What was so great about Nick was the fact that he recognised the problems I faced and offered tangible solutions to the problems I faced. People all too often argued that politicians do nothing for their local constituents but that's not the experience I've had with MPs. When I wrote to Douglas Hogg when he was an MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham about the increasing cost of fees for the Bar examination, he wrote to the colleges concerned and sent me their responses along with his thoughts on the matter. With Nick, there was that same sense of concern for his local constituents and aiming to help them.
His first suggestion was that I start a blog and so that's what I've decided to do here. He was conscious to note that I shouldn't try to be like "traditional media" columnists since that part of media is failing and it's something I agree with. We all have to be individual in our approach to new media because there's no rigid definition about what is appropriate and what is not. Social media has allowed us to be more personal in communicating with people on the Internet. That's part of the problem I think I had with the previous blogs, that I was trying too hard to fit into the "old media" school of thought when it's clear it's no longer appropriate.
We discussed a lot of different career options and the reasons why it was so difficult for people from different or unique backgrounds to break into politics. I admitted that I had considered different career options, e.g. media, publishing, but we both came to the conclusion that the job market was in such a state that there was an "exploitation of the market" going on with these companies who use internships as a means of free labour. It's difficult for someone like myself, someone from a working class/lower middle class background, to be able to afford unpaid internships when most are located in London and only cover expenses on the London Underground. It seems as though we are now London-centric and people just assume we will all relocate there for jobs.
Nick did have one great suggestion - that more people from Conservative backgrounds need to have held public sector jobs. One of the best lines of our conversation was that the Conservative Party had enough "QCs and lawyers". Teaching, Nick said, was one of the best public sector careers to go into since it's a form of politics in itself - public speaking, communication, writing. I recognise what Nick is saying and, if the PGCE weren't such an expensive course like the Bar exams, I would've considered it further.
He has, however, offered me a short internship in Westminster with him when a slot opens up which I think is great and very kind of him to do so. He has no obligation to me to offer me that but I think we are of a similar mindset and it'll be great to get some experience with an up-and-coming politician. He's also put me in touch with the local Conservative Association so I can start to get involved with local politics so, again, he's doing a lot for me and shows that he is prepared to help out his local constituents.
I've seen a lot of criticism from Labour about Nick Boles and his performance as an MP for Grantham and Stamford but meeting him today seems to disregard all that criticism. People only tend to criticise when they haven't met the person. I expected someone completely different to the person I met and I'm glad he's my MP. He's got fresh ideas and he's in touch with people like me who don't come from the privileged background that so many of our politicians seem to do.
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