THE ECONOMY. “That’s what it boils down to,” said Neil Carmichael as he discussed the concerns people were raising with him on their doorsteps.

“It’s because they know that their financial security is attached to whether or not we get the economy right.

“A strong economy does mean that we can afford more services and actually support pensioners more effectively.”

But it’s not just pensioners he’s talking to, it’s young people as well: “A lot of people have been seeking reassurance about the direction of travel for job creation for young people.”

Looking back on his first term in office, Neil believes some of his biggest achievements have been in helping young people.

He points to the Berkeley Green UTC, which he helped bring to the region.

When it opens in September next year, 600 pupils aged 14 to 18 will study cyber engineering and advanced manufacturing.

“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 "To get that to come here is really, I think, my best achievement.”

He is also proud of his annual Festival of Manufacturing and Engineering.

“Each year we've reached out further and had more and more success in bringing together schools, pupils, businesses and managers,” he said.

Mr Carmichael said he has found that voters' concerns are different in each area.

"If you're in Dursley or Cam, Miserdon or Bisley, issues about infrastructure often get raised.

"If you're in Stroud there's a whole variety of issues; for example, people have mentioned the farmers' market."

If he’s re-elected as MP, Mr Carmichael wants to see the station at Bristol Road in Stone house re-opened.

“I think that will make a huge difference to this area because it will enable people to go to Bristol or Birmingham with much more ease than before, helping them to develop their careers, and it’ll keep families better connected.”

Mr Carmichael denied he "sat on the fence" over the controversial Javelin Park incinerator, as his rivals have suggested.

He said the area needs a better waste management plan and one which produces electricity for 25,000 houses is “good” – but he believes Stroud District Council’s recycling rates are “disgraceful” and need to “sharply improve”.

On education, he said the fight for fairer government funding for schools in rural areas is a priority.

He is also pleased to have been successful in “reversing Labour’s postal closure program”.

“All our post offices are now open apart from in Painswick, which was a particularly difficult situation where the postmistress was arrested and imprisoned,” he said.

Mr Carmichael has refusesd to tow the Conservative party line in the past. He voted against the official stance on Palestine, as he believes in a two-state solution.

But he said that when a party wins an election on a manifesto they have vowed to deliver, “departing from that in any significant way would be inappropriate".