POLITICIANS: misunderstood do-gooders fighting a fatally flawed system, or corrupt, self-interested beings with oversexed egos to boot? Whichever your outlook, MPs certainly polarise opinion. The less cynical will reel off worthy examples who enter Parliament with burning desires to change things for the better, representing constituency interests with gusto, spirit and heart. Honourable types who speak their mind, highlighting attention and sometimes even administering justice to worthy causes. To the disillusioned, the club of Westminster is seen as an elite, typically male preserve, dominated by former pupils of England’s prestigious public schools. Conformity and evasion are key skills, along with an unerring ability to provide unsatisfactory answers to straightforward questions. A general lack of trust abounds, with MPs – ushered by shadowy civil servants – making decisions on behalf of, not for voters. Generally aloof, they neither engage nor endear themselves to the masses, raising issues of accountability, all the while widening the rift between electorate and elected. Whatever your view, voter apathy towards events at the House of Commons is based on an era dominated by spin and sleaze. Substance, it seems, has been substituted by the surreptitious. Entering Parliament in such a climate must be a daunting prospect, perhaps even more so to a “can do” individual who harbours a genuine desire for change. Nearly a decade after New Labour swept to power, the sordid details of extramarital affairs and the cash for honours scandal are simmering, and politics is in desperate need of a spring clean. Perhaps no-one is more acutely aware of this than David Cameron, the Conservative Party’s fourth leader in nine years. Forced to modify - itself a misnomer given the party’s traditional reluctance to change - he has attempted to woo disgruntled voters from beyond traditional strongholds, all the while fending off accusations of a preference for personality over policies. If Cameron is to wrestle the mantle of power from New Labour, by his own admission, the Conservative Party need cast their eyes forward, not back, shedding imagery of an eccentric bunch concerned only with the well-being of the privileged few. Speaking of his desire to make the party “more compassionate” with “more women and representatives from black and ethnic minority communities”, Cameron has surrounded himself with a different breed of Tory MP. The New Boy The eldest son of a senior Royal Navy officer and educated at Charterhouse and Magdalen College, Oxford: on paper at least, Jeremy Hunt is cut from the decent drapery of traditional Conservative cloth. With youthful looks belying his 40 years, on first impression he scores highly thanks to a clean-cut image and a business background, which is responsible for his desire to “cut the waffle out of politics”. Upon leaving school, his headteacher remarked that he “would not surprised to see him as being Prime Minister one day” but after a brief stint as a management consultant, Jeremy travelled to Japan to teach English. Spurred on by Margaret Thatcher’s encouragement for the entrepreneur, it was there that he embarked upon a string of fledgling business ventures, including the export of marmalade and the construction of children’s playgrounds. But it was the inception of Hotcourses - a publication which assists students to find college or university courses – that saw success duly arrive. The business now stable, he acted upon a long-standing desire to “do something in the public services”, replacing the retiring Virginia Bottomley as MP for South West Surrey in 2005.The Juggling Act After his support for Cameron in the leadership election, Jeremy was rewarded with a portfolio – that of Shadow Minister for Disabled People. Scratching beneath the surface, the position is one close to the heart of the Tory leader, given that his eldest son Ivan was born with cerebral palsy. His colleagues seem to endorse the view of an honest, focussed sort of chap who will work diligently for the cause. A chance meeting with Conservative colleague David Amess in an elevator saw the Rt Hon Member for Southend West asserting: “Jeremy? He is a nice guy. But you’re not disabled, so he may not be interested in you!” Looking around his eight metre square office at 1 Parliament Street, a strong work ethic prevails. Feeling it important to share the workspace with his three researchers (“it creates a team environment”), you glean a glimpse into the psychology behind Jeremy’s business acumen. The self confessed “juggling act” is illustrated by a whiteboard split between ‘local’ and ‘national’ campaigns, highlighting on the one hand the anomalies of the benefits system, as well as campaigns to Save the Royal Surrey and the Surrey Minerals Plan. Further insights spring from two pictures adorning the walls: the first depicts two Geisha, the other, the House of Commons in 1808. Both serve as nods to Hunt’s past, present and future. On the one hand a passionate advocate of contemporary Japanese culture and a proficient speaker of the language: on the other, it was during the early nineteenth century that fellow Old Carthusian William Wilberforce cut his parliamentary teeth under Spencer Perceval, issuing an initial bill on the abolition of slavery. The Future While his current disability brief shares equal billing with that his constituency interests, throughout discussions with Jeremy, one topic emerges time and again: education. “I think what was interesting about somewhere like Charterhouse was a school teacher who inspired me with a real love of learning, and of what education can be about,” he says. “And that’s why it makes me partly guilty - partly angry - that the opportunity to have that kind of inspiration is denied to so many people. I’m completely against the utilitarian view that the only purpose of education is to get a good job. I think education is actually about teaching people to carry on learning new things throughout their whole lives. But I feel incredibly dismayed about the fact that that is available to so few people.” “I’m in politics because I want to change things, I want to improve things. Some people are in politics because they want to be something and other people because they want to do something. I’m definitely in the latter category. Having the two letters after my name isn’t why I’m here. “In some ways it’s a millstone round your neck because it’s a great responsibility to do things, but that’s fine. I feel it is a privilege to represent your constituency. It’s a position that carries a big responsibility, but there are things you can do and people you can meet that can make things happen. “I don’t want to look back in 20 years time - if the people of South West Surrey continue to choose me as their MP - and think ‘well fine, I haven’t actually done all the things that I set out to do.’ It’s about what you do and not your title.” “I am annoyed at the lack of local democracy in Britain,” he continues. “The way the people in Farnham can’t choose their own council and a Mayor who can determine the direction of Farnham and then either be re-voted in or thrown out after four or five years. You are powerless to influence the direction it goes. And I think that’s a major gap in our democracy - Westminster has got to learn to trust local government and the local people to determine their own futures. And that way we’ll not just make beautiful Waverley happier, also it will transform our great cities: the Sheffield’s, the Manchester’s the Leeds’ – all these great cities would be transformed if they had governance which was truly locally democratic.” Influences Listing his political heroes as Winston Churchill and Thatcher (“not very original, I’m afraid”), Jeremy reveals his admiration for Nelson Mandela - “someone who discovered the ways of peace and reconciliation despite 27 years in jail”. If all three share a common trait, it is that of courageous leadership under adversity, which strikes a chord. “The time that a country judges you is a general election, but until it comes to a general election you must be willing to take tough decisions and trust the country to come to a judgement at a general election. You can’t do everything for popularity on a day to day basis. True leadership is about leading with ideas, as well as through policies that you put into practice,” he says. Agreeing that Cameron’s description of himself as a “Liberal Conservative” is “probably a fair description of me,” Jeremy adds: “I am definitely a believer in the individual maximising control over their own destiny. “There should be as much freedom as possible to make the most of their talents. But I also believe that government is right to have social as well as economic objectives. I think we have to accept that we need to do more for disabled people and we need to do more for poorer people in the developing world. We need to legitimise government to have objectives that aren’t just about making the country as rich as possible. “On economic issues, I’ve always been right of centre. We need to be a low tax, light regulation country, because that is how the most successful economies in the world are. If we become a high tax and high regulation economy, we’ll find that we will slip behind.” And what of that great Tory bugbear: the European conundrum? “We are a great European nation, geographically close to continental Europe, but we have tremendous historical links with the English speaking world. But I worry a lot about the direction the European Union is going in. If British people don’t like the British government, they can throw them out, but if we don’t like what’s happening in Brussels, there’s nothing we can do. Which compromises our ability to be in control of our own future. “On the other hand, European countries are wonderful fantastic cultures, lovely places to go on holiday with delicious food – although we are catching up. I think we want to be friends with them, I just don’t know whether we want to be married to them.” Clearly ambitious, one wonders how Jeremy sees the Conservatives regaining power. “We have got to remain in the centre ground of British politics. We have got to remind people that we are not the loonies that Labour like to paint us as. And we’ve got to stay true to what we believe in which is radical government that isn’t afraid to take difficult decisions for the long-term interest of this country. And I think if we do all those three and we allow David Cameron’s personal policies to come true, we can see what sort of a Prime Minister he would be, and I think we’ve got a very good chance of winning the next election.” As a brief aside, after witnessing a typically packed day (before early afternoon, Jeremy attended a meeting in North London, swiflty followed by Prime Minister’s Question Time and a lunch with media executives - all the while perpetually fielding telephone calls), one wonders how he relaxes? While the guilty pleasures of the late Alan Clark included ‘the coven’ and fruitless nights at the backgammon board, Jeremy’s hobbies seem rather more conventional. “I do a lot of driving,” he says, before admitting that he abandoned a Lexus for a Toyota Prius last year. “I have to say I’m really pleased with it. It’s a nice quiet car, and it cut my fuel bill in half!” “And I do like my latin dancing,” he adds, enthusiastically, “I try to go to classes in London once a week and also, my interest in Africa is a way of switching off. When you go to Africa you absorb yourself in the terrible problems of that continent, it puts all your personal worries into perspective and I find it very inspiring to go there. And I listen to Classic FM a lot. Because I find it’s very good at calming down hyperactive people like me!” A Well Versed Politician? With battle lines being rapidly drawn, opinion polls illustrate that the Conservatives are clawing back disillusioned voters from the middle ground. Looking into the future, one wonders if Jeremy visualises the fulfilment of his headmaster’s prophecy? “I’d be thrilled with whatever came my way, but politics is one of those professions where - despite what Michael Heseltine did – I don’t think it’s possible to write on the back of an envelope how your career is going to progress. There’s too much variation and variability and things change very quickly. “You could please your party, and then go on to win a general election. You could get into the cabinet and then have a row with the Prime Minister. There are so many ups and downs, and I think what you have to do is be consistent about trying to achieve things for people who want help throughout your constituency and be yourself. And hopefully then get recognised. “In the business world you can say ‘we want to be the world’s top manufacturer of this product’ or ‘we want to be the best provider of that service’ – you can plan a route to do that, but I don’t think you can plan in politics. You have to go with that exciting flow, whichever direction it takes you. That’s one of the fascinations of doing it as a career,” he says with the typically coy smile of a parliamentarian. Regardless, it is difficult not to be impressed by Jeremy: his honesty and approachability abound, as does his genuine quest to be a virtuous MP.