Independence for Poplar and Limehouse?

He said: "If I can encourage people to vote for a person rather than a party, even if that person is not me, I've made an important contribution."

A civil engineer by trade, Jim is managing director of companies including Hurford Salvi Carr Property Management in Limehouse's Branch Road.

However, he is not a rookie in politics. In fact, Jim was a district councillor for Hertford Castle ward from 1999 to 2007. At this time, he was heavily involved in the Conservative party, and served as the chair of the back bench committee.

He says his flashpoint came in late 2005, when the Hertfordshire Mercury won its battle to publish details of a report chronicling "a culture of bullying, blame and fear" in the council. Jim recalls that he proposed a motion calling for leader Mike Carver to stand for re-election, and Cllr Carver resigned a month later.

Jim said: "It was my job to stick my head above the parapet and get rid of the leader. However, there were some within the party who still wouldn't apologise to the electorate for everything that had happened.

"I felt I couldn't go back to the electorate and defend the party's record."

He subsequently decided to run as an independent at the next election in 2007, and was thrown out of the Conservative party. He did not win his seat.

Rather than wilt in the political wilderness, Jim appears to relish his role as an outsider. He has recently published a book called Independents for East Herts, offering advice to others considering similar campaigns.

Another stage in his conversion came last year, when he was "dragged" by a researcher to a meeting of the Independent Network, a forum where candidates such as Esther Rantzen and Martin Bell discuss the principles of running independently.

He was soon appointed to the network's National Executive, and set his sights on the "fantastically diverse" Poplar and Limehouse seat this month.

Despite the popular conception of independent candidates as rogue firebrands on the fringes, candidates endorsed by the Independent Network have pledged to be bound by the Bell Principles. These include pledges to be "non-discriminatory", to tackle opponents "with courtesy and respect" and to consult "constantly and innovatively". Not all independents, of course, seek the Network's endorsement.

Jim said: "We're selling a different concept. The thing about being an independent candidate is that you have to work so much harder. You haven't got a party to tell you how to vote, so you actually have to think about every issue and form a view on it."

Jim and his campaign researcher David Jones plan to digest each party's manifesto at jimthornton.org.uk, with his personal view underneath.

However, he said: "We have no policies other than to say we will represent the people here and will support measures for the common good.

"I'm not campaigning on my view on Israel or Palestine. There's no point in that, because as an independent I can't change that. Independents are not going to form a government.

"There's nothing worse than someone who's got a fixed view of everything. Most of the issues that come up nowadays are fairly complex, so there has to be a dialogue. But the MP will have to make the decision in the end."

As a property manager himself, Jim is keen to promote mixed housing, with "areas of social housing next to penthouses".

"In the buildings we manage, it hasn't caused any problems", he said.

He is also keen to work closer with ward councillors, and has already written to several in the Tower Hamlets area asking for support.

He said: "They're the people in contact with residents of the ward, but there's a bit of a sense of disempowerment, with decisions being made behind closed doors. I want to be the team leader, working with councillors but with the ability to speak out on issues in parliament."

However, his most pressing issue is employment. He wants to draw on his experience as a businessman to identify problems, and will make this a key priority if elected.

He said: "I'm slightly pessimistic about what's going to happen this year. It reminds me of 1991, and it wasn't until 1996 that things picked up again. We could be in for a tough couple of years.

"I would be looking to support any initiative that helps jobs. Even if people feel reasonably secure, they will know a friend or relative that needs a job."

Jim has a business based in the borough, and revealed that his father and grandfather had a joinery business in Shadwell for many years. But his own home is in Hertford, where he is a Church of England reader and a governor of two schools. It is a detail he does not believe should affect his effectiveness in Westminster.

He said: "Tim Archer is a local candidate with ward experience, and he's the sort of candidate I'd support in my own constituency with my Conservative background. But there's also the argument that he will bring a lot of local baggage to parliament that will make it difficult for him to objective when it comes to casting votes.

"When I was in East Herts, I remember I was hopping mad once that there was no local candidate so I put myself up. But the party told me that this wasn't the way they wanted to go.

"It's sometimes better to have someone who could come into the role from the outside and look at the subject dispassionately."

So does Mr Thornton have a view on the performance of Mr Fitzpatrick, who has been the MP for Poplar and Canning Town since 1997?

He said: "Until the last couple of months I hadn't even thought about it. I generally don't have a view either way.

"The only thing that crossed my consciousness was the issue with the wedding, and from my experience in Bahrain, I would probably not have handled it quite like that."

Poplar and Limehouse looks set to be one of the more hotly-contested seats at this year's election, raising the spectre of personal attacks and "dirty" politics.

Jim says that he "never" banked expenses at East Herts, and donated his councillor's allowance to a "multi-racial youth facility in South Africa". But he insists he's not going to campaign on the flaws of his competitors.

He said: "People really don't like politicians being rude about each other. I managed to persuade colleagues in the Conservatives to drop some of that locally.

"If one of the other candidates gets into a mess, I will not be the one shrieking. If someone did it to me, I would respond in a low key fashion. I think that's what the public prefers."

Jim talked to The Wharf in a meeting room at the end of the Hurford Salvi Carr office, flanked by a single researcher. While he is relishing his role, David Jones - a former intern with the Liberal Democrats - mused that there are subtle differences between running inside and outside a party system, such as the challenges of getting your leaflets out to various areas.

Jim bemoans the fact that the "electoral system is heavily weighted in favour of the party", and hopes to be able to change the system to tip the balance further towards independents. However, he admits this may be a challenge, quipping that "turkeys don't vote for Christmas".

He said: "The candidates that we're being asked to vote for are selected by activists from a small group of people you probably wouldn't want to go to the pub with.

"The calibre of councillor has declined because you have got a small pot to choose from. In East Herts, we listed 90 people from the community, but most did not want the stigma of being labelled as a Conservative. That didn't mean they weren't interested in standing.

"Who are the people in the community that we look up to? They might be the chair of the PTA or the head of the Neighbourhood Watch. Aren't they therefore the logical people to elect to speak for us? Why should it be someone put up by a group of activists? Why have we got such a narrow choice?

"We're asking people if they really think this is the presidential campaign between President Brown and President Cameron that the media are reflecting, and if that's the way they want politics to be represented on a national level."