A FAMOUS musician who was born and bred in Colchester has been announced as the new general election candidate for Mid Sussex.

Dave Rowntree, best known for being the drummer of Blur, will stand for the Labour Party in Mid Sussex when voters next go to the ballot boxes.

If successful Dave, who attended the Gilberd School, would be the first Labour MP for the constituency.

Dave first started his career as a computer programmer at Colchester Council and later trained to be a solicitor in 2006 while Blur were on hiatus.

He said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to become Labour’s first Mid Sussex MP.

“Residents have their best chance in a generation to make their vote count and return a Labour MP to parliament. The Tories have run out of ideas, and the Lib Dems have run out of steam.

“I’m running for parliament to provide the energy and vision the area so desperately needs.”

The Mid Sussex seat was previously held by Sir Nicholas Soames - the grandson of Sir Winston Churchill - from 1997 to 2019.

It is unknown whether Dave will step down from being part of Blur, with the band reuniting for a Wembley stadium comeback last year.