I have great admiration for our new Hove MP Celia Barlow.

She was elected when all the odds were against her.

Her Conservative opponent ran a strong and good election campaign.

He conducted it with great courtesy and first-rate publicity and yet, in the end, a modest, low-key female who came very late to the campaign won the seat.

The great thing I admire about her is she has not lost her youthful vision and idealism.

She told Andy Tate she joined the Labour Party at the age of 16 to fight for social justice and equality (The Argus, May 17).

These are ideals which still need fighting for, not only in this country, but throughout the world.

Furthermore, Celia is a person who knows her own mind and is not afraid to disagree with the party leadership when she believes it is wrong.

Her refusal to support the Government over the war in Iraq probably saved the seat for Labour.

I wish her well in her fight for Falmer and also in her desire to seek to persuade the Government to encourage vocational education in schools.

This is of immediate local need in Brighton and Hove where there are very serious skill shortages, particularly in the building trades.

As a Christian, I shall pray for her that she may stand for righteousness and truth in political life and resist the temptation to compromise for the sake of political advancement or financial inducement.

Being an MP is no easy task and she will need the encouragement and goodwill of all voters, whatever their political persuasion.

Keep the vision you had as a 16-year-old, Celia, and God bless you.

-Rev John Webster, Hove