Sutton & Cheam: David Pickles election Q&A

Q. What are your views on the MP's expenses issue?

A. It has to be remembered that the rules on expenses were solely put into place by MP's from the Conservative, Labour and Lib-Dem parties. They only proffered their apologies once they were caught with their hands in the till. All 3 of them are guilty of implicit greed.

Q. If you had to pick the single biggest issue you will campaign on as MP for the borough, what would that be?

A. It would have to be the continuing pressure on the government of the day to ensure that St.Helier hospital is fully funded and rebuilt. The people of the borough do not deserve anything less than a first-class medical facility on their doorsteps.

Q. What is your biggest regret?

A. On a personal level, it was my failure to ensure the continuation of speedway racing at Wimbledon, when I took over the chairmanship in 1987. However hard we tried, the crowds kept on dropping and the doors had to close eventually. Ironically speedway is now very popular again. On a political level, it's not joining UKIP long before I did. I had been a Conservatie activist and supporter since my early teens, and it took me a very long time to realise what a fake David Cameron really is.

Q. What was your biggest achievement at school/university?

A. I finished my education at Plaistow Grammar School, in the east end of London (I was born in Stratford). I am proud of achieving passes in Maths, English, and Geography, but on a sporting level I suppose it was being head boy at tennis, and eventually achieving a ranking in the sport, playing at Eastbourne, Bournemouth and Nottingham. I also persuaded our headmaster to inaugaurate annual trips to the lawn tennis championships at Wimbledon for pupils interested in the sport.

Q. Do you believe in euthanasia?

A. Yes, most definitely. Having said that, it has to be controlled and certainly down to the individual to decide. I fully sympathise with those who are against it on the grounds that vulnerable people could be persuaded to take their own lives where, for instance, there is a certain amount of money that would be left to their heirs. On the other hand, why not introduce a law whereby "living wills" would become the norm? I am 55, and nobody will live forever, we must all appreciate that, but if I were to be struck down with a terminal painful illness, then I should have the right to die in peace and without pain. My beloved dog would not be allowed to suffer and nor should I and those that I love.

Q. Have you ever smoked cannabis?

A. I certainly have and am not ashamed to admit it. Unlike some of our famous politicians who seem to regard admitting to it (although I think most of them have) as something awful, I believe in straight talking and telling people the truth. Smoking cannabis, as I did in the 1970's has not affected my judgment, or ruined my career opportunities. I also smoke cigarettes currently, not cannabis anymore, but let's be honest about it, too much fuss is made about it. Most of the best pop songs over the last 50 years have been written under the influence of some sort of drug, and whilst I would be appalled if my two daughters were to experiment, I have no shame in admitting that I did back in the days when most youths smoked it.

Q. How did you get involved in politics?

A. Probably quite by accident. Living in the east end of London we were not exactly rolling in money. Although my late father had a reasonable job at Fords in Dagenham, designing tools for the production line, and we had a car, tv and phone in the late 1950's, the area was scarred by poverty. I well remember in the mid-60's when I was about 12 my father being forced out on strike along with thousands of others and we suffered financially. This led me to an interest in unions, politics and democracy. I came to the conclusion pretty quickly that unions and the "Labour Movement" were not for me, and became, almost overnight, a Tory.

Q. How long have you lived in the borough?

A. Exactly 21 years. My wife lived in Sutton before we met, from about 1986. We met in 1988, married in 1989 and moved to Belmont in the same year. We still live in the same house. I am proud to have adopted the borough as my home, and Belmont in particular which I find a very interesting and pleasant place to reside. Belmont fascinates me because of it's location and it's people. It is like the last village on the edge of London and the first village at the start of the countryside.

Q. Have you ever belonged to another political party?

A. I think it's already well documented by the Guardian that I was a Tory and defected to UKIP in 2007. Under the current regime, I couldn't ever imagine a return to the Conservative fold. I believe in straight talking and honesty, something the Tories don't have in abundance.

Q. What do you recycle?

A. Everything we can, although it's not out of any political dogma, or nonsense like "climate change". Climate change is nonsense because it doesn't exist. It's only there as a convenient excuse for the Lib-Dems/Labour/Tory parties to tax us into nonexistence. There isn't a fag paper you could put between the three of them where that is concerned. Recycling is a good idea in itself, not because of whether or not some pompous politician, whether national or local, decides it's good for us.

Q. If you have one item on a desert island, what would it be and why?

A. It would have to be my CD player and my CD's (I hope that counts as one item). Music to me is paramount to life. I spent 10 years studying the piano under a teacher from the Trinity College of Music, and am self-taught in percussion, particularly the bongos. I think I could go a very long period without contact with the human race, but not very long at all without listening to music.

Q. Where would you least like to live in the borough, and where would you most like to live in the borough?

A. I am quite happy to live in Belmont, which I regard as a very good part of the borough to live. Having said that, is there really a part of the borough that anybody wouldn't like to live in? I presume the question is loaded in as much as most people would probably say, "I'd like to live in Cheam, but wouldn't like to live in St.Helier". That doesn't come into it as far as I'm concerned. I'm a very good friend of Cllr David Theobald, who has spent the past 4 years working hard for the people of St.Helier. I have met many very nice people in that part of the borough, and whilst the ward isn't obviously as prosperous as places like Belmont or Cheam, it doesn't detract from the fact that it's the people around you who make life what it is, not the amount of money in someones back pocket.

Q. What is the borough's best attribute?

A. I suppose the fact that every 4 years there is an election, and everybody has a choice. From the poorest to the richest part of the borough, every individual comes together once every 4 years to register their opinions. I would also say it is our location. Not too far from London, close to the Surrey countryside and the M25, and just far enough away from the hustle and bustle to feel unique.

Q. Do you agree with abortion or are you pro-life?

A. This is a tricky personal question for me, but I don't object to the Guardian printing my reply in full. In 1981 my then fiancee became pregnant, and I was overjoyed. Unfortunately she decided, behind my back, to abort the child. I was distraught but supported her decision and paid for the abortion privately at a clinic in St.Johns Wood in north west London to allow her the best of medical treatment. It was a very upsetting experience for me, especially since I have married and have two daughters, one almost 18 the other 13, and the thought that a child that I had a part in making could now be alive at the age of 29. It has scarred me ever since, so on balance I would say that I am against abortion as a form of contraception, but for it on medical grounds only. I object to the offensive way that some women, even girls, seem to want to use it as a convenience.

Q. What's your favourite biscuit?

A. I don't really eat biscuits, although I would say if pushed, Jaffa Cakes.

Q. What happened when you first got drunk, and did you learn your lesson?

A.This was an hilarious episode. I was 16 at the time, and used to attend my local church youth club. The vicar was from Australia and was very liberal with a small L. Believe it or not we had a bar there (most of those attending were over 18), and they also sold cigarettes (where are you health and safety today?). It was near Christmas and I'd had a few pints of lager and one of my chums there who was about 21 at the time sneaked in two half-bottles of Bells whisky - one each. Needless to say the whisky was downed on top of the lagers and I ended up trying to make love to a lamppost on the main rd! Luckily a near neighbour recognised me and escorted me home, where I slept christmas eve away only to wake up on christmas day with a rather sore head. Since then I take alcohol with strict limits.

Q. What annoys you?

A. Are you prepared for a rather long answer? What annoys me are hypocrites and rudeness. I cannot abide hypocrisy in any shape or form, which I suppose is surprising for a politician, because I find an unacceptable amount of it in local and national politics. The nonsense that is spouted in council meetings raises the hair on the back of my neck, and the utter drivel that can be discussed sometimes makes my blood boil.

The other thing that really gets my goat is rudeness. Even petty things like letting a motorist out without due acknowledgement is enough to set me off. I have a pretty short fuse and a foul temper when roused and sometimes the rudeness of the human race can set me off in seconds. My wife often wonders why I bother, but I will probably make a stand against those I intensely dislike because of their attitude until I draw my last breath.

Q. Do you do the washing up, or do you get others to do it?

A. Thank god we have a dishwasher! Having said that, there are some days that are so busy due to political issues that I politely request that either of my daughters either empties or fills it for me. Usually this falls on deaf ears!

Q. Apart from a house what is the most expensive item you have bought for yourself?

A. I refer you back to question 3. The most expensive item I ever bought was the licence to run Wimbledon Speedway back in 1987. I won't begin to tell you the financial loss that was occurred by the company, but on a personal level let's say when the admission to the track was £3.50, it was costing me about £200 per week to watch a match!

Q. Facebook or Twitter?

A. Apparently I have a Facebook page, run for me by Cllr David Theobald, who has a much higher knowledge of all things IT than I do. I know how to operate most things to do with computers, but when it comes to things like Facebook, I'm pretty lost.