ED MILIBAND said it was vital for his party to win back all three Brighton and Hove parliamentary seats if he hoped to become the country's next Prime Minister.

Speaking to The Argus, the Labour leader praised all three of his party's city candidates saying he was “incredibly proud” of all three of them.

He called on party activists to get behind the trio and take to the streets in order to secure success in May.

Speaking at the event at the Old Market Theatre, in Upper Market Street, he told the audience he knew all three candidates “very well” and said they were “brilliant people who would make brilliant representatives”.

The party lost control of all three seats at the last election and face a fierce battle to win them back in May.

The most recent poll by Conservative party funder Lord Ashcroft, from October, had Labour holding a 37% to 34% lead over the Conservatives in Hove.

It is similarly tight in Brighton Kemptown with Labour's Nancy Platts holding a three-point lead over incumbent Simon Kirby although the party has some ground to make up in Brighton Pavilion where they trail Caroline Lucas by ten points according to Lord Ashcroft's most recent polling for each area.

Hove, which the party lost to the Conservatives in 2010, was the latest marginal seat to welcome the party's People's Question Time event which has been touring the country since January.

Scores of floating voters who Labour doorsteppers have met over the past few months were invited to the event.

Mr Miliband took more than a dozen unvetted questions from the floor on a whole range of subjects including immigration, electoral reform, Ukraine, the role of the police and mental health services.

The Labour leader promised voters he would get back to them on a range of specialised subjects including treatment for Hepatitis C, the single-tier pension for women born between 1951 and 1953 and monetary policy.

He told the meeting that it was up to ordinary people to make the difference in this vital election.

He said: “If you like Peter Kyle, Nancy and Purna please go out and work for them.

“Don't wake up on May 8 saying they were really good and really impressive, shame they did not get in and I wish I had done more.

“If you have weddings or DIY, put them off for 66 days.”

Will Sawney, marketing manager at The Old Market, said: “We were delighted that Labour chose The Old Market to host their debate this morning, particularly in the light of Ed Miliband's speech last week on the importance of the arts industry.”