A big thank you

To be elected by your fellow citizens to represent them in Parliament is an amazing privilege and honour.

I want to thank everyone who voted for me in the General Election and all the volunteers who knocked on doors, delivered leaflets, stuffed envelopes and put up posters for me during the campaign.

Most people had expected that the boundary changes that came into effect this year would reduce my majority. In the event it went up. My share of the vote rose to more than 52% , with a margin of 24% between me and the Liberal Democrat in second place. what was more, the indications were that we won decisively not just in the rural areas but in the town of Aylesbury too.

However, once elected, an MP’s duty is to serve the interests and represent the views of all his constituents, no matter how they voted, and my pledge is to continue to do that to the best of my ability.

General Election Result for Aylesbury

David Lidington (Conservative)      27, 736         52.2%

Liberal Democrat                            15, 118          28.4%

Labour                                              6, 695           12.6%

UKIP                                                  3, 613           6.8%

Conservative majority                    12, 618         23.8.%

Turnout was 68.2%.

Because of boundary changes, the 2010 result is not directly comparable with the 2005 result for the Aylesbury constituency. Notional results for Aylesbury in 2005 on the new constituency borders are estimated by the BBC as follows: Conservative 48.3%; Lib Dem 28.9%; Labour 18.3%; UKIP 4.5%).

The Conservative Party | Policy | Our Contract With You

The Conservative Party | Policy | Our Contract With You.

Declaration of Interests

One of the recommendations of the Kelly Report into MPs’ expenses and allowances was that all parliamentary candidates should make a declaration of their outside interests when standing for election.  The Ministry of Justice has now issued guidance to parties  and candidates on how this should be done and this is my declaration, which follows the categories set out in the guidance.

A. Other Paid Jobs. I have no paid employment other than my parliamentary salary. I have occasionally completed an opinion survey for opinion research companies in return for them making a donation direct to a charity.

B. The holding of positions of responsibility in some types of organisations. I hold a number of honorary and unpaid positions.

Hon. Vice-President of Buckinghamshire Mind.

Hon. Vice-President of Oasis Partnership.

Patron, Aylesbury Vale Advocates.

Patron, Chilterns Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Halton.

Holding Trustee (HQ and Aylesbury shop), Age Concern Bucks.

Hon. President, Aylesbury Conservative Club.

Vice-Chairman and Governor, The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (a cross-party body funded by the Foreign Office to help strengthen democratic institutions and political parties in Africa, Eastern Europe and elsewhere in the world).

I have agreed to serve as a Director of the United Kingdom Association, a new cross-party think tank now being established.

C. Relevant Financial Interests

(i) Directorships. None.

(ii) Clients. None.

(iii) Land and Property. None.

(iv) Shareholdings. None.

D. Tax Matters. I support the next Conservative Government’s requirement that anyone who sits in either House will be required by law to be a full UK taxpayer. I confirm that I have not claimed to be, or been, treated as not resident, not ordinarily resident or non-domiciled in the UK for tax purposes.

On the stump

Pretty solid campaigning all day, starting with a freezing cold Stokenchurch. It was nice and sunny but the wind was bitter. My hands were so cold that one or two people, when I shook theirs, reacted almost as if they’d had an electric shock!

This evening’s main event was a meeting (along with the Labour and Lib Dem candidates) organised by a local housing association for us to meet people with disabilities, mostly in this case with learning disabilities. I thought that it was a very imaginative and worthwhile initiative by staff and carers to show the men and women whom they were helping  that they were entitled to both the rights and responsibilities of democratic politics. There were some thought-provoking questions about anti-social behaviour and victimisation, accessible transport and the pressure on vulnerable people from telephone cold-callers.

Dissolution of Parliament

From Monday 12th April at 5.00pm Parliament was dissolved. This means there will be no MPs until after the General Election on 6th May. Until that time I will be campaigning for re-election as the Conservative Party’s Candidate for Aylesbury.

My Westminster staff are not allowed to work in the House of Commons during the election campaign though they are continuing to deal as best they can with constituency casework from their homes.

To find out more about the Conservative Party’s policies please visit http://www.conservatives.com/

Conservative Manifesto

The Conservative Manifesto is now accessible here in either high or low resolution .pdf.