Conor Burns - Conservative

What is your background?
I've done a variety of things in my life, I was involved in starting up an information services company in the Docklands some years ago, I've run the southern region of the Zurich Advice Network where I looked after about 150 financial advisers covering areas including Bournemouth and Poole. I am currently the chairman of a civil engineering construction company in Southampton and I am also the associate director of a PR government relations company in London.

What is your connection to the local area?
I grew up in Belfast and also in a little village near St Albans in Hertfordshire, I moved to Southampton in 1991 to go to university and I've stayed on the south coast ever since. I'm not from Bournemouth but I am more than a conference tourist to Bournemouth. I used to come here a lot during my time in Southampton, we used to come down to the beach in the summertime. I know Bournemouth pretty well and now I live here.

Have you got a favourite local space?
The flat that I live in is on Westcliff Road so is very close to the beach. I was determined when I came to live here that I wasn't going to be like many of the locals who are so close to the beach but never visit it. So, 3 or 4 times a week, I take a nice long walk out to the waters edge.

What's your favourite TV show?
I love watching "Come Dine With Me". I'm something of an amateur cook myself. I learned by watching my grandmother, a traditional British/Irish cook. I've also done a course in advanced Indian cooking. So will we see you on the show? Err, no. Animals, children and cookery programmes are things politicians should stay away from.

Do you shop in Westbourne?
Yes, I know the area well.

Westbourne has many small businesses and independent retailers, what policies do Labour have that look after their interests?
An MP has two ways they can approach the job, they can either say their job is Westminster and local issues are for councils and councillors or they can say they are the person who has an overarching platform to be a champion for an area, in the area. One example of this is when Marks and Spencers recently started charging an absolute fortune to park there. Local residents used to park there, do some shopping in M&S and then go on to other local shops. These shops rely on the pull of an M&S to get people in to a shopping area. When I heard what had happened I immediately wrote to Sir Stuart Rose, chairman of M&S and said "this is mad". I don't know whether my intervention had anything to do with them pulling the project but it's using your platform to remove barriers that are going to be damaging to people. One thing the Conservatives are saying to local authorities is, if we win the election, when a new business starts up in your area, you will be allowed to keep the business rates, for a period, and spend those locally, rather than Westminster taking them. That will be a massive thing for local authorities and places like Westbourne.

We're seeing a disturbing rise in charity shops and that's a warning sign for any area. Charity shops are brilliant things and they raise huge amounts of money for charities but when you start to see a lot of them it's a signal that an area is under pressure.

Bournemouth and Westbourne in particular appear to be doing well with fewer empty shops than the national average. Why might Bournemouth be weathering the economic storm better than other areas and how can this be maintained?
In an area like Westbourne we are not so susceptible to the economic downturn because a sizeable proportion of the local population are retired, so their circumstances haven't massively changed. There is also an element that Westbourne is a very attractive place to come and shop. I think there is an element of rebellion against the uniformity of the town centres across the country, I think if you were parachuted blind-folded into any town in the country and I think you would struggle to say where you were.

For local residents, what is the 'Green Deal for Residents' offered in your manifesto?
I haven't seen that, it's completely passed me by.

What about local policing?

One of things I have done since I was selected in 2008 is a survey of residents and the number one concern is crime, or more accurately, fear of crime. It's certainly something I've raised with Chief Constable Martin Baker. Speaking as a local resident, I think we're very lucky with our policing and our PCSOs do a really good job in Westbourne and West Cliff. Tim Dent has gone on from being a PCSO to a full time PC. If you listen to what people are concerned about, it's mainly low level crime and anti-social behaviour.

What's your opinion on the 40mph limit on the Wessex Way?
I've joined the Facebook group in opposition. I am addressing this as a local resident, I do not see the problem they are trying to solve. I want to make sure the data that is coming forward in terms of accidents is comparing apples with apples, not apples with pears, saying it's reduced accidents when we haven't hit the tourist season yet for example. In saying that, I have a different view to the local council, I think people want to see politicians who are open enough to say that they are not absolutely in agreement on 100% of everything. I think that is one of things that has damaged the trust in politicians and politics that people are not able to have disagreements.

Bournemouth West has been Conservative since it's creation 60 years ago, how confident are you that you will carry on this tradition?
When a member of parliament retires, be it John Eden or John Butterfill, the new candidate faces a good challenge. I have not in any sense taken Bournemouth West for granted, I have been working incredibly hard. I've responded to over 7000 people personally, I've published an email address that comes direct to my Blackberry. I want to show people I would be a very involved, dedicated, hard working constituency member of parliament.

If you win the seat, what will you do differently from John Butterfill?
Each person approaches the job of being an MP differently. I'm 37, I've grown up with the internet age, I recognised that there's a very big demand from the public on politicians now, they want to see you a lot more and be easier to contact. Things were very different when John was elected in 1983, one difference is that I've made my main home in Bournemouth West and my main home will always be in Bournemouth West. I think in this day and age you need to get stuck in the same traffic jams and shop in the same shops to fully understand the community you serve, and that's what I am doing.

The expenses issue has blighted politics for many months now. Do you think this issue will go away after the election?
I don't think it will go away after the election unless there is a root and branch reform of the system. We need a system that is transparent, David Cameron said on this, "sunshine is the best disinfectant", if you know what you're going to claim is going to be in the public domain then the electorate is going to hold you to account on your doorstep. My personal view on this is we need to approach it so that the amount you can claim is a limit and not a target.

If successful, what kind of Prime Minister will David Cameron make?

A glib answer would be, a better one than the current one! I honestly don't know. I hope we will move away from sofa government and back to a more formal cabinet style of government. The big challenge David has is that David has never been a minister in the same way that Tony Blair was never a minister, so it's a great ask for someone to step in, it's their first ministerial job and what is usually people's last before retirement. There are some encouraging signs, he has brought in someone of Ken Clark's experience and asking people like Peter Lilly to chair commissions. This would indicate that he would be a Prime Minster that would draw on experience and depth.

What do you think of the TV debates? Who will come off best?
I think that David will come off best. My personal view is I wouldn't have got involved in these TV debates, certainly in the way they were originally framed with no public interaction of cross interaction between the three leaders. I think David will come off best and that's what the public expect.

Any final message for our readers?
As a member of the Westbourne community, I think we are incredibly lucky to live in what is one of the most special parts of Bournemouth, that has a diversity of fantastic local amenities and if I am lucky enough to become Bournemouth West's next MP, as a local resident I would be working to improve and enhance Westbourne and make it better than the wonderful place it already is.

Find out more abour Conor: www.localconservatives.com