AN MP has revealed what life is like living with HIV and being a gay politician.

In 2018, Brighton Kemp Town representative Lloyd Russell-Moyle became the first MP to announce in the House of Commons that he is HIV positive.

During an interview on The Argus Podcast, the 35-year-old recalled the “traumatic” experience of finding out his HIV status, but said Brighton can lead the charge towards the UK abolishing transmissions.

“When I found out, I wanted it to be a horrible joke – you are desperate for it to be anything else or a dream. You hope you’ll be woken up or sucked through the roof,” he said. “But if you live in fear and don’t get tested, you will die.

“We have a situation in this country where if you take your medication, like I do, one pill a day, you are undetectable. If they do a test on my blood, they can’t detect HIV. That means I can’t pass it on.

“If I’m undetectable and can’t pass it on, that means no more transmissions. Across the country, if we get everyone on medication, we could eradicate this disease.”

Lloyd said he chose to disclose his HIV status publicly to avoid “bribery” and threats” from anyone who could have exposed it.

“It was important that nobody had anything over me," he said. "The only people that should have something over me are the people of Kemp Town on election day.”

Born in Royal Sussex County Hospital, Lloyd said his home town is as diverse as any.

The openly gay MP said when standing for election he was warned that while his sexuality was not a problem, his hair colour may be.

“I had one person say they’ll not have a problem with your sexuality, but they might have a problem that you’re ginger – and they were serious,” he said. “I’ve had more abuse about being ginger than I have about being gay in the area.

“The question is, do you use your experience to help inform your politics. The kind of MP I am, I like to be informed by my experiences and being gay is one of the experiences that I have in life.”

And while hesitant to pick a favourite, Lloyd said he still frequents several nightclubs in the area.

“I have my favourites. In the last year, I’ve probably been to Revenge two or three times, but I probably go to Legends just as many times, if not more,” he said.

“It would be amiss of me to say I had a favourite. It’s like a parent that has children, you never say which ones your favourite as the others might get jealous – or maybe be relieved.”

The full episode of The Argus Podcast featuring Lloyd Russell-Moyle will be available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts on Saturday, January 29.