The Green Party has won the Goldsmid byelection in Brighton and Hove, overturning a 20% Labour majority to take their eleventh seat on the city council.
Nadia Barton Ahmad, 22, topped the poll with 2,037 votes, ahead of Labour's Philip Berman on 1,357. The result, declared after a hard-fought campaign that concluded on the hottest day of the year so far, reduces Labour's majority to 33 seats of the 54 seats on the council. It marks the Greens' second byelection win over Labour in nine months, following their electoral success in Queen's Park last September.
There are three council seats in the Goldsmid ward. Two of these remain Labour-held and are represented by Councillor Birgit Miller and Councillor Trevor Muten.
Barton Ahmad, a local community campaigner, ran on a platform centred on protecting green spaces, supporting small businesses and improving street safety. Speaking at the count, she said residents had raised concerns ranging from the cost of living and housing conditions to the state of local services, adding: "These conversations have stayed with me and will shape my work as a councillor. They are also a reminder that politics matters because people's lives matter."
Full results
- Nadia Barton Ahmad, Green Party – 2,037 votes
- Philip Berman, Labour Party – 1,357 votes
- Louis Bird, Conservative Party – 210 votes
- Glenn Kelly, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition – 31 votes
- Kim Marie Leyland-Walker, Liberal Democrats – 214 votes
- Luke Willmoth, Reform UK – 304 votes
The turnout in the Goldsmid by-election was 35.84%.
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