Interview with Mark

1. What inspired you to get involved in politics, and why did you want to become an MP in particular?

When I was growing up I used to listen to my German mother talk about her childhood. After the Second World War she was twice a refugee by the age of fifteen, and she always instilled in me the idea that politics was simply too important to be left to someone else.

On a personal level, I was a grammar schoolboy in the 1970s when selective education was under threat. I was repelled by the politics of envy and class war rhetoric at that time. From then on, I preferred the ideas of choice and individual responsibility. Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister when I was fourteen and left office when I was twenty six, and as a result she was obviously a very influential politician in my formative years. These experiences made me a Conservative.

Then when I was at university at Oxford I became involved as a candidate in student politics and I realised I had the right mixture of ego and vanity, as well as a thick enough skin, to become a politician!

2. What political issues interest you most?

As a former small businessman and as the political representative of the City of London, I naturally have an interest in economic, trade, financial and industrial issues. I also enjoy following foreign affairs and have a strong interest in international development.

3. Which political figures have inspired you most?

Like a lot of Tories of my generation, Margaret Thatcher was obviously enormously influential. But I also admire Andrew Bonar Law, the first post-war German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, and Richard Nixon – a much underestimated US President who had an insightful vision into international affairs, which abides to this day.

4. Which political era interests you most and why?

I have always been interested in the period between the two world wars which laid the foundation for the domination of the Conservative Party in twentieth century British politics. However there are also some worrying parallels with today. Stanley Baldwin, for instance, was electorally successful but his complacency and lack of vision also laid the foundations for the political and economic decline of Britain after the First World War. Similarly, in recent times political leaders like Bill Clinton and Tony Blair epitomise the celebritisation of politics. However in the decades to come I fear we may look back at this era as the best of times when too many difficult decisions were flunked.

5. What have you most enjoyed about being an MP?

The sheer variety of the role. I have had the opportunity to meet people from incredibly diverse walks of life, not least because I represent an exceptionally cosmopolitan constituency. I have had the chance to travel abroad to the US, India, China and the Middle East and have met top flight politicians and business folk who have shared their world visions with me.

6. What most frustrates you about politics today?

Naturally, the powerlessness of Opposition can be extremely frustrating, but in a broader sense I am also frustrated by the desire of political parties and the media to reduce everything to a battle. Whilst I'm a great believer in choice, equally I do not believe it is always helpful to oversimplify political issues, to present things as black and white - I think it shows a lack of respect for the public and puts many people off politics. I also find celebritisation at the higher levels of politics very worrying as well as the tendency of politicians to pander to the tabloids and to try to be all things to all people.

7. What do you think makes Britain unique as a country?

Our proud history, our ability to laugh at people in authority and our sense of fair play. The much remarked-upon British love of animals and enthusiasm for sport show us to be an essentially moderate people and I think this goes some way in explaining why we have never been susceptible to fundamentalist political views or revolution.

8. What advice would you give a young person interested in becoming an MP?

If you want to be an elected politician, I would advise working for at least ten years outside politics. Although politics is becoming increasingly professionalised, I don't believe that is at all healthy. Get a training or professional qualification, set up a business, travel, have a family. Maintain an interest in politics, but come back in your thirties to make a genuine contribution.

I also believe that a grounding in local politics is an asset – both in campaigning and dealing with people over local issues. I was a councillor in Kensington and Chelsea for eight years and the experience was of tremendous value when I became an MP.

9. What is the best thing about representing the Cities of London and Westminster constituency, and what makes it different from other constituencies?

It is truly unique – although I suspect all MPs say that about their own constituencies! One million people come to work here everyday. The constituency contains the heart of the political establishment in Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament. It contains Britain's financial centre in the City and more recently in Mayfair and the West End, and likewise the UK's media and creative industries are headquartered in Covent Garden and Soho. It is just a fabulous place to represent and I love its sheer variety.

10. What is your favourite landmark or building in the constituency?

Probably St Paul's Cathedral, although I am obviously very spoilt for choice! I also believe some of the newer buildings in the constituency, such as the Gherkin on St Mary Axe and Number One Poultry as well as the Cardinal Place development near Victoria station, will certainly pass the test of time as iconic landmarks in the decades ahead.

11. What would be your ideal role in the cabinet?

I suspect I have a long way to go before I have to worry about that! However, there are two main departments that interest me – the Treasury and the Foreign Office. One of the most interesting, if unsung, departments is international development, and to head this increasingly important ministry would encompass both of my main political interests.

12. What, in your opinion, makes London a great city?

Its unique diversity. We have a rich mix of energy, innovation and cultures and a long history as one of the world's most important global centres.

13. What changes do you believe London needs to make over the coming years to retain its position as one of the best cities in the world?

We need to recognise that London has always been home to a mix of the richest and the poorest. Any policies which continue to push for wage equality will doom the capital to failure as it will crush the city's spirit of innovation.

We also need to continue to cherish the villages and communities that make up London. I have realised in my time as an MP what a big difference residents' associations and community groups make to London, creating this paradox of a vast city where one can still have a keen sense of belonging.

London needs investment in its transport systems in order to improve both the situation for public transport users and those who wish to drive their cars in the city.

14. What do you think will be the most difficult political issues facing Britain over the next twenty years?

Terrorism and security – I believe politicians will need to ensure a better balance between individual liberty and security than we have seen in recent years.

I also believe that in a world where India and China will emerge as economic superpowers, we need to remain economically competitive. We shall have to lower our tax burden if we are to retain the brightest and the best.

Education will also remain key. If we are to remain a relatively wealthy nation we shall need an adaptable, industrious, innovative work force in generations to come.

15. If you had the opportunity to make the best cabinet (like a fantasy football team) from Britain's politicians, past and present, who would fill the main roles?

I'm a great believer in 'Cometh the hour, cometh the man.' Winston Churchill was the right man for the dire emergency of May 1940 and beyond. Margaret Thatcher was a resolute leader when the country was crying out for fundamental economic change. Equally people like Disraeli and Gladstone had their place during the much more easy going late Victorian era when most of the problems involved overseas entanglements.

Gladstone was a great Chancellor, but in more recent times both Nigel Lawson and Gordon Brown have proven to be Chancellors of stature and vision – despite not always having a vision with which I'd agree. Another underrated Chancellor of recent times is Norman Lamont whose two and a half year long tenure was fraught with the economic difficulties of the recession of the early 90s. He dealt with the structural issues with some skill, but in spite of that, never possessed enough gravitas to be regarded as particularly successful.

Funnily enough, Churchill was never Foreign Secretary, but I suspect he would have proved effective in that role outside wartime. The same can be said for Roy Jenkins, although both men would have been difficult for any Prime Minister to work with in a foreign affairs brief.

As to Home Secretary, Herbert Asquith was young and effective in the late Victorian era, whilst in this graveyard of political ambition, Roy Jenkins was a Home Secretary who presided over a period of great social reform in the 1960s.

16. Who do you think has been the best post-war orator in the House of Commons?

Enoch Powell and Michael Foot had reputations as great speakers. Regarding orators I have witnessed myself, I would say the late Robin Cook is the best I have seen in my time as an MP. Of current parliamentarians the best – much to my dismay – is probably George Galloway, and on our own benches I would say that John Bercow stands out as a fine speaker.

17. Who do you think is the greatest prime minister that never was?

In a way that's a daft question. If Churchill in 1938 or Mrs Thatcher in 1978 had been struck by buses in Parliament Square, no one would have imagined they would have been as great as they became. It always depends on timing, and inevitably those who die young are often fondly remembered. I suspect that neither Hugh Gaitskill nor John Smith would have been spectacular Prime Ministers.

18. Who do you think is the best Conservative leader that never was?

I must say I don't have the best track record of voting for Conservative leaders, and in each of the last three leadership elections my preferred candidate hasn't won! Suffice to say in future I had best not put a black spot by announcing publicly my support!

19. What do you think needs to change if people are to become more interested in politics today?

The discourse of politics needs to become more authentic. People are understandably looking for more transparency and honesty. Whilst all MPs do their best to connect with those whom they represent in their constituency, there is a massive disconnect between party leaderships and the public at large. Politics needs to be about inspiring, energising and reinvigorating, and political leadership requires vision and passion.

20. If you were Prime Minister for a week, what policies would you implement?

I would tell it like it is. I would tell the political class that we should no longer pander to short term considerations and that we need to get across some unpalatable messages: we are currently consuming too much and looking to the next generation to foot the bill both financially and environmentally. Sadly I feel the Labour government since 1997 has flunked its great opportunity. It was elected with an almost limitless fund of goodwill and a huge parliamentary majority and could have instituted lasting reforms. Unfortunately Blair sought the low road of personal popularity, not the high road where he might have laid the foundation for peace and prosperity in the decades ahead.

21. Finally, your party trick is to be able to name most British number ones since the charts began. Can you answer the following:

1. What was number one when Margaret Thatcher was first elected?

(Without hesitation) Bright Eyes by Art Garfunkel.

2. What major political and economic event occurred when The Shamen's Ebeneezer Goode was number one?

(Again, without hesitation) It was 16 September 1992 when Britain fell out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism.

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