The defeated Conservative candidate Mike Weatherley (below) puts a brave spin on the Tories' failure to win seats from Labour at the election, saying they "did well" and made "great advances".

In fact, while the Tory vote rose nationally by just one per cent, the Conservative vote fell in all three Brighton and Hove constituencies by up to two and a half per cent.

Despite spending tens of thousands of pounds and with Tory HQ targeting two of the three seats using their call centres and direct mailing, the Tories in Brighton and Hove are going backwards, even after eight years in opposition.

Michael Howard's focus on immigration and his plans to cut publicservice spending clearly played even worse in the city than elsewhere.

-Elisabeth Telcs, Brighton