Rugby League is a tough sport and from the pugnacious approach he is taking to his campaigning it’s easy to understand how Liberal Democrat Nick Perry found himself playing the sport to a very high level.

The man who is making his fourth attempt to become Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye won a Cambridge Blue and a student international cap for his endeavours on the rugby pitch.

This week it is the local Conservative Party – still without a candidate to contest the Hastings and Rye constituency at an election that is just over five weeks away – who he has in his sights. They are, he says: “…taking local voters for granted”.

Speaking after his formal adoption at the Liberal Democrats’ AGM at the weekend he said: “Perhaps I should not complain that the Conservatives have so far failed to announce a candidate, but their disorganisation does suggest that local people should think very carefully about whether to support them, particularly if they have voted Conservative in the past.

“By contrast, the Liberal Democrats have had a flying start in this campaign. We have made contact with thousands of voters already. Many former Conservative supporters have told us they will be switching away from a party that is increasingly seen as extreme and unreliable.

“My own priorities for this campaign are very clear. They are to stop Brexit; tackle the climate crisis; and to secure local jobs and services.”

It is expected that the Conservatives will announce their candidate towards the end of this week or early next week. In September Amber Rudd, who has represented Hastings and Rye as a Conservative since 2010, resigned the party whip and announced she would not contest the seat again. More recently Ms Rudd announced that she would not be standing at all in the forthcoming election but says she’s “not finished with politics”.

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