Our meet the candidate candidate today is Chris Bowers, who is standing for the Liberal Democrats in Wealden.

The Argus (TA): What is the biggest single issue in the constituency you are standing in?

Chris Bowers (CB): NHS and social care. There are a lot of elderly people in Wealden and many houses are being built without the necessary surgeries and hospitals residents will rely on.

TA: Do you believe that Brexit can bring about a positive change to Sussex?

CB: No. For the sake of today’s young generation I hope I’m wrong, but I just don’t see how we’ll benefit from Britain being outside the EU, especially an area like Sussex that’s much closer geographically to parts of mainland Europe than to much of our own country.

TA: Who will win this election?

CB: The Conservatives but their majority may not be as big as many expect.

The way they’re focusing on Theresa May rather than the party suggests they know the party is unpopular but I’m not sure the May cult will last.

She’s clearly very competent but there is something rather cold about her.

Also, there are a lot of people who don’t normally vote who could make for some shock results if they turned out in large numbers.

TA: Who is your political hero and why?

CB: I don’t like deifying individuals. We’re all a mixture of good and not-so-good attributes, so I’d rather pick elements of various people.

Even though I never bought into the full CND argument, Bruce Kent was an inspirational figure.

Anita Roddick was heroic for bringing ethics to the high street.

Nick Clegg is a first-rate human being who gave the British people what they wanted, but stumbled over the fact that people want their politicians to be Superman more than they realise.

I admired Ted Kennedy for his ability to get things done by making alliances with political foes.

And having worked on The Alternative with Caroline Lucas, I find her one of the most inspirational figures in today’s British politics, even though we disagree on a few things.

TA: What has been the best moment you have had out campaigning?

CB: A few days ago I was recognised in the supermarket from our Facebook work, which suggested that the effort we’re putting into social media is paying off.

TA: Is this election necessary considering we already have a majority Government that was due to run until 2020?

CB: No. It’s an opportunist move by Theresa May because she reckons Jeremy Corbyn might not be Labour leader for long so wants to strike now.

Any early election should have been late 2018 or early 2019 so it could act as a proxy referendum on the Brexit deal.

TA: Can voters be confident that our current system is the best way to select a government?

CB: No way.

Our voting system deprives most voters of a voice.

We would never tolerate silencing people’s right to free speech, so why do we deny all but about 100,000 people a meaningful vote?

I favour the Additional Member System used for Scottish elections.