Why I won’t support labour

Eddie Izzard is standing to be Labour’s candidate in the Green Party’s only seat, sparking a backlash from Left-wing activists.



The comedian, who also goes by the name of Suzy, wants to contest Brighton Pavilion for Sir Keir Starmer’s party at the next election.



But environmentalists criticised the comic for entering the race to succeed Caroline Lucas, the former Green Party leader who is set to stand down next year.



Izzard, who has previously voiced ambitions to become a Cabinet minister, unsuccessfully stood to become a Labour candidate in Sheffield last year.



In a statement, Izzard attacked the Greens’ record and dismissed it as a party of “protest”.



“We all saw what happened under the Green council – house-building stalled whilst rubbish piled high in the streets,” said Izzard.



“It will take practical action – not protest – to fix what’s broken, and to win this seat, Labour needs a candidate that can inspire many thousands to become our friends and allies in the fight for a fairer, greener, cleaner planet.”



In a separate interview with The Argus, a local newspaper, Izzard praised Ms Lucas for having done a “wonderful job” in her 13 years as one of the city’s MPs – but added: “The Green Party is the party of protest, the Conservative Party is the party of chaos and Labour is the party of governance.”



‘Why the hell would you do that?’

If victorious, the comic will go up against Sian Berry, the Green Party’s candidate for the seat and a London Assembly member. She is also a former co-leader of the party.



Franny Armstrong, a film director who lives in Devon, said Izzard should have chosen another seat to stand in, adding: “Why the hell would you do that?”



Tom Scott, a Green Party activist from Cornwall, said the decision showed “what a depressingly cynical and pointless party Labour has become under Keir Starmer”.



Environmental activists fear Izzard, who would become Labour’s first transgender MP, might split the Left-wing vote.



Ms Lucas, the only Green politician ever to sit in the Commons, won Brighton Pavilion with a comfortable 20,000 majority at the 2019 general election.



Izzard, who grew up in Bexhill-on-Sea along the coast in East Sussex, would give up comedy if elected to Parliament.



Labour declined to comment on Izzard’s announcement. A timetable has not yet been set for the party’s selection process in Brighton Pavilion.