Full interview - Neil Carmichael - Conservative candidate for Stroud

This week, reporter Megan Titley spoke to Conservative's Neil Carmichael.

What was the best moment of your first term?

Definitely the best moment was launching the festival of manufacturing of engineering and each year has been better than the last. The whole thing has got better and better, we've reached out further and have more and more success in bringing together schools, pupils, businesses and managers.

Has there been anything that has surprised you about being an MP?

I think one of the things that I've been quite impressed with is how so many people have engaged in a constructive way. Unlike in a general election campaign, when cleavage issues are always defined, since I’ve been an MP I've been very impressed with the way that people have engaged with the ideas that I've come up with, with the things I've tried to do.

What are people bringing up with you when you're campaigning on their doorsteps?

Most people are thinking about the economy, that's what it all boils down to. It’s partly because they know that their security in terms of finance and other ways are attached to whether or not we get the economy right. A lot of people have been seeking reassurance about the direction of travel in terms of job creation for young people and also the consequences for people who've retired because a strong economy does mean that we can afford more services and actually support pensioners more effectively.

What the achievement you've made in the Stroud Valleys that you're most proud of?

I think, ultimately it would have to be getting Berkeley Green UTC. I think will be a huge contribution to actually making sure that our young people have opportunities in engineering. Six-hundred students will be able to attend. It’s going to be specialising in cyber engineering and advanced manufacturing. Pupils will be able to attend between 14 and 18 years of age. I think that it will be a catalyst for even more investment in this constituency in terms of high tech technology and opportunities for business and I think to get that to come here is really I think my best achievement.

When you are voting in Parliament, what areas do think you would refuse to toe the party line on?

I have always argued that we should have a two-state solution in the Middle East and I did vote against the government on their stance on that. I think that if you are saying that you have two-state solution you should actually vote for Palestine to be a state. Support them in their mission to become a recognised nation state.

The important thing though is to recognise that we won power last time on an election manifesto so it is our duty to recognise what we said at the general election and promote that. Departing from that in any significant way would be inappropriate but there are moments where you have to fight to get what you think is right.

Right at the start of the Parliament, for example, we had a strategy for dealing with forests which I thought was crazy. We got to the vote where I would have voted against the government but actually we'd already made absolutely clear that the direction of travel was wrong and they finally turned back from it which was good.

It’s not necessarily some sort of grand effort to go into the division lobbies and vote against the government just because you want to send a signal, it is actually what you achieve through the processes. I'm quite pleased that I've got the Antarctic Act to my name because that is emblematic of my commitment to tackle climate change and protect our environment.

Is it fair to say you wavered quite a lot of the incinerator issue?

No its not. There are two parts to that, one is we have to have a waste plan which works and I have never actually opposed incineration. I think that the incinerator, if it’s built will produce electricity for 25,000 houses. That is really good.

The other thing of course is it does have a permit which guarantees that any toxins will be properly scrubbed out before they get into the atmosphere. Anyone worrying about that should be mindful of the fact that there is an incinerator bang in the middle of Vienna. Austria has some of the tightest air quality controls you can imagine and if they can have incinerator bang in the middle of their city one can fairly safely say that there is no risk of any pollution.

Having said all of that the incinerator is an issue of planning and that's what I've fought it on because I didn't think the design was right and I didn't think the scale was right so I said all of that at the public inquiry and repeatedly said it to Eric Pickles. Incidentally I am the only parliamentary candidate to have actually formally written to the department and opposed the scheme. All the others have huffed but they didn’t actually do that.

How do you deal with the level of criticism and heckling at hustings events?

I don't mind it, I think it’s all part of the democratic process. I think that when you get heckling of that type you know you're winning the argument because that's the only thing they can do. If they can't actually counter the arguments through proper discourse it’s really quite encouraging. When we've had a bit of heckling it’s usually been when I've said something which is factually correct and an important political point. The assumption that a lot of hecklers seems to make is that they're the only ones that seem to matter.

We had a huge amount of heckling in the badger debate. We had a chairman who was totally on one side so that made it hard for anybody to get anywhere but the truth is that scarcely 200 people have actually bothered to write to me about badgers and most of them use the same letter that has been circulated by the badger trust so this is not actually a campaign with a wide amount of support and it certainly isn't one which is grounded in people's own personal feeling. I was struck by some of the 38 Degrees campaigns. For about six emails they repeatedly made the same mistake about the candidates, they actually had the wrong name for the Green candidate – so if people can't be bothered to get that right its quite obvious they're not even really reading the email at all.

If you are re-elected again what will you push for locally?

What I really want to see is the re-opened station at Bristol Road, Stonehouse. I think that will make a huge difference to this area because it will enable people to go to Bristol or the Birmingham with much more ease than before. It'll help people develop their careers; it'll help families keep connected.

Secondly I want to see the Berkeley Park further developed I think it's absolutely fabulous, we've got a huge opportunity there to create a centre of excellence, research, development, teaching, engineering - that's what I will be driving forward.

Thirdly what I'm really keen to do is make sure that we get our skills improved. I don't like the idea that anyone can go to a school which is not good enough. I want people to have the right choice about schools and I want our schools to be the best and properly financed. That’s why I'm fighting for a fairer deal for rural areas compared to city areas. We've got about £1,000 gap between Bristol funding and Gloucestershire funding and I think that's wrong.

It’s really important that we see more synergy, more interface between healthcare and social care.

The other thing that I am determined to do is make sure our villages are properly supported by rural services. Obviously we've been successful at reversing Labour's postal closure program prior to 2010 Labour closed eight post offices. All of our post offices are open apart from Painswick which was a particularly difficult situation where the postmistress was arrested and imprisoned.

I will also fulfil my pledge to provide super broadband for everybody in this patch.