Hello - this is why I'm standing to be an MP at the 2015 general election

I’ve been at a social housing conference where I was able to listen to people talk about their experiences and concerns.

Everywhere there is politics. You can almost feel the passion dripping from the walls as issue after issue is discussed; jobs, the future of healthcare, the bedroom tax/spare room subsidy (depends who you talk to), immigration and defence.

Politics, and the way it is organised, matters and it is clear that throughout the lives of us all politics weaves an important thread.

Hello. My name is Peter Fortune and I’ve been selected to stand as a candidate at the next general election in May.

I’m not yet going to tell you where or for which party as it doesn’t matter. Well it does matter, of course, but not at this point.

The thing is that I’m a reasonably normal chap. I grew up in south London, went to the local school until I was 15 and subsequently worked a number of different jobs. I’ve done alright and sort of worked my way up.

My journey into politics was via residents associations, community groups and serving as a local councillor. I grew up in a single-parent family, my mother wasn’t particularly political and neither was anybody else I knew. I got into politics because, I guess, I’m a busybody. I find it very difficult to walk past a problem and not get involved. The truth is that most people I work with in politics – from any side of the political divide - are the same. Good people who have the wellbeing of their local community at heart.

The difficulty is that an increasing number of the public wouldn’t believe that. The image of the average politico is one of a self-serving greedy swine whose primary concern is for their own bank balance. It is a very tricky job to try to convince people otherwise and, as democracy seems to be the best thing we’ve found as a system so far, the political disengagement that results creates a real and genuine problem for us all. As I said, I find it difficult to walk past a problem.

So that’s the idea behind this blog. Over the next six months I’ll regularly update you on my first general election campaign and provide an insider’s view of the reality of day-to-day politics. Not the political ideas and conversations that will fill the campaign literature; but the door knocking, the rain, the fundraising quizzes and the hours spent folding leaflets. The very essence of the business of politics.

I hope to be able to convince you that those sorry souls who will be knocking on your door over the next few months, from whichever party, are volunteering their own time and have honestly held views that they would like to talk to you about. They are prepared to be challenged and really don’t mind if you disagree.

I’m happy to answer any questions you have about the process of engaging in politics. You may wonder how you get selected to stand for parliament. You may want to know how campaigns really work, or how candidates fit them in around a full-time job. I’ll respond in the best way I can. I want to demystify the political process and attempt to ensure that we are gathering all of the talents so that we have a truly representative political body.

The House of ‘Commons’ should never cease to be exactly that.

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