I'm ready to fight on my record, says Fitzpatrick

The Labour candidate will battle with Conservative Tim Archer and Respect's George Galloway at the next general election, but even if he wins the revised Poplar and Limehouse seat, he may not be a member of the ruling party.

Speaking to The Wharf in Westminster before last week's vote on the Iraq inquiry, he said: "It's a bigger challenge to get your message across. But people do make a distinction.

"There are dyed-in-the-wool Labour supporters who don't like what the Government is doing and blame me. There are also Conservative or Liberal Democrat supporters who remember me because I've helped them in the past.

"It's been said that a good local MP can command a personal vote of 2-3,000 voters.

"It's not huge, but in an election where the vote is split, it could be the difference between winning and losing.

"We've been out campaigning every Saturday morning since 2003. We've organised coffee mornings, and I see 25 to 30 people in my surgery every week. I've only missed 10 surgeries in 12 years.

"If I hadn't attended my surgeries religiously, it would be in The Wharf and people would be asking, 'Where is he? He's always on Big Brother or out giving lectures'.

"When we do engage with people, we tell them to look at what's happened locally. The Royal London Hospital is going to be one of the biggest projects on the east London landscape.

"A lot of new health centres like the Barkantine have opened up. We've rebuilt the vast majority of schools in the area and set up 21 Sure Start centres.

"The investment in public infrastructure in Tower Hamlets has been huge over the last 12 years in terms of health, transport and policing.

"My job is to be a tool that organisations - whether public or private - can call upon and be able to use. I've been available and accessible to people in that regard."

Jim Fitzpatrick was a firefighter for 20 years before becoming an MP. The West Ham-supporting Scot also juggles his constituency duties with a ministerial brief.

The former road safety minister became the fifth Defra minister in as many years last month, replacing Jane Kennedy.

He said: "There were a few eyebrows raised about an inner city MP being brought in as farming minister. But my predecessor managed to work up a good relationship with the community in a short time and I will endeavour to do the same.

"I haven't been in the job long and I can see there are some huge challenges.

"I'm responsible for animal welfare, everything from racehorses and greyhounds to circus animals.

"We want honest labelling to get away from this nonsense of having pork pies labelled as British when there's Danish pork in them.

"We produce more cheese than France now, and it's down to the quality of our product that determines whether or not we're successful in domestic or export sales."

His dual role has not been without complication. The former Post Office minister was once the face of the Telegraph's "Stop Jim: Save Your Post Office" campaign, but also backed the drive to save the Quarterdeck branch on the Isle of Dogs.

He said: "When we had the Post Office closures, I made representations to make sure we were being fairly treated.

"The overall government policy was to protect the Post Office network. We either wanted to protect a national network or see it become completely dismantled because we didn't make the right choices.

"There are still more Post Offices in the UK than all the banks and building societies put together. I think we did a fairly reasonable job.

"Every vote is a judgment call. If you're not satisfied or being reluctantly persuaded in a certain direction, you can vote against it.

"If you're a minister, that comes at a cost. I would have to resign my post as a result, and I would have to weigh up whether the issue is a resigning issue or not."

He expects a "three-way fight" at the next general election, but won't be expecting bonus points for being the incumbent.

He said: "There's a great line in a Robert Harris book about a politician trying to climb the greasy pole in ancient Rome. His serf says, 'Look at all you've done for the people. Surely they will be grateful to you'. And the politician says, 'If you want gratitude, get a dog'.

"That's not to say people aren't grateful for some things. But you're a politician. People expect these things of you. That's your job.

"Elections are about giving people something to look forward to. They want the best they can get for themselves and their families. "It's always about moving forward and saying you can do something to help them realise their dreams and visions for the future."