Posner's Politics: Prospective politician in confident mood

AS a Daily Telegraph columnist, Tory Paul Goodman has spent many an hour dissecting politicians' remarks.

However, if he is successful in winning the Wycombe constituency for the Conservatives at the next election he will find himself on the other side of the fence.

With the Government's popularity rating in free fall and a more than 2,000 strong majority in Wycombe, I found Mr Goodman in confident mood about his chances of success.

He believes that the stigma of shame attached to Tory voters in 1997 has now vanished and the electorate are again proud to vote Conservative.

But will people be happy to mark their ballot papers for a man who lives in south west London?

Mr Goodman, himself, was keen to point out that he has spent a lot of time in the constituency since being chosen by Wycombe Tories to replace retiring MP Sir Ray Whitney at the next election.

He says he is not a 'weekend candidate' and is planning to find a flat in High Wycombe before the proper campaign begins.

If he takes the seat, Mr Goodman and his solicitor wife Fiona will then decide on where to live in the constituency.

Although Mr Goodman will not give his full platform of views until just before the election, he says he has already learnt a lot from listening to residents.

The four main worries highlighted to him were the concreting over of Wycombe, the future of grammar schools, pensions, and what he calls the Government's 'stealth' taxes. Mr Goodman said most people talked about national rather than local issues.

If elected Mr Goodman, 40, promised to put the interests of his constituents before those of his party. However, he said his first priority would be the interests of the nation.

He has seen too many disillusioned politicians in his time as a journalist to say if he wanted to be part of the Government, given the chance.

After leaving York University, Mr Goodman became a novice monk at the Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight but decided it was not for him and moved into journalism. He said: 'I wanted to try and see if that is how I should live the course of my life, but came to the conclusion it was not.'

Following a spell as home affairs editor at the Catholic Herald, he became a Daily Telegraph leader writer, a Sunday Telegraph reporter and then back to its daily sister as comment writer.

Posner's Politics: Prospective politician in confident mood

AS a Daily Telegraph columnist, Tory Paul Goodman has spent many an hour dissecting politicians' remarks.

However, if he is successful in winning the Wycombe constituency for the Conservatives at the next election he will find himself on the other side of the fence.

With the Government's popularity rating in free fall and a more than 2,000 strong majority in Wycombe, I found Mr Goodman in confident mood about his chances of success.

He believes that the stigma of shame attached to Tory voters in 1997 has now vanished and the electorate are again proud to vote Conservative.

But will people be happy to mark their ballot papers for a man who lives in south west London?

Mr Goodman, himself, was keen to point out that he has spent a lot of time in the constituency since being chosen by Wycombe Tories to replace retiring MP Sir Ray Whitney at the next election.

He says he is not a 'weekend candidate' and is planning to find a flat in High Wycombe before the proper campaign begins.

If he takes the seat, Mr Goodman and his solicitor wife Fiona will then decide on where to live in the constituency.

Although Mr Goodman will not give his full platform of views until just before the election, he says he has already learnt a lot from listening to residents.

The four main worries highlighted to him were the concreting over of Wycombe, the future of grammar schools, pensions, and what he calls the Government's 'stealth' taxes. Mr Goodman said most people talked about national rather than local issues.

If elected Mr Goodman, 40, promised to put the interests of his constituents before those of his party. However, he said his first priority would be the interests of the nation.

He has seen too many disillusioned politicians in his time as a journalist to say if he wanted to be part of the Government, given the chance.

After leaving York University, Mr Goodman became a novice monk at the Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight but decided it was not for him and moved into journalism. He said: 'I wanted to try and see if that is how I should live the course of my life, but came to the conclusion it was not.'

Following a spell as home affairs editor at the Catholic Herald, he became a Daily Telegraph leader writer, a Sunday Telegraph reporter and then back to its daily sister as comment writer.