Oxford MP says ‘We need women’s voices'

“They say it’s the three Cs – cash, confidence and caring for others.”

Indeed, as she rightly points out, standing for Parliament can be expensive, nerve-wracking and time consuming.

And, if you do become elected, can mean travelling hundreds of miles between your seat and the Commons – particulary difficult for women caring for children or elderly parents.

“Those are three reasons but we must overcome them because we need more women in Parliament,” she continues. “I think we bring another perspective to issues – you have got to have a representative Parliament. We are 50 per cent of the population – we need women’s voices. If you don’t have that range of experience there is a danger you make decisions that are not effective and don’t see the consequenses that could be damaging.”

Clearly, being a woman hasn’t held 34-year-old Nicola back: she was elected as Oxfordshire’s first female MP in 2010.

“I don’t think it matters really,” she says. “I think it’s more about age than sex. I haven’t experienced any sexisim but I have certainly have had to establish my right to be an MP among my constituents because of my age. You rightly have to earn respect.”

In fact, she thinks being a woman in the present Government is a positive thing. “It’s not just about having a different perspective. We are not as combatative as men, we tend to be a bit more reconciliatory and that’s important when you have a coalition Government.”

Nicola, like most female MPs, gets more attention than men about her appearance and dress sense, but with a politician’s knack of turning negatives into positives, says cheerily: “We are just more interesting. I think it’s more boring for men.”

She does have a few basic rules when choosing clothes but the biggest one is “be comfortable”.

“The days are quite long and I’ve learned from experience,” she says.

“The House of Commons is an old building and physically impossible to heat. I get really cold, so I have lots of layers.

“A bit of colour is nice and gives you a bit of confidence. The only thing I really get [in comments about appearance] is I like red and people say ‘shouldn’t you be wearing blue, you’re a Tory?’”

Nicola tends to shop at Zara, Hobbs, Phase Eight, Marks and Spencer, Top Shop and “anywhere that has something I might like”.

And wouldn’t be averse, in theory, to showcasing the work of Oxford designers as long as it fell within House of Common rules.

One of her first learning experiences, sartorially, was when she wore a green patterned top to appear on a TV show. It was being filmed against a green screen and so was asked to change because it interferred with the shot – she didn’t have another outfit so did the interview in hercoat.

“Afterwards somebody asked why I did the show with my nan’s suit on,” she laughs.

Nicola’s immediate ambitions are to do a good job and “carry on up the food chain” but further ahead: “I’d like to still be an MP after 2015,” she says.

This follows a whirlwind week which saw her being promoted, doing her first stint as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) for Matthew Hancock, Minister for Skills and Enterprise, and (quietly) celebrating her 34th birthday (“I had a cake, that’s about it”).

It’s not going to be an easy job – Nicola was elected with a majority of just 176 – but says she’s willing to put in the work to do all she can to carry on representing what is essentially her home town.

In her free moments she still sings (she’s a trained musician, see panel), plays the flute and tries to catch up with family and friends but you get the impression those moments are few and far between.

“It’s a lifestyle type of job,” says Nicola, who lives in Summertown. “I grew up in a family where you couldn’t have dinner or a night when there wasn’t a chance my dad [a cardiologist] would be called out to resuscitate someone. I was never brought up with 9 to 5 jobs.”

Whatever you may think of her politics, there is no denying Nicola is a grafter.

The Conservative MP for Oxford West and Abingdon was tired but happy when we met at The Jam Factory, having already visited two schools and done a blindfold walk down Kidlington high street, before having to rush off to another appointment.

Her highlight of the past month has undoubtedly been seeing the amendment she tabled to the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill – giving police power to intervene earlier in cases of suspected child sex exploitation – passed unanimously in the House of Commons.

“That makes it all worth it. I know the Government wouldn’t have done it if we hadn’t campaigned for it,” she says.

In the aftermath of Oxford’s Operation Bullfinch case – in which seven men were jailed for a catalogue of sex offences against girls as young as 11 – Nicola launched The Childhood Lost Campaign.

With the support of the NSPCC, Barnardos, The Children’s Society, PACE, ECPAT, Save the Children, Oxcat and others, the campaign garnered more than 103,000 signatures supporting the amendment and succeeded in getting the introduction of a new Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Order.

“I saw for myself the appalling devastation caused by child sexual exploitation,” she says.

And with that Nicola was gone – a fleeting reflection packed into a day in which, from her point of view, was nowhere near long enough.

If you would like to meet Nicola at one of her surgeries to discuss any personal and individual concerns you may have, contact her office on 0207 219 7126 or at nicola.blackwood.mp@ parliament.uk

ABOUT NICOLA Nicola was born in 1979 in Johannesburg but her family returned to Oxford two months later after her father had angered the Apartheid government by speaking up for the rights of the black community.

Her lifelong connection with Oxford began before she was born – her parents met at the Radcliffe Infirmary and both worked for the Oxfordshire NHS for many years.

Her father Roger teaches medical students at the John Radcliffe and her South African mother Libby is a cardiac nurse tutor.

Nicola now lives in Summertown and is a governor at her local special school and has recently been trained as a Domestic Violence Champion.

She was trained as a classical singer at Trinity College of Music from the age of 14 before gaining a First in Music at St Anne’s College and an M.Phil. in Musicology from Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Her change of career came in her early 20s. Nicola worked as a Parliamentary Researcher for Andrew Mitchell MP, the Secretary of State for International Development, and spent part of a gap year volunteering with aid projects which led to a role advising the Conservative International Development team. She has volunteered with international aid projects in Mozambique, Rwanda, Bangladesh and social action projects closer to home in Birmingham and Blackpool. When Nicola was elected to Parliament, she was almost immediately appointed vice chairman of the Conservative Party for Social Action.

She has also been actively involved in the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, as its vice chairman. Nicola is chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Women, Peace and Security.

Her heroines are women in conflict zones and repressed societies who fight against the odds to make a difference.

Those like activist Malalai Joya, dubbed the “bravest woman in Afghanistan” by the BBC and Malala Yousufzai the 14-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head last year for promoting the education of girls and criticising Taliban militants.

“I work with a lot of women who stand up and call for reforms and women’s rights.

“They face threats of rape, violence and death,” she says. “Whenever I have a hard time in public life in the UK I am inspired by their bravery.”