Nick Pickles’s blog

I was asked on the Pontefract Facebook group two questions, about why I got into politics, and why I’m a Conservative. Rather than clog up the group page, I thought it might make an interesting blog post.

To take the first part, well, first, why did I get into politics? I grew up in the Normanton parliamentary constituency, which before its abolition was the only seat to return a Labour MP at every election since the creation of the Labour party. An area that was once home to several pits, it would be fair to say it’s not your average Tory heartland.

Yet one thing I always got from the community, and my Dad, when I was growing up is that if you saw a problem, or someone you knew had a problem, there were two options: walk away, or roll up your sleeves.

It’s a pretty blunt view of things, but when I left home for University I was suddenly faced with several challenges, not least affording to live and pay my tuition fees - without the safety net of my parents being around to sort things out.

Whether it was the wider issue of how university is funded and tuition fees, to small details like how the student support services were run or the funding available for sports clubs and student societies, I found myself drawn into student politics. Not, I might add, as a political activity, but simply as a way of sorting out the things I thought needed sorting out.

In my third year at Durham I had the opportunity to run for election as President of my students union, and was lucky enough to be elected by my peers. I spent a year working on a whole range of issues for a very demanding student body, but I like to think I did some good. Particularly given the perilous state of the student union’s finances, we managed to turn things around and leave a stronger union than we inherited.

Once I left Durham, I moved back to Altofts and found myself looking at the state of Normanton town centre, local roads and wondering why I had to commute to Leeds to work. Wakefield just didnt seem to have that many of the kind of jobs I was looking for. It didnt take long before these questions made me look to see what I could do.

I met some local Conservative councillors, Antony Calvert and John Sharp (both of whom are now PPCs ironically) and they asked me to get involved over beers and a curry. I agreed, and stood in Wakefield North in 2007, reducing the Labour majority from nearly 1,000 to 305.

The rest, as they say, is history and after three years of knocking on doors across Wakefield, I was selected in Pontefract.

Which brings me onto a question I was asked at my selection, and the second part of the Facebook question - why am I a Conservative?

It’s not a complicated reason, quite simply I believe in small Government. I passionately believe that Government has a crucial role to play in society, in protecting its citizens, creating an environment where businesses can grow and create jobs and providing vital public services.

More importantly, I believe Government is not the only solution to problems, and that businesses, charities and the voluntary sector can do a much better job of certain things, delivering services and support at the ground level. Decisions are best made by communities or individuals on the front line, and Government should not get in their way with masses of targets or red tape.

That’s why I think the modern Conservative party offers the radical change Britain needs. From falling turnout at elections to spiralling national debt, the solution is not more government, more top-down initiatives and more spending. We need to trust people, trust professionals in public services and trust the innovation competition breeds to solve the challenges our nation sees in every walk of life.

I believe firmly in helping people to help themselves, and in supporting people live a good life. The culture, created by Labour, of high taxes and hand-outs has eroded the sense that hard work is a noble endeavour, penalising everyone from the successful to those on benefits who have to turn down extra work in fear of how it will affect their benefits.

We need a culture in this country of contribution and community, not one where even those earning a good wage are forced to rely on the state to top-up their earnings when, if they were taxed less in the first place, they have no need to worry.

Furthermore, I believe in the role of the state as an honest guardian. Whether that means engaging in a foreign policy that supports British values of integrity and decency, or ensuring the purpetrators of crime are not able to use laws intended to protect law-abiding citizens to avoid punishment, it goes to the heart of why I am a Conservative.

Britain can’t go on like it is. We have a Government who undertook an illegal war, while at the same time breaching the most valuable covenant of all - that with those who lay their lives on the line to serve - and who hold democracy in such contempt that we have a Prime Minister who has never faced the polls.

Our economy is built on debt, which will be paid off by future generations, and political debate is stifled by cynical manipulation of the facts. Facing the greatest challenge of our era, climate change, politicans of all sides have forgotten that the public depend on them to make judgements in the long term. In David Cameron, we have a man who I believe wishes to serve Great Britain, and will make decisions based on what is right. Never again must we allow a Government to mortgage the future of our country for their own political ends.

I hope that helps you understand a little more about me.