It will be a family affair in Southampton East when business Calvin Simons takes on his first cousin, Speaker Stanley Lowe.

United Bermuda Party candidate Mr. Simons has stood against Mr. Lowe in the past, coming off second best in an area that has long been a Progressive Labour Party stronghold.

Mr. Simons, a builder and developer who owns Premier Homes, is married to Joerether and has three children from a previous marriage. He was educated at Heron Bay Primary School, Southampton, and the former Churchill School in Prospect.

Mr. Simons says the area has been returning PLP MP's for 30 years and voters have been disappointed with them in government.

And he points out that if Mr. Lowe, who has successfully won nine times, is returned to office and is selected as Speaker again, the area will have no representation in the House of Assembly.

But in a constituency that is thought to be at least 90 percent black, Mr. Simons faces an uphill struggle to unseat Mr. Lowe.

“I am up against it, but I would say my chances are strong,” he said. “The PLP have been elected for 30 years and the community expected more from them once they were elected.

“The issues I am hearing are the same ones as nationally: drugs and crime, care for seniors, and all the other things the UBP believes could and should be changed.

“The voters tend to be entrenched PLP supporters but there has been a shift towards the undecided.”

•Mr. Lowe, who became the first black Speaker of the House of Assembly when the PLP won power in 1998, did not respond to requests for information and an interview for this article.