Latest challenger prepares for election battle with Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavilion

The latest challenger to Green MP Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavilion has been announced.

Liberal Democrat candidate Chris Bowers, 53, a Lewes district councillor from Ringmer, hopes to make it a four-way fight at the general election in May next year.

The contest is regarded by many as a head to head between Caroline Lucas and Labour candidate Purna Sen. The Conservatives are fielding Clarence Mitchell who, like Councillor Bowers, used to work for the BBC.

Chris Bowers

Councillor Bowers is a tennis commentator, journalist and biographer who has worked as part of the BBC Radio Five Live commentary team at Wimbledon.

Seven years ago he was elected to Lewes District Council and was leader of the council’s opposition Lib Dem group until February this year.

Councillor Bowers was the founder director of the Environmental Transport Association in 1990 and worked closely with Norman Baker in his successful general election campaign in 1997.

That was the year when Mr Baker was first elected MP for Lewes. He is now a Home Office minister in the coalition government.

Councillor Bowers stood in Wealden at the 2010 general election, coming second to the incumbent Conservative MP Charles Hendry.

Referring to his work in the world of tennis and his biography of Roger Federer, Councillor Bowers said: “There’s a little more to me than just fluffy yellow balls.”

He also written biographies of tennis champion Novak Djokovic and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg whose own experience of the game includes a thrashing at the hands of Prime Minister David Cameron.