A Hove councillor has said fighting climate change and improving air quality in the city would be among her top priorities if she becomes an MP.

Birgit Miller, Labour councillor for Goldsmid, is running to be the party’s candidate for Brighton Pavilion at the next general election.

The constituency is currently represented by Green MP Caroline Lucas, who is standing down when voters next go to the polls.

Birgit is among four candidates vying to be Labour’s candidate in Brighton Pavilion, along with comedian Eddie Izzard, fellow Labour councillor Lucy Helliwell and activist Tom Gray.

Birgit said: “Our country needs more women MPs if we are to achieve equality.

“As a local woman living in Brighton and Hove and as a city councillor, I believe that I am well placed to understand the needs and ambitions of Brighton’s residents.

“I am a persistent and determined ward councillor, who works hard for her residents, dealing with hundreds of residents’ issues.

“I’m also a listening, unifying representative. I believe profoundly that my role is to represent everyone in my ward, not just those who voted for me, and see my role as unifying as much as representing.

“I love meeting residents and finding out how best to serve my community. This is exactly the kind of MP I will be - an MP who listens, engages, unifies and connects with their party membership and constituents, and who will also be a strong voice for Brighton Pavilion and its values.”

Birgit said that, as a union rep, she would champion workers’ rights and would also work to improve air quality in Brighton, fight climate change and demand more affordable housing in the city.

She said: “Every day, families are leaving Brighton in search of more affordable housing. Our country and our city are in desperate need of the massive social and council house-bulding program which Labour has promised and which only Labour governments ever fully deliver.”

Birgit also said she had been involved in supporting the city’s culture and heritage, including efforts to restore and reopen the Brighton Hippodrome.

While Labour is currently leading in the national polling, Birgit does not take a Labour victory at the general election as a given.

She said: “To effect proper change, to make this a country once again where everyone can thrive, Labour will need to win a stable majority. To achieve this, Labour will need to win every possible seat, including Brighton Pavilion.”

Birgit was diagnosed with ADHD two years ago and said she wants to become an MP to ensure neurodivergent people are represented in Parliament.

“Full representation for all the many groups in society who are currently under-represented in Parliament is needed for truly wise and equitable decisions, to create good and just outcomes for the whole of our society,” Birgit said.

Selection for Labour’s candidate in Brighton Pavilion will be voted upon by its members there on December 17.