lab GAIN from Ind
9 May 2024Queen's Park
Brighton and Hove
Lab GAIN from Ind

Most recent council ward results

Latest council winner per ward. Where the council held a May 2026 election, those results are shown; otherwise we show the most recent available ward result (via DCLEAPIL, 2014-2024), or, where the seat was uncontested at the last election, the current sitting councillor from OpenCouncilData. The "Shift since GE2024" column is only computed for May 2026 results - earlier council votes pre-date the GE, so no directional shift is shown.

Ward GE2024 winner Latest council winner Shift since GE2024 Turnout

Projection trajectory

PollCheck's projection for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven at each of the last 60 GB polls. Hover the chart for the underlying poll details.

Who has won Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven at past general elections?

2024 result is on current boundaries. The 2019 row is the UK Parliament's notional recalculation onto the 2024 boundaries (directly comparable to 2024). The 2010, 2015 and 2017 rows are on the boundaries in force at the time and aren't directly comparable.

Year Result MP Lab Con LD Right (Ref/UKIP) Green Other Majority Turnout
2010predecessorCon gain from LabSimon Kirby Brighton, Kemptown MP34.9%38.0%18.0%3.2% UKIP5.5%0.5%1,32864.7%
2015predecessorCon holdSimon Kirby Brighton, Kemptown MP39.2%40.7%3.0%9.8% UKIP7.0%0.3%69066.8%+2.1
2017predecessorLab gain from ConLloyd Russell-Moyle Brighton, Kemptown MP58.3%38.3%3.0%--0.4%9,86872.5%+5.7
2019notionalLabour winnerLloyd Russell-Moyle Brighton, Kemptown MP, pre-review boundary51.2%34.4%6.0%-5.7%2.7%8,28070.8%
2024Lab holdChris Ward44.0%20.2%9.7%-19.7%6.4%9,66359.2%-11.6

Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven was created or substantially redrawn by the 2023 boundary review. Pre-2024 rows below are for the predecessor seat Brighton, Kemptown (the seat that covered most of this area), so vote shares and majorities aren’t directly comparable to the post-2024 figures.

Constituencies most like Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven

Five seats with similar demographic profiles to Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven. Politics shown for context.

What would change this seat?

Move the sliders to set national vote shares. The per-seat projection updates live. Reset returns to the current 7-poll average.

Related

Sources

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