LABOUR’S 20-year-old candidate for Brighton Pavilion has promised to bring new energy and determination to Westminster after being picked to contest Caroline Lucas’s seat.

University of Sussex politics student Solomon Curtis, who grew up in Hastings, has told The Argus his youth should count as a positive – a step towards a more representative Parliament.

Mr Curtis was selected by the party on Monday after previous candidate Michelle Thew stepped down.

A party spokeswoman said Ms Thew concluded she could not fight the election in addition to her job as chief executive of animal charity Cruelty Free International.

Speaking to The Argus, Mr Curtis said the election was “not about” whether he would be a better MP than the Green Party incumbent.

He said: “I think Caroline has been a really good servant to the Brighton area, she’s worked hard and I think Caroline and I agree on a lot of things.”

Asked whether he would be an improvement, he responded: “I’d be a different [MP] and I think different would be better for Brighton and the country.”

Mr Curtis was born in London in the year Tony Blair was first elected.

He was raised by his mother in Hastings and attended local state schools before doing his A-levels at a Kent grammar school.

In 2015, at 18, he ran as the Labour candidate in the safe Tory seat of Wealden.

He increased the Labour share of the vote by 1.2 per cent, although that was less than the national swing to Labour of 1.5 per cent, when crumbling Liberal Democrat support meant gains for Labour and the Tories.

‘CAROLINE AND I AGREE ON A LOT OF THINGS’

Solomon Curtis will hand his final dissertation in to the University of Sussex politics department tomorrow and in August he will be 21. But before that, he has a general election to fight. He told Joel Adams why he is asking for the votes of Brighton Pavilion constituents. 

You’re very young to be an MP. Why are you standing?

I think it’s important to have young candidates standing for MP. Parliament was set up as an institution to represent the population and we wouldn’t ask why would you put a woman up, or a black person up. It has to be a positive thing that we try to represent today’s population.

Our population includes criminals and the insane. Should they be represented pro-rata in Parliament?

I’m sure there are MPs who have previously made a wrong decision and have changed their life around.

So you think you have the experience for the role?

I think it’s about how we define experience. It’s the opportunity to bring new experience and new determination to the role. The experience that I have is going to be different and I’m not sure you can quantify it. I think Brighton is young and exciting and diverse and I certainly fit two of those criteria.

What is your greatest achievement?

That’s a really difficult question.It’s not that there a lack of things to choose from, I’m just thinking what the greatest would be. It’s where I’ve come to from where I was. A lot of people where I grew up, grew up with little aspiration. Not many people have a chance to represent where they live, in Parliament.

Why does Caroline Lucas deserve to lose her seat?

I don’t think it’s about that. I think Caroline has been a really good servant to the Brighton area, she’s worked hard and I think Caroline and I agree on a lot of things. The fact is it’s either going to be a Tory or Labour government and the people of Brighton I think want a Labour government.

Would you be a better MP than Caroline Lucas?

I’d be a different one and I think different would be better for Brighton and the country. I’ve got to make the point that I’m not here to criticise Caroline or to put her down.

Who got your vote for Labour leader?

Is that relevant? I’m really not interested in getting into details. I’ve always supported whoever was our leader. I supported Gordon Brown, and Ed and Jeremy. I voted for Jeremy both times. But it doesn’t matter who you voted for in the election, you support the leader.

Where do you stand on polices?

I support our whole policy platform. We’ve made housing a real priority – a million new homes. We have a housing crisis locally and we have to do something about it we have to build more council houses.

Even in Brighton?

One option is to identify brownfield where we can build new sites.

Do you support the renationalisation of the railways?

Absolutely but that doesn’t mean they should go back to what they were.

Do you agree with the party’s position on Trident?

I’ve always been in support of getting rid of our nuclear weapons. I’m in support of all countries getting rid of nuclear weapons.

Would you say you were an idealist?

No, I wouldn’t. I’d call myself a pragmatist. I’m not someone who’s going to have ideas that won’t work in the real world.

Are you going to win?

A lot of people told me in 2015 the Tories wouldn’t win a majority. I do think it’s possible. We heard people say they want to vote for Labour as an anti-austerity party. Now we are, I hope they will.