George Freeman - too nebulous for Norfolk

Even if the Tories Big Society concept didn't quite resonate on the doorstep, George Freeman still made it to Westminster on a localist platform.

How did you get into politics?

As I described in my maiden speech, I visited the chamber, as the child of a then unhappy and broken home, on a school trip aged 12, inspired by tales of my great uncle Gladstone. I remember being struck by the inspiring idea that there was a line of accountability to a place where the country took responsibility for itself over the generations.

What is your background?

My childhood was on a farm in an idyllic, rural village, but it was disrupted by a dysfunctional family. My sanctuary was then at boarding school. After university I worked as the parliamentary officer for the National Farmers’ Union, which included a spell in the House of Lords helping to set up the Rural Economy Group. I then set up the Local Identity Agency, one of the early localist think-tanks. In 1996 I left Westminster, moved back to Cambridge and embarked on a new career in technology venturing, which I’ve done for 15 years.

In 2003 I became interested in politics again, amid what felt like a growing crisis of political disillusionment and legitimacy under Tony Blair post-Iraq. In 2003 I and some friends founded Mind the Gap to explore attitudes to disengagement, through which I discovered I bled Conservative values and decided to have a go. I joined the party in 2004, and fought Stevenage in 2005.

What did you hear on the doorstep?

I was struck by two major things. One was the level of disillusionment with the last Parliament and party politics generally. I think the coalition could provide the platform for both dealing with the economic crisis we are in and helping on the long path to restoring faith in politics.

The second striking message from the campaign was how many pensioners there are in mid-Norfolk, and the importance to them of issues around long-term care and pensioner poverty. On the doorsteps of Norfolk there wasn’t much discussion of the Big Society, to my regret. I don’t think we communicated the big idea at the heart of modern conservatism coherently.

How did you find your first week here?

Electric. It was dominated by the high drama of the coalition talks. To have two emergency meetings of the backbench party in the first two days; the first to agree the coalition negotiation on AV, the second to welcome the new prime minister fresh from the Palace, was pretty good. As I said to the chief whip: “As inductions go, this isn’t bad. What have you got lined up for Wednesday?”

Having worked with the House of Lords, what are your thoughts on Lords reform?

I think Lords reform is an important part of the wider package required to restore parliamentary legitimacy. Crucially, form should follow function. I believe there would be a big majority of both Houses for a role as a revising chamber, respecting the primacy of the Commons as the voice of the people, complementing it by doing those things the Commons sometimes does less well: considering long-term issues that don’t fit the five-year radar such as nuclear waste and fast rail; scrutinising legislation in detail; and giving voice to the many small-c constituencies ill-served by a narrow system of FPTP.

I think a ‘mixed’ model in which elections happen on a rolling annual basis, with different ‘constituencies’ electing peers (why not each county, city, faith group etc?) could be very powerful. There’s room for some PR too, so that the minor parties who don’t get many Commons seats are represented. I’d also like to see the whole of the Supreme Court in the Lords.

What are your ambitions?

To make a real difference to opportunity in my constituency through my project The Norfolk Way. To stay married and recognisable to my children. To look at my
Blackberry less and read more.

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