My responses to the Guardian

1. Perception: Do you consider yourself to be a progressive?
Yes, I am progressive. 'Progressive' is about supporting new ideas and social change. I will always listen to new ideas as we often have to look for new solutions to issues as society changes over time. We do, though, have to learn from the past and use history and experience to help make decisions for the future.
Two of the most progressive ideals are social justice and equal opportunities. I believe in social justice. It is wrong to turn a blind eye to a society which is broken by the injustices of family breakdown, drug and alcohol addiction, failed education and serious personal debt.
These are the new 'five giants' of our age. I am a progressive because I will work to harness the power of the state, voluntary organisations and social enterprises to work with the people to fight this multiple deprivation which is plaguing our country. Labour believes society's problems can only be solved by the state. That has failed. Society's problems can only be solved by people in local communities.
I have also campaigned for many years for the Conservative party to get more women in parliament but strongly believe it should be done so based on merit. I believe in creating opportunities for all - no matter who they are or where they come from. I believe in rehabilitation of offenders and working with them to change their behaviour and supporting them on their release so that they do not reoffend. I want to see additional help for those from more disadvantaged backgrounds to get the best education possible, so that they can aspire and achieve their dreams.

2. Tax: Should David Cameron offer more tax cuts than he has outlined already?
The Conservative party has always been a party of low tax and always will be. I want people to keep more of the money their hard work has earned them. However, with an extremely tough economy ahead of us for the next year, I do not think David Cameron can promise any unfunded tax cuts right now. No-one knows, not even the MPC, how bad the economy will get in the months ahead and therefore it would not be right for David to promise something he cannot deliver. We need to set an example of living within our means. Stability has to be the key right now. The aim will be to cut taxes when the time is right.

3. Tax: If yes to the above, do you think they should be funded by (a) cuts in public spending, or (b) increases in other taxes
I will always believe in low taxation! We will find money when the time is right to do so, by tackling the current waste of public spending that takes place in government.

4. Tax: Should so-called "green" taxes increase?
As a party we will try and rebalance taxation - shift the burden of taxation away from 'good' things like families and on to 'bad' things like pollution and carbon emissions, so that overall taxes do not increase. Also, I want to live in a community with a good quality of life. In my constituency that means fighting to stop the expansion of Heathrow, and the pollution, noise and congestion that goes along with it.

5. Tax: As a share of GDP tax is currently around 37%. After four years of a Conservative government would you expect it to be:(a) substantially lower – at least 2 percentage points(b) slightly lower(c) much the same as it is now(d) higher
It is difficult to say right now as the economic outlook is uncertain. It is uncertain because of the global impact and the credit crunch but also due to the mess that Gordon Brown has made of the public finances. Looking forward, we cannot write the 2014 budget now. What I am concerned about is how to ease the tax burden on hard-working families who are feeling the pinch now. We have already announced some policies which help hard-pressed families, eg cutting stamp duty for first-time buyers on purchases up to £250k, raising the inheritance tax threshold to £1m and ending the couple penalty in the tax credits system. This is a real difference to what Labour have done. Some of their tax rises have been extremely regressive, eg abolition of the 10p tax band and the increases to road tax.

6. Europe: On balance has Britain lost out or gained from its membership of the EU? If it has lost out, should it withdraw?
The EU has succeeded in bringing the countries of Europe together to ensure peace and prosperity in a once-troubled continent. The single market and the enlargement of the EU were promoted by Margaret Thatcher. We now have free movement of services, people, workers and goods. But the EU should not have pretensions to intervene in every part of our lives. It should concentrate on doing less, but doing it better. I would want to repatriate some powers back to the UK so that we are more in control of what we do. I would like the EU to do more on free trade with the third world so that we can support countries like Mozambique to be economically self-sufficient. The EU should concentrate on making a difference where they can: global warming, global competitiveness and global poverty.

7. Family: Which of the following statements most reflects your view:(a) The tax system should be reformed to recognise and promote marriage(b) The tax system should help parents regardless of their marital status We will aim to help all parents - but we need to address any current issues, eg it is not right that in our benefits system couples receive more money if they live apart. In this way, we will be recognising and promoting marriage.

8. Abortion: The House of Commons recently voted to maintain the upper limit of 24 weeks on abortion. Do you believe it should be reduced? If yes, by how many weeks?
Yes, it should be reduced to 18 weeks. A baby can be born and survive from about 20 weeks.

Interview by Alexandra Topping

Conservatives win Crewe and Nantwich

Fantastic night last night!

Edward Timpson, the Conservative candidate, won the Crewe and Nantwich by-election with a 7,860 majority - a swing of 17.6% from Labour to the Conservatives.

It is our first gain in a by-election for 26 years and the first from Labour since 1978. The turnout of 58% was higher than expected and Labour got an awful result ...probably due to the terrible 'class' campaign that they tried to run. It backfired dramatically!

Also, the public were sending a very clear message to Gordon Brown and how badly they feel let down by Labour. The 10p tax row is a perfect example of this. The British public believe it is time for a change ...and a change for the better... to the Conservatives.

10p tax u-turn costs us £2.7 billion

The government has completely lost control. Yesterday, the u-turn 10p tax announcement cost us all £2.7 billion. Today they told us about their panic, emergency budget in the form of 18 bills.

The Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, also gave today his worst prediction on the future of the economy:
- growth forecast will reduce to 1% by Christmas
- inflation to rise to 3.7% by late summer

Gordon Brown is now trying desperately to save himself by announcing a compensation package for those hit by his own axing of the 10p tax rate, but 1.1 million low earners on between £6,635 and £13,355 will still be worse off, by up to £112 a year. The poorest people in the country will still lose out.

Has the u-turn got anything to do with the forthcoming Crewe by-election? I think that is very probable!

Can Gordon survive ... or will the people of Crewe say to him "you're fired"!?

Labour is hitting those who can least afford it

This Governement just goes from bad to worse.

The latest scandal, is that the 10p tax rise will hit the lowest paid in our country, including nurses, soldiers, some pensioners and receptionists. Despite Gordon Brown's claim that no-one will lose out, the Treasury has confirmed that 5.3 million families - an average of 8,000 people in Brentford & Isleworth - will pay more tax and be worse off.

George Osborne MP and his team will push hard on this one and call on the Chancellor to re-open the tax con package from the 2007 Budget and help those who are hit. The Government claims that this would cost £8 billion, but according to the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies, helping the 5.3 million people who lose out here, would only cost £700 million - which is a relatively small sum compared to the £20 billion of tax changes in the total package.

I am strongly opposed to tax rises which are uniquely targeted at the poorest. These are the people we should be helping the most.

MPC try and stimulate the economy

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today has lowered the Bank Rate by 25bps to 5%.

The tensions in the UK money markets combined with evidence of a sharper deceleration in the housing market has spurred the MPC into action. Still, compared to the US who have had several interest rate cuts, 5% is not being overly accommodative. I think there will be another cut or two before the year is out to encourage and support the economy.

We are heading for a difficult year ahead in the economy and people are right to feel nervous. Anything that the Government can do to relieve us of any additional taxation would be good. Thank goodness the London Borough of Hounslow have tightened up for yet another year to give residents value for money and unlike many other Councils, have not increased the Council Tax.

Education ignored in the Budget

The latest Budget from the Labour Government is just bad news for so many people. The budget cannot hide the high debt, high interest rates, higher taxes and now lower growth across the country. The tax take will be £2.8bn a year higher by 2010, which is £110 more for every family.

Most leading economists believe there will be a downturn in the months ahead...and we are badly prepared. Nothing has been put aside to help deal with the bad times and the cost of living is already rising fast.

So what was in this budget?
- Biggest alcohol tax rise for a generation
- 70% of motorists will pay more Vehicle Excise Duty
- Borrowing levels have soared (£7bn higher next year than this)
- Growth is down
- Ignored public opinion on a national road pricing scheme and it will go ahead
- No new money for key areas e.g. education and defence

What more are we getting for our money? In my view.....nothing!

What we need is a new Conservative Government and George Osborne as the new Chancellor.