Brighton MP to step down as councillor

Lloyd-Russell Moyle said: "I have asked the party to start the process of selecting the new candidate. That is going on now.

"Then after that the local ward is selecting who they want. That is ongoing with the intention that I will stand down at the end of the year."

He said it was for the council to then decide when a by-election would take place.

"I have very much enjoyed my time at the council," Mr Russell Moyle said. "And I'm delighted to continue to represent the area and the wider area in parliament."

Mr Russell-Moyle was elected as a councillor for East Brighton in a by-election last August, after Maggie Barredell, also Labour, stood down.

He was then elected MP for Brighton Kemptown in June this year, beating Conservative Simon Kirby by 10,000 votes.

Nancy Platts, Labour candidate for Brighton Kemptown in 2015, and in Brighton Pavilion in 2010, is the favourite to replace Mr Russell-Moyle

She had recently been working under Jeremy Corbyn in the lead of the opposition's office as trade union liaison manager.

As well as Mr Russell-Moyle, East Brighton is represented by two other Labour councillors; council leader Warren Morgan, and deputy council leader Gill Mitchell.