Eddie Izzard suggests transphobia affected bid to become Brighton MP

Eddie Izzard, also known as Suzy, was hoping to become Labour's parliamentary candidate in Brighton Pavillion but was defeated by Tom Gray.

In an interview with The Times, she has suggested that her defeat may have been due in part to transphobia.

Eddie, comedian and activist, came out as transgender in 1985, but announced in 2020 that she was “based in girl mode from now on”, switching to she/her pronouns.

She said: “If you’re transphobic, getting a trans MP is not what you want. Then if you get one, you’re probably going to get two.

“The average person will say, ‘you’re going to be an MP, great,’ but politicos are different. Politicos have a set of criteria that they vote on and they want you to replicate them. Are you exactly representative of me?

“But when you get to the selection process it’s, ‘yes, like the energy, but do you think exactly like I do?’ And if you’re even slightly different, well.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll carry on. I’ll get to be an MP. I’ve just got to keep pushing.”

Eddie, 62, spoke to The Argus on her candidacy campaign in 2023.

She said: “I really want to be in politics. My heritage is down here and I will bring all the energy from everything I’ve done before.

“I want to promote the successes of Brighton so people in this country and around the world can know more and more about it.”

Eddie has lived in Bexhill since she was seven and attended Bede’s Prep School, in Eastbourne, and Eastbourne College.

Brighton Pavilion is expected to be a contested seat following the stepping down of Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas, replaced by Sian Berry.

Eddie previously told The Argus: “Caroline Lucas has done a wonderful job. She has been a great MP and has protested strongly for 13 years and I salute the hard work that she has put in.

“However, one MP can’t make a government. The Green Party is the party of protest, the Conservative Party is the party of chaos and Labour is the party of governance.”