Between now and the General Election on May 7 I'm highlighting a series of 'target seats', those where the candidate standing for re-election has supported anti-tobacco policies, and those where a leading candidate is an opponent of excessive lifestyle regulations and policies that infantilise us all. With a few exceptions I'm focussing on marginal or semi-marginal seats.
#16 - Brighton Kemptown
Elected in 2010, gaining the seat from Labour, Simon Kirby is one of the good guys. A former councillor and local businessman (he founded and later sold a Brighton-based pubco comprising 28 pubs and bars), the Daily Mail's Quentin Letts had this to say about him: "What I like about the fellow is that he does not bristle with pushy ambition or pointless indignation. He does not spout ghastly political slogans." In 2010 Kirby supported David Nuttall's Ten-Minute Rule Bill to amend the smoking ban and in 2011 he presented the JTI/Save Our Pubs & Clubs 'Best Smoking Area' award at the Great British Pub of the Year event, commenting: "I like the kind of pub that anyone can go to. Some pubs are more like restaurants. Others specialise in sport or music. I like a pub that makes an effort to appeal to everyone, and that includes adults who choose to smoke.” In August 2014 he was promoted to the role of PPS to the Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt and still voted against plain packaging of tobacco. A true star!
2010 majority: 1,328 (3.1%)
Estimated number of smokers in Brighton Kemptown: 13,201*
Principal opponent: Labour
Friend or foe: Friend
Target rating: Vulnerable – every vote counts
*Based on 20% of the registered electorate in 2010
Note: marginal seats have been defined as those with majorities of 10% or less that require a swing of 5% for the incumbent party to lose.