After the election, Crewe and Nantwich MP Edward Timpson is back at work in the constituency. Chronicle reporter Belinda Ryan spoke to him about the new coalition government and his priorities for the future

“HAVING Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister is not something I ever envisaged, but that demonstrates that we’re going into a new era,” said Edward Timpson.

It might not be the government the re-elected Crewe and Nantwich MP and his Conservative colleagues would have liked – but it’s what they’ve got.

And if the first peace-time coalition government for about 80 years sits uncomfortably with him, he doesn’t let it show.

“Like all the main parties standing, we stood on a manifesto in the hope we’d be able to deliver it as a majority government,” said Mr Timpson.

“The Conservatives have been waiting a long time – 13 years – to have that opportunity and so, of course, it’s disappointing weren’t able to make it far enough to form that government.

“What we are in now though is potentially a new political climate. It’s a seismic shift in the way we expect to see politics done in this country.

“It’s a completely new venture and it’s going to take some getting used to. We have to remember that it’s not the Conservatives who are in control, it’s a Conservative-Liberal Democrat government in control.

Mr Timpson acknowledged “there are inevitably going to be bumps along the ride” but pointed out the two parties did in fact have “quite a few policy areas of agreement”. These include scrapping ID cards, freeing up schools and the pupils premium.

But there are huge differences in political views too.

“Other issues we know came up in the debates we had here locally, like Trident, like immigration, like welfare reform,” said Mr Timpson. “We’ve got to come to a compromise.”

Mr Timpson is a still relatively new face in the House of Commons – he’s only been an MP for two years.

But already he’s been tipped by former Tory party chairman Eric Pickles – now the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government as having a bright future ahead of him.

So does he think his own career could be hampered by the fact David Cameron has had to sideline some of his own party members to dish out Cabinet posts to Lib Dems?

“I’ve still got a lot to learn and I’m very happy getting on with the job here,” he said. “If I’m asked to do anything else then obviously I will do what I’m asked to do. But you know as much as I do whether that’s on the horizon.”

In the meantime, though, it’s back to work in the constituency – Mr Timpson was due to start a surgery as soon as the interview concluded.

“I remain as committed, if not more committed, to the constituency,” he said.

“My office is still here right in the heart of Crewe. I’m going to have surgeries by appointment and I’m going to continue to do open surgeries as well.

“I want to spend as much of my time here as I can because that’s the only way I can really understand who I’m representing, what I’m representing and why I’m representing them.

“My family is up here and I’ve got small children, so it’s important I devote time to them as well. The natural draw, the magnet, is always pulling me back to Crewe and Nantwich.”