By Steph Johnson

Last updated at 10:11, Friday, 30 October 2009

The new Conservative candidate for Penrith and the Border says he will put his experience of governing Iraqi provinces to good use if he’s elected in Cumbria.

Rory Stewart: Look at nursing care level

Former diplomat Rory Stewart won a US-style open primary at the Penrith Auction Mart on Sunday.

Although a novice to British politics, he was a deputy governor of the Maysan and Dhi Qar provinces in the year after Saddam Hussein was overthrown.

Mr Stewart, 36, is well aware he is dealing with a completely different culture and terrain.

But he believes the skills he developed will serve him well as a constituency MP who wants to be practical as well as strategic.

He said: “I’ve shown that I’m somebody who likes working at a local level and somebody who can make decisions.

“When the war in Iraq broke out I didn’t sit around Westminster, or even Baghdad, debating it. I went straight out there to a remote south eastern province and tried to rebuild the infrastructure.

“It was the same when I was in Afghanistan. I was dealing with day to day issues such as water supplies and negotiating between mayors and councillors, trying to serve the entire town.

“I’m somebody who is used to getting things done.”

The claim is backed up by the existence of The Turquoise Mountain Foundation, a successful Afghanistan charity he set up to transform Kabul at the request of Prince Charles.

Mr Stewart was speaking to The Cumberland News from America, where he is resigning from Harvard University as a professor and director of the Carr Centre for Human Rights.

When he returns he will begin the campaign for next year’s election.

Apart from proving to locals that he is committed to Cumbria, farming and tourism are among the major issues he wants to concentrate on.

Providing appropriate care for the disabled is another priority, born out of the closeness with his sister Fiona, who has Down’s Syndrome.

Mr Stewart is listed as one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century by Esquire magazine.

William Hague MP has described him as a gifted communicator who has an appealing character and great experience of world affairs.

James Wood, a literary critic and fellow Harvard lecturer, says he’s wily and closely observes locals to learn their ways.

This trait was demonstrated by his 10-day walk from his parents’ home in Crieff to Penrith – a journey made to familiarise himself with the landscape and communities of the constituency he wants to make his own.

An Oxford graduate, he has also served as an infantry officer in the Black Watch.

He first met Prince Charles when he was an Eton prefect, they were sat together at a dinner and Mr Stewart was asked to tutor princes William and Harry for the summer.

First published at 05:22, Friday, 30 October 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk