1) You are standing in protest at party politics - is that just negative campaigning at its most blatant by asking people to vote against other people rather than for you?

My disillusionment at Party politics is just one reason why i am standing, but it should be taken in context of the question 'what is democracy?' Democracy is where the will of the people is carried out on their behalf. Party politics suffocates this into the perceived will of the people being translated into a Party manifesto. It is not possible to pick and choose which bits you want to vote for, by voting you give mandate for the elected to work on your behalf but their way. By standing independently, whilst my website sets out for information my own opinions unfettered by the Party line, if elected I would aim to primarily serve the consensus of the people of Stourbridge. As their spokesman, if that consensus differed to mine then so be it. Personally I see this as positive rather than negative.

2) Would an independent MP in Westminster be ineffective without the support of party infrastructure? Absolutely not! For example, think back to the promise of referendum on the European constitution; when this came to light in the thinly veiled disguise of the Lisbon Treaty, Mr Brown quickly scurried off to sign it unilaterally, taking the arrogant stance of having checked it out and satisfying himself that the salient points for the UK had been dealt with. Meanwhile the opposition Party sat in complicit complacency and voiced nothing; had I been present in the house at that time I would most certainly have been very vocal reminding Mr Brown of his party's promise. The more independent MPs that get elected the better for us all and the House would become the proper discussion forum it was always meant to be.

3) What do you think are the issues that will decide how votes fall in Stourbridge? I think jobs and the economy are at the forefront of many peoples minds, though I fear no Party has the temerity to be honest before the event regarding what measures will have to be taken. Unfortunately such honesty would likely prevent success at the polls as the truth will be unpalatable and unwelcome to many.

4) What experience can you bring to this political battle? Its true, I have little political experience, indeed I fear the career politician. The experience I do have is that of running a successful business; there is little difference apart from scale between running a business, a household or a country. I have always lived within my means; yes I borrow for larger items from time to time, but only when I can be certain that it will either generate an income to fund itself or funding will be available in order to make such borrowing affordable. I have lived life in the real world; I have been unemployed for a prolonged period, i have survived recession previously, I have practical hands on experience of certain jobs of trade so can relate directly to the working man and woman of Stourbridge, understanding the obstacles they encounter. I have lived all of my life in Stourbridge, I was educated here, I played here, I work here. When someone talks to me about the town I therefore share their memories, their experiences (I too have queued at the tip and no longer use the multi storey car parks!) and their aspirations.

5) What main issue would you take up/strive to change if elected on May 6? What do you hope to offer the people of Stourbridge? What issues are close to your heart?

I would like to change this ridiculous culture of 'targets' put in place in many aspects of modern life; just because a spurious target has been met it doesn't mean that the relevant service has been a success. Take for example the A&E departments of local hospitals. The idiot who decreed that 4 hours was a good target for attention has obviously never had to sit with an elderly parent or small child for four hours awaiting treatment! Issues close to my heart are education which is far from the standards set when I passed my examinations and of little use to employer or employee alike. Manufacturing and the economy; until we start making things again and adding value at source, our economy will continue to suffer. I would like to see encouragement for small business manufacturing resurface in UK economies and following that an attempt at a 'buy British' campaign. Having personally overseen well over 1.5 m square feet of new speculative industrial space in my carer to date, I have watched as almost without exception it has been taken over by warehousing and logistics of splitting large imported foriegn boxes into smaller one off items for local distrbution..

6) What key qualities do you possess that you feel would make you a strong, reliable and trustworthy MP? I have already stated my policies on my website, one of which is to strive to follow the Bell Principles: Abide wholeheartedly by the spirit and letter of the Seven Principles of Public Life set out by Lord Nolan in 1995: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

Be guided by considered evidence, our real world experience and expertise, our constituencies and our consciences.

Be free from the control of any political party, pressure group or whip be non-discriminatory, ethical and committed to pluralism.

Make decisions transparently and openly at every stage and level of the political process, enabling people to see how decisions are made and the evidence on which they are based.

Listen, consulting our communities constantly and innovatively.

Treat political opponents with courtesy and respect, challenging them when we believe they are wrong, and agreeing with them when we believe they are right.

Resist abuses of power and patronage and promote democracy at every level.

Work with other elected independents as a Group with a chosen spokesperson.

Claim expenses, salaries and compensation openly so the public can judge the value for money of our activities.

As a committed Christian, the above is little more than how I already strive to attend to my affairs daily. Irrespective of any rules, my expenses claim would not only be transparent, but also accurate, reflecting actual items bought necessary to carry out my role and expenditure for matters such as mileage calculated on the same rates as Mr & Mrs Public. At deselection or resignation, anything provided to me to assist in making the job easier or better would, just like in the real world, be returned to the employer (taxpayer).