MySpace a place for friends

I'm an elected politician and if that hasn't put you off, just consider this.  Everything you do is governed by politics and people like me help to shape the rules. 

I have set up this myspace page to encourage anyone who is interested in politics to leave comments/messages and ask any question they wish.  I will endeavour to reply to as many comments and questions as possible.I am a Liberal Democrat MP. If you wish to view my official site you can find me at: www.adriansanders.org

Here is a little bit about myself and how I became a Member of Parliament. 

I was born in the small South Devon seaside resort of Paignton on 25th April 1959. I went to schools in Paignton and next door Torquay before attending Torquay Boys' Grammar School which I left after A Levels.

After a brief spell working in a timber yard, I spent seven years in the insurance industry.  It was during this time that I became increasingly disillusioned with the Labour Government of the day, which I felt, overlooked the needs of peripheral areas of the UK like Torbay.  I was also fearful of the unregulated capitalism espoused by Mrs Thatcher, the new leader of the Conservative Party. I felt that I had more in common with Liberal MPs John Pardoe and David Penhaligon who spoke up passionately for the far South West; So, I joined the Liberal Party in 1979 and in 1985 was elected Vice President of the National League of Young Liberals.

In 1984 I stood successfully to Torbay Council representing the old Blatchcombe ward, a third of which will return to the Torbay constituency at the next election, under the Boundary Review.

Following a period of unemployment - a common experience for people from my part of the country - in 1986 I stood down from the Council to take up a paid job with the Association of Liberal Councilors in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. I worked for the Association (later Association of Liberal Democrat Councilors ? ALDC) until 1989 when I then moved to the Liberal Democrats? Whips Office in the House of Commons.

Between 1992 and 1993 I worked in the office of Paddy Ashdown MP where I was primarily responsible for organising Paddy's 'Beyond Westminster' Tour, in which Paddy was the first leader of a national party to leave Westminster to live and work in various different communities across Britain

On completion of the tour I worked as the Policy Officer of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (1993-94) and then the Southern Association of Voluntary Action Groups for Europe, advising voluntary organisations and charities on how to gain access to funds from Europe for training and employment projects.

I contested the Torbay constituency in the 1992 General Election, reducing the Conservative majority to only 5,787.  I then became the candidate for the Devon and East Plymouth constituency in the 1994 European Election. On May the 1st 1997 I was elected Member of Parliament for Torbay in the closest of contests. With a majority of just 12 over the Conservatives, I joined the Liberal Democrat team in Parliament, speaking on Housing, and in my first Parliament, I served as a Regional Whip for the South West.In the 2001 General Election my majority increased to 6,708, and I became the Liberal Democrat spokesmen for Tourism. I stood again, successfully, in the 2005 General Election.

I am presently Deputy Chief Whip of the Party in Parliament, Chair the All Party Parliamentary Group on Diabetes (I've been Type 1 for 17 years) and sit on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

I split my week between my flat in Westminster and my home in Paignton. 

Look forward to hearing from you and do feel free to comment on my blog or message me if you prefer.

My World Visitor Map!

Nelson Mandela, Roger Waters, David Gilmore, Nick Mason, and if only he were still with us, Richard Wright.