One more in the House

Paul Maynard is the new Conservative MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys. Speaking hours after being elected, he told Sunil Peck he was “honoured” to have the opportunity to make a “real difference” to people’s lives

I think I’ve shown that having a disability should be no bar to getting elected, especially having a disability like cerebral palsy (CP), where people might not understand what it is and might think that you’re learning disabled.”

Paul Maynard, the new MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, is a former adviser to Conservative shadow health secretary Liam Fox. An Oxford graduate, he was beaten by Vince Cable for the Liberal Democrats in Twickenham in the general election of 2005. His new seat, which he won for the Conservatives with a majority of more than 2,000, had been held by Labour since 1997.

Because of his CP, doubts about Maynard’s ability to work as an MP did surface during the election. He says these were hurtful but that it was only among a small minority of people. “Most of it was not so much based on hate but ignorance. Some people questioned my ability to manage a public meeting. I’d get: ‘If he’s always drunk, how can he serve as an MP?’”

According to Maynard, the significance of his disability only became apparent to him as the campaign went on.

“If you’d asked me six months ago, I’d have said that having CP made no difference at all. But with my experiences over the past few weeks, I’ve felt an incredible sense that I’m breaking a glass ceiling.

“The number of people who’ve come up to me with a disability or whose children have special needs and have said how pleased they are to see me not being afraid to enter the public arena has made me feel quite honoured.”

Other disabled politicians, notably David Blunkett, have been criticised for failing to exploit their positions to bang the drum for political rights in Parliament.

So as someone who has become aware of the significance of being a disabled MP, will Paul Maynard be any different?

“I don’t want to pigeon-hole myself as a politician who only deals in disabled issues,” he says. “Disability issues and long-term health conditions are massively important.

“Mine is a constituency with a very high number of people with a long-term medical condition, but topics like tourism, regeneration and poverty are incredibly important too. I’ve been elected by the people of Blackpool North and Cleveleys, not by the disabled community. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t involve myself in issues relating to the disabled community, but I shouldn’t allow those issues to define me as a politician because I have much more to say on a wide range of issues.”

Paul Maynard’s success in Blackpool is still sinking in, but he has no doubt that he’ll be able to hold his own.

“I’ve heard stories about how the Commons can be a cruel place, but I hope it won’t be. I’m used to debating in public and it doesn’t hold any fears for me. If anybody tries to make fun of me in the Chamber, they’ll get the sharp end of my tongue pretty damn quick.”

Paul hopes that if he proves himself an effective politician, his poll victory will lead more disabled people to enter Parliament . But apart from doing his bit to overturn public mistrust of politicians in the wake of the expenses scandal, what else does he think he offers?

“If I feel that ministers are listening to me on issues where I know what I’m talking about when I stand up to speak, if I can demon­strate that I understand policy detail, policy frame­work, and how to make people’s lives better, that to me will be a success.

“Maybe I’m going there as an idealist: I make no apologies for that. I believe in optimism and looking on the bright side and I want to make change, so I’m going to give it a go.”