Torbay Today News

WHY THE LURE OF WESTMINSTER IS SO ATTRACTIVE
Western Morning News
11:00 - 08 September 2007

For most people, lingering reports that Gordon Brown might call an election in the autumn are easily ignored as just Westminster whispers.But for a handful of political anoraks across the Westcountry, the Prime Minister's plans to go to the country could change their lives forever. They are the peculiar breed of politician known as "parliamentary candidates" - and it can cost them tens of thousands of pounds for the privilege.

They pop up in local papers with their views on everything from dog's mess to the war in Iraq, but can do little about either. They can shake hands and attend meetings - but until a full-blown election campaign swings into action they must resist too much in the way of kissing babies. In fact they can't really do anything except talk - and at times it can be hard to get anyone to listen.

Yet many in Devon and Cornwall have been selected - for all the main parties - for some time in preparation for polling day. Some are even veterans of the battle, having stood, and lost, before.

But what makes people give up their well-paid job - or work part-time - to spend days on end pounding the streets in all weathers, to sit through endless meetings and try to convince the local paper to print their photo of them standing near a police station?

Clearly the prospect of a seat in the House of Commons - with the £60,000-plus salary and perks - is a big draw, along with the potential to claw their way up the greasy pole to high office. At this stage, of course, the talk is of making a difference to society and "giving something back".

If any of them do find they are able to park themselves on the famous green benches it will not have been an easy ride. With few very safe seats in the Westcountry, the fight is on for every vote. But all that campaigning can come at a cost, both emotionally and financially.

Marcus Wood, a headhunter who spends two days a week "working" as the Tory candidate in Torbay, calculated that his failed bid to win the seat at the last election cost "well over £150,000".

He includes loss of earnings leading up to the election and then restoring his momentum afterwards, relocation, donations and supporting costs - no wonder every candidate admits it's "a massive financial commitment".

"The fact is that being a candidate and nursing a seat is a huge commitment not just for oneself but also for the family," Marcus told the WMN.

Even visits from party leader David Cameron - a coup for any candidate - require time off work, only possible with "a forgiving boss".

But he said the financial pressures were the "most difficult thing" about being a part-time politician. He has campaigned for more support for candidates so that people from less well-off backgrounds can get their foot on the political ladder.

"I'm not complaining, but a lot of people think you get paid for it, and you don't. My concern about the financial commitment is not my money, but if you really want to have an interesting supply of people into politics it needs to be looked at.

"We are not going to get people who have modest means - mechanics or self-employed plasterers cannot bring their experience, but these people need to be represented in Parliament."

He said local Conservative associations needed to be more understanding and supportive of candidates instead of being "tempted sometimes to go for someone with lots of money because it helps their fundraising".

"We need to represent people of all ages and means. At the moment unless you have means it is much tougher - it's a major, major challenge."

In particular he thinks politics needs more people in their 40s. "It's the very age that people make great politicians because they have got the life experience but they have also experienced work pressures," he says.

His sentiments are echoed by Judy Robinson, the Labour candidate hoping to win the new seat of Camborne and Redruth.

She said: "I am pleased to be doing it now rather than earlier. I am not trying to make rules for everyone else but I don't think it's the sort of thing I could have done with a young family.

"Having had experience of things like the health service and education system helps. This is a really good age for me personally. The family ties are loosened and it's a good time to do it. I have got some perspective on life."

Clearly not everyone who has passed through the NHS or struggled with their local school would set their sights on Westminster as a solution.

But Stephen Gilbert, a Liberal Democrat hoping to inherit the part of the three Lib-Dem seats which make up the new St Austell and Newquay seat, insists that "people should try to give something back to society".

"It's not a one-way street. We have rights but we also have responsibilities to make things better."

He too is now earning "significantly less" since being selected to stand, but sees it as part of the job. "There is no doubt that people who go into politics have a lot of balls to juggle."

Despite them concentrating their efforts on defeating opponents, if not outright ousting adversaries, none of the three would-be parliamentarians will be drawn on their opposite numbers. Which is no great surprise.

Marcus only describes Torbay MP Adrian Sanders as having "good recognition" thanks to the local papers, but insists the personal vote is not as big as people think.

Stephen says he has met Tory Caroline Righton a few times but wants to focus on policies, not personalities.

And Judy claims not to have met her Lib-Dem adversary, Julia Goldsworthy, who defeated her old boss Candy Atherton at the last General Election. But she says she does not think about the fact that her campaigning aims to leave Ms Goldsworthy without a job.

It is all part of politics, it could be argued. But whenever Gordon Brown fires the starting pistol and announces a General Election date, the battle for the ballot box will be fought hard, whatever they say now.

And win or lose they will all be left counting the considerable cost.