New Stafford MP Theo Clarke: Time for actions, not words
When she was growing up Theo Clarke didn't have much time for politicians.
As a general rule she found them frustrating characters who rarely matched their words with actions, and by the time she was a young adult she had stopped paying attention to what most of them said or did.
That all changed around 2010 in the aftermath of the Commons expenses scandal, when Ms Clarke decided that the best way to change the depressing narrative was to get involved herself.
"I thought it was appalling that these people had behaved so badly," she said.
"It was certainly never my plan to become a politician, but it got to the point where I thought it was time that we had people with real life experience going into politics."
Fast forward a decade and Ms Clarke is the proud, newly-elected MP for Stafford, holding the seat for the Conservatives in December's general election with a majority of 14,377, the biggest in the constituency's history.
The 34-year-old is determined not to be one of the the untrustworthy types she used to criticise. "The people of Stafford want to see a politician who delivers on their promises," she tells me.
"I have seen so many politicians around the world who say something then don't do it. I want to show that it's about actions not words."
Famous relatives
In some respects the fact that she has ended up in Parliament should come as no surprise given her family history.
She's a descendent of former US President Theodore Roosevelt, and her uncle is Commons leader Jacob Rees Mogg, who she says she doesn't speak with that often apart from when they catch the occasional game of cricket together.
Ms Clarke's route to Westminster saw her cut her teeth standing in the Labour stronghold of Bristol East in the 2017 snap election.
She grew up in Gloucestershire and started her own arts business while at university, creating jobs and in her own words, "learning how to get things done in the real world".
She later launched a not-for-profit backed by the Bill Gates Foundation, which looks at Britain's place in the world and its contribution to overseas aid and international development.
Her work saw her travel the world, seeing first hand the important work Britain did in West Africa following the Ebola outbreak.
It was during her time as a volunteer in Sierra Leone that she says she saw what a "huge difference" foreign aid makes to struggling nations.
"It's always Britain that steps up in times of crisis, and I think that we're very good at it," she says, her passion for the issue evident.
She's a big supporter of the UK spending 0.7 per cent of its GNP on international development, describing it as "one of our great legacies" of David Cameron.
"We are able and have a duty to help lift people around the world out of poverty. When you look behind the negative headlines, the aid budget makes a huge difference.
"It can help create more jobs here in the constituency if the likes of JCB can export to new emerging markets."
Leadership
She's keen to continue this work now she's involved in politics, and has been elected onto the International Development Select Committee and became chair of a committee which scrutinises the aid budget.
She's adamant that although Britain has left the EU, it can still be a global leader. "Whether it is standing up on the world stage in the United Nations, or the WTO and making the case for a rules based international system," she says.
"We have aggressive countries like Russia and China that don't always respect the rules. The UK has an important role to play in that debate.
"Brexit is a great opportunity to decide what kind of country we want to be. Britain is global and should engage with the world. There are so many issues, including climate change and terrorism that no country can solve on its own."
We're chatting in Coffee #1 in Stafford, one of the many places in the constituency Ms Clarke has taken a liking to since she was first chosen to succeed Jeremy Lefroy in September.
She describes herself as a one nation Tory and a great believer in the Government's agenda of "levelling up", saying past administrations have focused investment in the south rather than the West Midlands.
Priorities for Stafford
Her list of priorities for Stafford is a long one.
She wants to see the return of a 24-hour emergency department at County Hospital, and has held talks with council chiefs over the re-opening of Shire Hall.
As a long time advocate for tackling climate change, bringing a flood control centre to the borough is another priority for the MP, who has met with residents adversely affected by the recent storms.
She says she is determined to fight for fair compensation for residents affected by HS2, and is also campaigning for more cash for schools in a county which she says has been "traditionally underfunded" in the sector.
"One of the reasons I became a Conservative is that I really believe in opportunity, and for me that starts in school," she said. "We need to provide people with the best possible education so they can have the right start in life."
Congestion in the borough is "a huge issue", she says, and in her first Commons speech she called for improvements to rural bus services, including the launch of a 'dial-a-ride' scheme.
She has also presented a petition to parliament opposing the West Midlands Interchange, and is planning to start a campaign on mental health across the constituency.
She returns once again to the issue of trust, insisting that the Government is "on the right track" to justify the public support it was given in December.
"I believe that Boris Johnson will deliver on what he has said," Ms Clarke says. "The money is there to build more hospitals and for more GP appointments. There's funding for schools and the police.
"We know that when it comes down to it the public will judge us on our track record of delivery."
