Neil Carmichael - Conservative (From Stroud News and Journal)

Neil Carmichael - Conservative

CONSERVATIVE candidate Neil Carmichael is hoping this time round might be third time lucky for him.

He fought unsuccessfully against David Drew in Stroud in 2001, having previously lost to Denis Healey in Leeds East in 1992.

Neil is confident that his tenacity will pay off. Election promises include more bobbies on the beat, keeping post offices open and the overhaul of the planning system.

In addition, he hopes to secure more funding from Whitehall for Gloucestershire.

"We are badly represented in the House of Commons," he said. "There are more people here under the government's definition of poverty than in Bristol and that is because the Labour government does not care about rural areas.

"We need to make sure we defend our local services, many of which have disappeared over the last couple of years - services such as post offices."

He cites crime as a priority for the Conservatives and wants to reduce paperwork in the police force in order to increase police presence on the streets.

"We think there is far too much initial form-filling for policemen," he said, "so we would aim to reduce that: 360 police officers out on the streets deterring people from committing crime is far better than bureaucracy."

He believes that £12.6 million can be saved by streamlining the civil service, and he is is also concerned with decentralising the planning process.

"We don't need a regional structure for planning. That is a waste of money and we would abolish it," he said.

"I think that it is high time we had more affordable housing. I have pointed out that since Labour took office there is half the amount of affordable housing that there was under us. We have schemes where we have shared ownership between authorities and individuals."

He said if the Conservatives are elected, they plan to introduce tax cuts including £468-worth of reductions a year for pensioners.

Neil spent many years as a sheep and cattle farmer and is against the ban on fox hunting, which he says should be "a question of liberty". "You should vote for me because what we want to do is make sure that people in Stroud can make decisions about the future of Stroud," he said, "and make sure that money is properly spent on issues such as crime and health, and also make sure that pensioners are getting a good deal in terms of tax."

Born in Hexham in Northumberland and educated and St Peter's School in York, Neil is a former county councillor and a member of the Foreign Affairs Forum and the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

He is a public affairs consultant with Strategic Impact and has several other business interests including promoting contemporary art, and small business incubation and development. He has also been a visiting lecturer at several universities, teaching British politics, rural economic development and politics of the European Union.

He has contributed to a number of political and academic conferences, in Britain and abroad, on subjects including politics and the media, social policy and the future of the European Union.

He is a governor of Stroud College and of Randwick Primary School, a member of the audit committee of the Learning and Skills Council in Gloucestershire, a member of the Severn Vale Rotary Club and chief executive of Northumbria Daybreak, a charity caring for people with learning disabilities.

His hobbies include travel, golf, motor racing and the environment.

Neil is married to Laurence, a local government senior researcher. They have lived in Paganhill for five years with their son James, twin daughters Alicia and Rebecca and their cat Missey.

"We are really pleased to be here," he said. "It is a fantastic area. We want to make sure it is preserved."