[5][6] 1950–1955: The County Borough of Brighton wards of Elm Grove, Hanover, King's Cliff, Lewes Road, Moulsecoomb, Pier, Queen's Park, Rottingdean, and St John's.

[7] 1955–1983: The County Borough of Brighton wards of Elm Grove, Falmer, Hanover, King's Cliff, Lewes Road, Moulsecoomb, Pier, Queen's Park, Rottingdean, and Warren.

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the renamed constituency (based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020) was expanded slightly in order to bring the electorate within the permitted range by transferring from Brighton Pavilion part of the Hanover and Elm Grove ward – namely polling district PHEA, and that part of polling district PHEF to the east of Queen's Park Road.

From west to east it includes Queen's Park; Kemptown, the centre of Brighton's LGBTQ+ community; the council estates of Whitehawk and Moulsecoomb; and beyond the racecourse affluent and genteel coastal villages like Rottingdean, Woodingdean, Saltdean and the town of Peacehaven.

The seat was a national bellwether constituency from 1979 to 2015, but in 2017 elected a Labour MP when the country as a whole returned a hung parliament with the Conservatives being the largest party by a margin of 56 MPs.

[14] On 29 May 2024, Russell-Moyle announced that he had received a letter that he had been suspended from membership of the Labour Party, because of what he believed was a vexatious complaint, which made him ineligible to be their candidate at the 2024 United Kingdom general election.