Green MP Caroline Lucas has used her first House of Commons speech to heap praise on Brighton’s independent spirit – and warn that the popularity of the city is making life harder for many residents.

The Green Party Leader, who was elected Brighton Pavilion’s first woman MP and Britain’s first Green representative in Parliament at this month’s general election, delivered her maiden speech during a debate on the environment, in which she called for dramatic cuts to the nation’s carbon emissions to tackle climate change.

Dr Lucas, who described her election win as “the latest radical move the people of Brighton have made”, said: “Brighton has always had a tradition of independence - of doing things differently. It has an entrepreneurial spirit, making the best of things whatever the circumstances, and enjoying being ahead of the curve.

“We see this in the number of small businesses and freelancers within the constituency, and in the way in which diversity is not just tolerated, or respected, but positively welcomed and valued.”

She joked: “You have to work quite hard to be a local character in Brighton.”

Alongside tourism and education, the MP said the city’s biggest employers were in the public and voluntary sectors, which the UK continued to “depend” on.

She said: “All those who work for the state should be respected and their contribution valued, and particularly at a time of cuts, with off-hand comments about bureaucrats and pencil-pushers, that becomes even more important.”

Dr Lucas said the attractions of Brighton, with its shops and cafes in the Lanes and North Laine, the Pier, conference centre and the Royal Pavilion, along with the “quietly beautiful countryside” of the South Downs and the Sussex Weald just beyond its boundaries, could also create challenges for residents.

She said: “The very popularity of the city puts pressure on transport and housing and on the quality of life. Though there is prosperity, it’s not shared equally. People are proud of Brighton, but they believe it can be a better and fairer place to live and work.

“I pledge to do everything I can to help achieve that, with a particular focus on creating more affordable and more sustainable housing, because 11,000 families are on the housing waiting list in the city and we need urgent action.”

The MP paid tribute to her predecessor, Labour’s David Lepper, whom she described as “an enormously hard-working and highly-respected member whose qualities transcend any difference of party”.

She vowed to continue her fight for action on climate change, calling for emission cuts of 10%, “every year, year on year, until we reach a zero carbon economy”.

She added: “The good news is that the action that we need to tackle climate change is action which can improve the quality of life for all of us - better, more affordable public transport, better insulated homes, the end of fuel poverty, stronger local communities and economies, and many more jobs.”